A Soul Worth Rescuing
but
Who was IT?
Our story begins, a long time ago back in 2014. We were living in a different house, our son, Sean was only four years old and daughter, Aishling was just about to turn seven. We had two beautiful black collie mix dogs named aptly Thelma and Louse due to their outrageous start in life and two cats, Cuvee and Muffin, both black and white short haired Tuxedo cats. Both my husband, Jon and I had just begun a new adventure in self employment.
One night in early May, I was reading a story to Aishling in her bedroom just before bed, when like many times before, I fell asleep but this time no one woke me. I don’t remember waking until much later in the night when the house was quiet, dark and still. I just lay there not caring where I was only thinking about what had just happened. Lying on the side of my daughter’s bed, I had a dream. Something, at the time, I didn’t really understand the ramifications of. In this sleeping landscape, I was standing there, petting an old friend. Our dog, Guinness had passed away one year earlier in April 2013. He was a large Labrador Shepard Mix male dog who was stunning! He grew to look like ever other Lab you would meet only this one was colored like a German Shepard, with a black and brown head, black back and golden legs and underside. He ruled our lives for only eleven beautiful years. We were devastated and heart broken when we lost him. In the dream, I was standing there petting him gently on his head and then I sat on the ground and continued to pet him as he stood right beside me like a Lion in stature. I heard the words “you must rescue this dog”. Then, someone proceeded to show me this small white, brown and black dog running down a road as fast as he could”. That’s when I was startled and woke up. Who was this dog? I got up, went to my own bed and forgot about it.
A few days later, Jon my husband came running into the house saying “did you see that dog”? I said “what dog? He said the “one that went that way not too long ago”. We both looked out the window at the same time and there he was now right across the street laying in the grass curled up in ball with his head down as if trying to sleep. We both go and get a bowl of food and water and I watched Jon go across the street in the direction of the now sleeping dog. Jon approaches quietly and drops the bowl. The dog is receptive and started to eat, shoveling the food into his mouth with sheer brut force. He is so hungry, he doesn’t see Jon quickly put a leash around his neck and receives a gentle pull. He responds well and Jon walks him back across the street to the house. The food is all gone.
In the days and months that follow, we slowly introduce the dog to Thelma and Louse our other two resident dogs and the cats. He is a fully intact young male dog who quickly tries to assert himself in the pack but Thelma, our alpha dog is having none of it. She won’t even allow him to sleep in the same room as mom and dad. His bed is placed in the dining room. We quickly see, the dogs ribs are visible. He has an infection coming out of his right eye and his neck line. A place where we believe a heavy collar used to be. This little dog is about 25 LBS in weight, barely a puppy to all of us, was mainly white along his back, with patches of black and tan, along his sides with a colorful head and alert ears. He was small, but handsome and full of spark but we are not sure what to call him. Then, I look at the book I am reading. The fascinating life and story of Patrick Swayze. I read page 144 and gasp out loud Patrick Swayze was known as “Buddy” and declare to the entire house and world “that’s it, we will call him “Buddy”.
In the months that followed, I quickly learned that Buddy had so much energy. We would have to walk him every day perhaps twice a day or everything in the house would soon be torn up. Buddy lived for his walks so much so if it could find a way out of the fence he would. This often led to a mad dive out the door after him, Buddy’s leash in tow up the street and far far away. On one occasion, we finally figured out he was going so fast we needed the car. This beautiful dark blue Honda was pure magic. While driving very slow along the streets yelling “Buddy, Buddy”. We opened the car door one day and the rest is history! In a nut shell, Buddy loved the car so much anytime he saw the door open he was in and his mad dash to Timbuktu was over. We must have done this a hundred times until he finally got two walks a day for a least two miles each time. I was happy as it made me look at the trees, the birds and spend badly needed time in nature. We eventually craved and longed for this time everyday!
Buddy soon became a very important part of our house and family! He bonded with our cat named Sprite. They played and wrested on the front porch regularly. It was a shame Sprite didn’t come home one day. On another day, he tackled an unwelcome stranger coming up the drive way unannounced, saved our house from being broken into and always always greeted us at the door like we had been gone forever. Buddy lived in two different states with us (although Florida was not his friend becoming severely allergic to the grass and reconstituted water) and five different houses. We were only separated for one year while I was in Ireland between 2017 and 2018. He always greeted me like I was a queen upon each return. I would sneak up to the house to surprise him but he always knew I was there well before we pulled into the driveway. Although he got on well and loved many boarding facilities, we figured out during COVID that he would much rather travel with us, even if that meant being in the car for hours upon end. He loved the beach, chasing the waves, barking at them and trying to bite them for hours on end, running through forests and walking through any river water he could find. There was no weather he would not go out in. He knew all the neighborhood dogs, we made frequent stops to see Lightning and Pretzel and he got to stay with his friend Finn many times until his untimely passing in 2018.
Here’s the big part. Our daily routine was set with Buddy. There was never a bad day only when we had to go to the vet. He tolerated the needles and the blood being drawn year after year until one day he had had enough. We had to put him on anti anxiety medicine just to get him through the door. This made it difficult to get him checked over the years. I always knew it would be hard if Buddy ever got seriously ill or sick.
He sat in more readings or sessions that any other animal in a long time. He just loved the energy and if shut out of the room would tap, tap, tap on the door until he was let in. A sound I can still hear today. He never uttered a noise only if he heard someone come in. He was my constant companion and guardian.
The huge moral of this story is ten (10) years is not enough.
We didn’t change him, he changed us.
Buddy showed us nature, Buddy showed us patience, resilience and the continuous quest to explore. A small 25 pound Rat Terrier Mix on a wild tare in College Park, Georgia found his forever home in 2014. I am so glad Guinness told me in the wonderful dream,
“rescue the dog”!
But Wait! The real miracle of that story only happened seconds after Buddy sadly passed right beside me at 2:00am on Thursday, September 26th, 2024. I sat there in the dark, shocked beyond belief that Buddy had just taken his last breath. I watched his spirit leave his body and walk slowly and softly beside a man I had never met. Both spirit and man headed down the corridor, seconds later I saw Buddy embracing my husband, Jon, fast asleep in bed. Buddy gently wrapped his head right around Jon’s neck in a huge embrace, stayed there for what seemed like eternity. Then looked right at me as if to say it’s okay and then disappeared. I sat there numb for a while then, got up off the floor and wandered aimlessly into Jon and the children announcing “Buddy is gone”.
We returned, one by one, to sit with Buddy until the morning broke. As the tears flowed, I sat there half asleep going back in my mind to the last vision of Buddy with Jon. Then, it clicked!
Guinness!!!
With my hand over my mouth, I realized Buddy had just embraced Jon the way Guinness only knew how. Snuggled up close to his neck, like a warm blanket, something, I had never seen Buddy do.
Perhaps, Guinness and Buddy are Really
one in the same?
Thank you to Every Pet that has Walked this Earth!
Rest In Peace
Buddy
2014 to September 26th, 2024.
Gift from God!
A SOUL WORTH RESCUING
but who was it?
Please take a moment to remember your dearly beloved pets today.
The good times and the fun times.
It was all worth while even if they were gone in a blink of an eye!
