Buddy, you performed you one task very...VERY well. Your former (and your current) Master is very pleased.
Good boy, Buddy!
Good boy.
Posted on 05/21/2007 7:23:48 PM PDT by uglybiker
I apoligize in advance for being so long winded, but I felt the need to share.
5:00am. I'm up and stumbling around the house like I usually do at this time of morning getting ready for work. Keys?...check. Smokes?...check. Lighter?...check. Monster mug o' coffee?...check.
Okay. I've got all the important stuff covered. I walk to the back door with a quick stop at the pantry to pull out a dog cookie. I walk out the door and something is missing. Normally, at the bottom of the steps, is a largish, wooly, mixed-breed dog. His name is Buddy. During the warmer part of the year (which we have alot of here in Arizona), he likes to sleep out in the yard where the ground is cooler. Normally he can hear me bumbling around the house in the morning, so he comes to the back steps to wait for me to come out. He always knew that 'Daddy' would give him some well-deserved attention and a cookie before he left. That was the daily ritual and I did my best to keep my part of the bargain.
He'd been getting along in years and, every once in awhile, I guess he'd sleep so soundly that he wouldn't hear me, and I'd find him still asleep in the yard right at the back corner of the house. He was there this morning, but when I called him, he didn't move. His body was still warm, his limbs were still limber, but my friend was gone.
And a hole opened in my heart.
No more will I see that wagging tail, those perked ears and that goofy dog grin as he lays with his paws crossed --always right over left-- just behind the back gate. Where he would stay almost motionless until the gate is actually open and "OHBYOHBOYOHBOY! DADDY'S HOME!!"
No more when I open the back door will he squirt in and play Kentucky Derby through the house with the cat. First one leading, then the other.
No more in the spring when the mulberrys flower and all the fuzzy bits fall to the ground and seemingly every #%&$%$# on gets stuck in his fur when he tries to come in the house...
No more will he lay his head on my knee and look up at me with those watery eyes and that disarming 'goofy dog grin' that he had perfected so well. That look said he knew who his master was. And that was all that mattered.....and would Master please give him a cookie? ;-)
Flashback to ten years ago.
November '97. I had recently moved to Arizona and was renting a room from my folks while I was getting myself established. I had just received a sizeable promotion at work and had saved up enough to put a down payment on a house. I was finally starting to move up in the world.
I got to work to pull a weekend shift when the man at the front gate ask me:"You know anybody who wants a dog? He's been wandering around here for two days. I felt sorry for him, so I gave him a frozen waffle I was going to have for breakfast. He likes me now. I call him 'Buddy'." My father worked at the same place at the time and, before I knew it, my parents had driven down, coaxed him into their car and brought him home. (My family has a failing when it comes to stray critters. We all have a couple.)It took the better part of a day to get him to come up to me. But when he figured out I was okay, he wasn't going anywhere. We debated on taking him to the local animal shelter, but I figured that since he was so skiddish, nobody would take him. So, when the paperwork on my house cleared a couple of weeks later, he came home with me.
He still had alot of puppy in him, so there were some problems at first. My utility trailer got stripped of all its wires, the power lead to my AC was pulled off, about two hundred holes showed up in my 'new' backyard, and I got notices stuck on my front door from animal control complaining about a barking dog. But he eventually settled down and even made up with the neighbors. One even told me that she didn't mind him barking so much because "he's not only watching your yard, he's watching mine, too!" Before long, he had truly lived up to his name. What had been some uncaring person's cast off, quickly became my closest and truest friend.
Buddy never was a big fan of the ugly bike. He didn't mind the noise, he just knew that whenever he saw me loading stuff on it, I was going somewhere and wasn't taking him.
Time rolled on. I got another promotion at work, my Father retired and my parents moved to eastern Texas. My folks always seeming to need something either hauled to them or hauled back, a couple times a year I would load up the truck and head east. Me at the wheel and Buddy behind the drivers seat with his head on the console. We took this trip enough times that we had our own scheduled stops. First: the New Mexico Welcome center on I-40. Second: The Love's truckstop west of Amarillo. Third: just outside of Witchita Falls and last: a little picnic area on Highway 82 not far from Paris, Tx.
As he got older, he developed hip displasia and got to where he couldn't climb in the truck. So I whipped up a small foldable ramp so he could walk in. He was always ready to go somewhere.
Flash back to the present.
By now, I was running late for work, so I moved Buddy from the yard and put him in the breezeway next to his dog box. My supervisor was understanding. All guys know what if feels like when you lose your dog. Also my work load was light, so I was able to leave early to take care of the business of what to do with this, that which is all that is left of my best friend.
The soil in this part of Arizona is composed mostly of rock, clay and calichi. I would almost have to rent a jackhammer to dig a proper grave. But my local veterenarian offers a cremation servce. It's not cheap, but I'm not complaining. In a couple of weeks, I will receive a small box of ashes that will be placed where I have a spot prepared under my bedroom window next to a cat who was also a very true friend.
When I got to the vet office, they had me pull around back where two assistants laid out a sling, gently rolled him into it and together (he weighed almost 100 pounds) we carried him inside to the last place I would see him.
I turned around to go and remembered somethng. I knelt down and removed the collar that I had put on him a long, long time ago. He didn't need it anymore.
I was no longer his Master.
There was a thread here the other day that posed the question about whether our pets go to heaven. I didn't read the whole thing, but I seem to remember a poster saying that there is a reason animals are rarely mentioned in Scripture. The Bible was written for mankind. Animals don't need a guide on how to live their lives.It is very scant on details about what happens to animals when they pass on. So anything I can add would be strictly my opinion. You can take it for what it's worth.
