Buddy

On September 24, 2021, shortly after the departure of Hurricane Ida, my wife, Teri came in and said "there's a dog under the lean-to of our shop."

I looked out and sure enough, lying on his side was a gorgeous gold Lab, who, at the time, appeared to have seen much better days prior to finding us. You could count his ribs and looked, for a lack of a better way of putting it, 'plum tuckered out.' At first, he was a little skittish but he didn't know us, so that was understandable. 

Buddy, when we first met him.

Since it was late in the day, I told Teri that we'd prepare him a spot under the carport, with a pallet for a bed and a bowl of water, along with something to eat. If he chose to stay the night with us, he would go and visit our vet, regardless if he liked the idea or not.

Being the aging guy that I am, I got up a couple of times (okay, three or four) during the night and each time that I did, I checked in on our visitor. He was still with us, using the pallet and appeared to be getting some much needed, secure rest.

Buddy, after returning home from the Vet.

We concluded he was happy!! ♥

Buddy with Momma

The next day, as promised, he went to the vet, where we learned he had a most serious heartworm and hookworm infection. Well, for us, being the baby lovers that we are, this was a no-brainer. Do what you have to do and we'll foot the bill. Several hundred dollars and a couple of prescriptions later, we got him back home with us, where we had a better setup, outside, for him to rest. 

Some of you may remember that we posted some early photos of him, thinking to locate his family, whom we felt fairly certain, lost him during the previously mentioned storm. It was during this time, on about his third day with us, that we noticed that he came to the backside of our home and was looking in, through our bay window, directly at us. Teri said "it looks like he wants to come inside."

Well, I went and opened the carport door and asked him if he would like to come in for a visit. His reponse was instant and quite clear. He came right by me, into the kitchen, wagging. And he has never left.

We named him "Buddy," simply because I had been addressing him as "Buddy this" and Buddy that." He truly seemd to appreciate the "new" moniker,  as much as he appreciated being inside.

It's not my truck anymore!

He loves to go through the drive-thru!

After being declared "worm free," and figuring out that nobody was going to claim him, we had him "fixed" and chipped. Today, he is a happy, healthy boy who obviously holds a special place in his heart for Teri. He climbs up on the sofa with her and actually places his head on her in a fashion that looks like a heartfelt hug. He sleeps in a special bed, right next to our bed, on Teri's side, every night. And now, he has his very own leather loveseat. He gets on it, stretches out and watches TV with Teri and I. And he has "adopted" our other three dogs as his siblings and they all get along fabulously. And he loves going "bye-bye!" What has been my Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, for years, clearly belongs to Buddy now. He heads for it when he knows he's going somewhere. He'll alternate between the front and backseat and ultimately, he will lay his head down in Teri's lap. God help anybody that ever tries to get into the truck with Teri, while Buddy is with her.

We think the loveseat was named for him.

Teri and I have concluded that while we may never know where he came from, Buddy's Angel knew where to lead him. And for that, we are forever grateful. We love our Buddy and wish him "Happy Anniversary."

We love you Buddy!! Sleep tight!!