The Amazing Mr. B, canine crew

Bud at the dog park 2014

As active outdoor people, our dogs represent our lifestyle and personality. For the past year we have had to slow down since Bud could not keep up due to his cancer and age. Last year the canine oncologist gave him a few months of life without their treatment, and well over a year later he is still our traveling companion.  We are loyal to Bud as he is loyal to us.

Life with Bud has been filled with funny, frustrating, loving, joyous, heroic, and sad memories. Bud's whole life with us (12 years with me) has been a Bucket List. From hiking in the snowy mountains of Colorado and New Mexico and the deserts of Arizona and west Texas to the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico Bud has seen more and done more than most.  The funny and loving memories with Bud are the ones that I cling to keep me happy.

Determined: Bud is one dog that we never have to worry about running away from us.  At the dog parks he may run, swim, and play with the other dogs and balls but only if he knows where we are.  

One Valentine's night we sailed to the Houston Yacht Club for a dinner with friends.  This was our first overnight trip to this marina so everything was new.  Upon sliding into our floating slip, we took the dogs down the pier and up the ramp to the parking lot for a walk before dinner.  We had been giving Bud eyes drops to clear up his ulcers and improve his vision, but dark areas were still difficult for him.  

We left the dogs on the sailboat with the bottom hatch in place and went for dinner at the clubhouse some walking distance away.  The weather was warm with a light breeze from the south.  As we finished up dinner, our host noted the winds had changed and a northerner was blowing in.  We enjoyed some more cocktails before returning to take the dogs out.  Many of the sailboats' halyards were beating on the masts making a cacophony that could wake the dead.  

Traveling on July 31, 2015

We climbed onto the boat to let the dogs out since Whitley was barking.  JT removed the hatch with Whitley at the bottom panting and excited.  Apparently not for us.  While I remained on the cockpit with leashes in hand, JT entered the cabin and Whitley sprang up the stairs.  Where is Bud?  I called to JT and with equal excitement to Whitley.  I questioned "Where is Bud?" JT proclaimed back, "what do you mean where is Bud." "Well he is not here," I declared. Then the yelling for Bud began.  First inside our small  sailboat, he was not in the v berth, aft cabin, head or under the salon table.  Did he fall in the water with no life jacket or shore to swim to?  He had to have climbed over the bottom hatch to escape the beating halyard on the mast.  

JT turned on the deck lights as I put on Whitley's leash to search for Bud.  JT ran down the pier in one direction looking for Bud, and I walked down the other way with Whitley.  I asked Whitley to find Bud, but she looked as confused as me to what happened to Bud.  We returned to the pier to search the water.  There on leash walking from the other direction was smiling Bud.  JT had found him standing in the parking lot before running right to JT.  He left the boat to search for us and maybe some shrimp too.

Blessing of Coco's bed by Bud

Funny: Back in the beginning of our relationship JT and Bud were residing more in my new home.  I brought in the mounted head of the singing Jack-a-lope from Texas (rabbit with antlers). As I hit the button, the mouth would start moving and the head start shaking to “Home Home on the Range.” I have never seen a dog display such fear and horror in my life. I was bewildered why he was so utterly terrified. So I brought the mounted head of the Jack-a-lope to Bud to see that it was not real. He did not believe me. He ran into the bedroom, then to the bathroom, and hid behind the clothes closet door. He stood on two legs, arms raised up not touching the wall, and looking away from the singing Jack-a-lope. I imagine that he was thinking, “this is not happening, this is not happening.” Gosh I wish that I had a camera that day. Poor Bud. He never got terrified like that again. He was our protector from there on out.

The singing Jack-a-lope met its end by JT's other Lab (at the time) with scattered pieces of fake rabbit hair, little antlers, and electronics around the backyard. Even a worker on the house noted pieces of an animal skin in the backyard, JT would reply that was our singing Jack-a-lope. He received an odd look from the worker.

Loving and Sad: After seven days, JT and I returned home from Hawaii. Finding a local pet sitter to check and play with the dogs twice a day at our home. I felt more at ease than ever leaving the dogs to be boarded. No worries of what illness that they would be exposed to, if they would get their correct allergy free food, or if they would have enough room and time to play with their clean toys. We were contacted twice daily of their activities and happy mood. Upon our arrival into the house Bud began to wail and latched onto JT. 

He had only wailed like that once before. We had moved from Houston and returned one weekend to visit. We decided to drive by our old stomping ground before dinner. As we drove by his favorite neighborhood dog park and did not stop, he began to wail and cry talk for miles. We tried to calm him down, but he was too sad.

Loving and Disobedient: Bud has a very strong will and love for his family.  He would always jump into the lap of JT and JT's mother to give lots of kisses.  He was a much bigger boy back then too.  No matter how long it had been, he would run and jump in to their lap and only their lap.  He knew that I would not allow that.  It took him years before he finally stopped jumping into their lap or up on them.

Bud has many nicknames that all describe an event in our lives together ranging from Bud mud (when he was sick) to Mister B B, Butter, Butterbutt, Butterball, or Terry (BIL 1^st name). We will never know what his first name was and who was his biological family. We don't need to know, because he has his own personality, life experiences, and his own family that will never change.

I ignore the painful memories of being thrown to the ground many times as the dogs pursued their hunt for the elusive Texas giant red squirrel, or how hard Bud's head is as it rammed my prior injured knee. But I do recall that training these big dogs are not for the meek. Treats never worked and only got wet pockets from Bud drooling and licking the pockets. We successfully follow Cesar Millan's method of the pack order and exercise. We try and keep Whitley and Bud walking by our knee the whole hike. It is a daily reminder to not walk in front (as a leader or alpha) or behind, but walk by my side as my partner.

Bud has not given up on life, and we have not given up on him.

Bud visiting Mississippi in 2005