Buster
- 1992 - 2005
aka Buster Bill, B-Boy,
Busterooney, Busterooneytooney
Buster entered my life one Spring morning at the
park two blocks from my house. I was walking my other
two dogs, and there he was, a 5-month-ish puppy hanging
around the softball diamond, skittish and scared.
He was curious about Chelsea and Shadow, but avoided
my approaches. I told myself that he had probably
gotten out of someone’s yard, and they would
be looking for him soon (yeah, yeah, yeah) so I left
him there. But I thought about him all day, and finally
went back to the park that afternoon. As fate would
have it, there he was, trying to reach up to the
drinking fountain by the dugout. Of course he couldn’t
reach it, and struck quite a pathetic pose. That
did it. I used Chelsea to lure him into my car and
he came home with us.
From the first, Buster demonstrated a gentle, calm
demeanor that would impress everyone who met him.
At first, when I would reach to pet him, he would
sit stock-still and look away. It took quite some
time for him to realize that no one was going to
hit him and that he was not only allowed in the house,
but on the couch, as well.
Special Memories
When he would fall asleep sitting up, leaning
against the cushions of the couch, his head nodding,
unwilling to give the day up.
Splicing so many garden hoses from his puppy chewing
that I joked that my 75’ hose had been reduced
to 25’ due to Buster’s teething.
The look in his eyes when he realized he could
actually vocalize, and that it would be rewarded.
My attempts at building confidence worked slowly
but surely to create a myriad of attention-seeking
behaviors that I would have looked aghast at if
my clients told me they promoted such behaviors.
The fun he had being the star at public clicker
training demonstrations.
Training him to do something he had been taught
never to do: Putting his feet up on a table. This
was for a photo
shoot for a library book donation project.
He handled it like a pro, and the photo was run
in local papers.
The time he threw up on the start line at an agility
trial due to performance anxiety (I let him transition
to the cheering section after that!).
The countless adolescent dogs and puppies he taught
manners over his career. His gentle, but firm insistence
on proper canine greeting etiquette was an invaluable
lesson for many boisterous, ill-mannered pups.
His love affair with Sandy Mae, which caused me
to renege on placing Sandy Mae in another home
after initially agreeing only to foster the little
scamp.
Ringing his doorbell, at the beginning to let
me know he had to go outside, but more often than
not, to announce his needs … for chewies,
for attention, for, for, for …. That bell
became known as Buster’s Needs Bell.
The look on his face as he proudly brought me
a huge, putrified, dead bullfrog
he found while we camped at Lindy’s Landing
in October 2004, a short two months after he completed
a 6-month round of chemotherapy for lymphosarcoma.
This frog was so big, that the back legs stuck
out of one side of Buster’s mouth and the
front legs out the other. Where or where was my
camera?
Up to the end, his happy voice announcing the
presence of Charm, his favorite puppy in the world.
Grandpa Buster will be missed by that little guy.
His stoicism throughout four years of various
health issues.
Leaning into me when I needed a hug, absorbing
my petting like it was the last time he’d
ever feel so good.
Tributes:
“Well I can hear Buster now, telling everybody
how he picked up this crazy chick in a park ...”
“For Buster, a beautiful mind and a beautiful
soul … somewhere over the rainbow.”
“Buster was a special boy. He had a full
and wonderful life with you. No one could have
given him a better life than you!”
“Buster is not gone … just gone ahead.
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it
just changes forms. Buster will be thanking you
for all eternity.”
“This is the absolute worst part of loving
dogs - having to let them go so they can be free
from pain. But it is also the most loving
and unselfish thing, too. (Just to let you
know, I've always admired you for deciding to put
your training on hold to spend more time with Buster
after he got sick.) Buster is now at the Bridge,
healthy and running happily with Chelsea and
all the other dogs waiting for their special people.
“I really liked Buster and was always
happy to give him back scratches as he leaned into
me in doggy ecstasy!! I'm glad you brought
him to class so much so I could get to know him
a little. (He was the first one I'd greet
every time.) He had a quiet dignity all his
own and was a special guy.”
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