And, in my opinion, I believe that our pets are a physical manifestation of our Creator's love for us.
They are sent to us to perform one task, and one task only. And that is to serve their masters.
In doing so, they are also a reminder to their masters that they too have one task. And that is to serve Our Lord and Master.
The sheer exuberence at which they go about their one task is a reminder of how we should go about ours.
And as their lives are but a few short years, they remind us that, as their physical bodies must return to the earth whence they came, so too shall be our fate. And we should make the best of the short time we have been blessed with.
I cannot say for sure that our pets go to Heaven. I will only say that if the hereafter is supposed to be paradise, that paradise would be a bleak place indeed if my best friend is not there to share it with me.
As I type this, his collar is sitting on my desck by my keyboard. I look around the room and I see over in one corner, a very well-chewed rope toy. In another corner is the knot off a rawhide bone next to an old blue blanket he would lie on when he would come inside. I'm not sure what to do with them yet. Do I throw them out or save them for the next dog? I say next for it seems to be my lot that when one of my animals passes, a short time later another one shows up needing a home.
But I will always have a very special place for a largish, wooly dog with a 'goofy dog grin'.
Aw.....
Maybe your buddy and my buddy are now chasing rabbits together in doggy heaven....
*lump in the throat*
Dogs are a gift from God, IMHO. (Thank you, God!)
My gratitude for taking such good care of your friend. You surely made life on earth heaven for him, and now he is in heaven proper waiting for you. You did a great job ....and more. You were not only a custodian, but you were a friend. Not only a master but a companion. Not only an 'owner,' but family. Buddy could never have asked for more, and thanks to you he did not have to.
Thus, while you have my condolences you also have my gratitude. The world would be a far better place with more people like you (and with your heart).
Buddy is blessed to have you, just as you are blessed to have him (note: present tense). Having 'lost' my 'sis' (Puss Kitty Naomi Cinders, aka Nywinywi, aka Queen of Thundera) just over a year ago i know what you are going through, but I also know the joy you experienced every moment you spent with Buddy - and that joy is something that can never go away and that cannot be easily described to those who have never had the opportunity to be loved by another without question, judgement or flaw. Perfect love.
The poster who said that animals are a manifestation of God's love was spot on.
Anyways UglyBiker ....you have a most beautiful soul.
God bless,
Spetz!
I would move heaven and earth to help my dogs. I told my hubby that I love them more than some people. I’m slightly ashamed of those sentiments but my dogs have been powerful life companions for me.
I believe dogs go to Heaven, after all they are gifts from God; they are God’s creations too, ones meant to bring us companionship, protection, and happiness. You will see Buddy again.
I’m so sorry for the pain you are going through right now, I know exactly how that feels.
Sorry for your loss. I know how you feel. My dog makes me smile even on my worst days. I picture my last dog running in the woods chasing something. That’s the end he deserved.
What a lovely tribute to Buddy! Having read it, it feels as though I almost knew him. And thank you for posting a photo of the dear boy. No wonder you were so fond of him. He was an adorable fellow.
All of us who have loved and lost pets know what you must be going through. It’s a tough go to lose a special pal dog, I know.
I’m very glad he belonged to you and I’m certain he was too.
Buddy will be waiting for you, I’m sure.
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...
My condolences. Losing a pet is hard.
.
So sorry for the loss of your friend uglybiker. I’m a grown 53 year old man, but your story got me crying. I had dogs when I was a young boy and then not again until 4 years ago, and now we’ve got 4. My condolences.......
I am so sorry for your loss - but thank you for posting this, and thank you for being a friend to strays cats and dogs.
All of our furry friends have come from shelters and/or right off of the street - they really do make the best companions.
We waited about six months before adopting a Golden and a lab.
I found it better not compare/remind me by staying with the same breed.
Good luck, only time heals such wounds.
On a shelf in the garage I have three leashes, dog bowls and ID tags from my three "best friends" over the last 35 years.
One more point...Buddy did you one last good deed..he spared you the need to have to make a painful decision. Two of my dogs were larger breeds, a Dobie and an Old English, and when the dysplasia gets severe, they can't even stand up, and it's then their time. It's a very hard thing to do, but it's also an act of kindness for them, which we owe them. And Buddy has the "last laugh" on you..he finally gets to "sleep" inside the house...
A touching story. I’m sorry to hear of losing your Buddy.
My sympathy to you for the loss of Buddy. Your eulogy was beautiful.
Remember, nothing good is lost forever, and God made His creation and pronounced it "very good".
“And how… but hullo! What are all these animals? A cat—two cats—dozens of cats. And all those dogs… why, I can’t count them. And the birds. And the horses.”“They are her beasts.”
“Did she keep a sort of zoo? I mean, this is a bit too much.”
“Every beast and bird that came near her had its place in her love. In her they became themselves. And now the abundance of life she has in Christ from the Father flows over into them.”
I looked at my Teacher in amazement.
“Yes,” he said. “It is like when you throw a stone into a pool, and the concentric waves spread out further and further. Who knows where it will end? Redeemed humanity is still young, it has hardly come to its full strength. But already there is joy enough in the little finger of a great saint such as yonder lady to waken all the dead things of the universe into life.”
-C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
A beautiful and touching tribute to your lost friend, Buddy.
Tears are streaming down my face. May God bless and comfort you in your grief.
The pain I’ve felt when losing a beloved dog has only been eased when I rescue another sad and lonely dog and make him a happy and loved dog, too.
You are not alone.
I had a pet Gray Squirrel for 14 years and, believe me, I know that empty feeling. I know the sounds and sights that I miss from that wonderful pet.
I am so sorry.
My animals are a part of the family and when one passes on it leaves a hole in the heart that only great memories can fill.
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