This is BUDDY!!

Buddy came to us from Mullica Hills, NJ. It was July 1999, and I was actively searching for a new dog. My old dog had passed away three days after my daughter was born, and I was missing doggy companionship.

A dear friend of mine told me about the 10 year old sheltie they were thinking of keeping, so my husband and I went to visit her and her dog Santo. (I could tell right away Caro was going to keep Santo and she did.) I really liked Santo, so Caro got on her computer, and emailed a friend, who emailed another friend. And all of a sudden I had a name, number, and a new friend, Lynne.

Lynn told me about a dog in NJ, that the family was anxious to get rid of... After discussing it with my husband, I loaded the baby and drove to meet Buddy.

Buddy had been a gift for the woman's husband many years ago. They had just left a home with a fenced in back yard to a newer home with no fenced in yard and no where to play..Buddy was VERY unhappy!  So much so, that he showed it by pooping in front of the door! He became afraid of stairs, and wouldn't climb them.. So His old family made the decision to find him a new home.

I spent over a hour with Buddy that day....He kept coming back to kiss me and circle around me in their living room where I sat on the floor, at his level.  How could I resist such a wonderful fellow!?  I said I would take him, and I loaded him into my van.. He sat proudly on my front seat as I brought him home.

I spent weeks switching him over from puppy food, which he had been fed all his life, and acclimated him to four cats, and the great outdoors again... He loved the fenced in yard of course!  We live in a ranch house, where there are no steps except for the two steps from the back deck to the yard. He blossomed from a shy nervous little dog, to a generous outgoing little man!!  His favorite thing is his bedtime cookie before he settles in at my bedside.

Buddy has made friends with our 2nd youngest cat Emily Elizabeth, and they are best friends! They are always playing, and chasing each other in the back yard. He is always up for a trip in the van, and the tellers at the bank love him and always send cookies to him when we stop by..

Buddy helps the foster dogs settle in, and shows them the ropes. . Buddy is our best friend, and we love him. I thank that family at least once a week for giving him up!