BUDDY
|
|||||||||
| *BUDDY* IN A NUTSHELL: Friendly, happy-go-lucky youngster (just over a year). Gets along with people and other dogs. Thinks cats are to be chased (at least the ferals in his current situation). | |||||||||
| We received an email in the New Year from our adopter/volunteer/transporter Betty, asking us to help her good friend, Deb (a disabled senior), rehome a shepherd mix that had "found her." He was a stray; he found her. Deb and Betty believe he was dumped, and nobody claimed him after he was posted on Facebook. After 2 days of being with Deb, he brought his "friend" (an Aussie or cattle dog mix) to visit so he could eat, too. Buddy is quite the character and very loving. He took care of his buddy and every time it was time to eat he would run and get his friend for dinner.
Sadly Buddy's friend had severely infected ears and was underweight so he was taken to the vet and received medication but Betty and Deb couldn't keep him but a couple nights. On November 8th, he was taken to the Humane Society where he was subsequently adopted on the 14th. Deb has had Buddy neutered and vaccinated (he has a booster next week). He is 13 months old, housebroken and has some house (RV) manners. He gets along well with her 3 pugs (2 females, 1 male) and female heeler. He thinks kitties should be chased but will "leave it" when leashed and told to do so. Buddy's puppy energy is more than Deb can handle and he needs a good home that can train him and give him more than she can. Deb is disabled and it's hard for her to manage 5 dogs. Deb recently lost her husband and is having to move in March; taking five dogs with her is just not in the cards.
According to Betty: "Buddy acts different with Deb than he does with me. He is respectful of her cane and walks accordingly -- soft ', if necessary, and he seems to understand. He walks slow alongside her whether she uses the cane or walker -- not afraid of them -- and she has never tripped over him. When she sleeps, her breathing slows to almost nothing and every night, several times, Buddy seems to check her breathing and ' her with his paw! He has woken her up because of it several times. He will whine when he has to potty; he has never pottied in the house. Buddy has never been aggressive. He takes corrections from the heeler and pugs -- they keep him in line. He does need training, which Deb physically can't do. He does know sit -- he sits for me -- and walks on leash fairly well for me. He knows sit, wait and, I think, down or off. He wants to give me hugs all the time. He howls when I leave. Deb would keep him if she didn't have the 3 pugs. She isn't able to run after dogs. He is, by my terms, a big love bug. He will drag Deb to get to me to give me a hug. I really hate that but when no one else is around, he is very calm and patient with her and is mindful If she didn't have 3 pugs, Deb would keep him; especially since he checks her breathing at night -- he started that the first night he slept on the bed. Deb said he is not a licker and, once in a while at night, if nudging her face to wake her or pawing her for shallow breathing, he will lick her face. He knows if she gets upset and he tries to comfort and cuddle her. Also, if Sadie (Deb's Queensland heeler) isn't feeling good, he will let her know. She has medication to comfort the stiff joints. He truly is a special boy. The only time and appropriate time he stands alert with a low growl is when the coyotes get too close to the RV park. He senses the danger and he and Sadie start herding the little pugs to the gate to be taken in."
UPDATE 7/1: Buddy's owner, Deb, wound up in the hospital and he has been left at his owner's trailer along with 3 small dogs and a Queensland heeler, with only friends to check up on them and take care of them. We have been informed that Deb will not be coming home, but will be transferred into a rehab facility and then to asssisted living. The dogs need to "disappear" as quickly as possible as Deb has no local family and her friends are unable to continue to care for all of her "critters." UPDATE 7/10: For lack of a foster home and with his mom still in the hospital, Buddy joined the pack at WGSDR this afternoon. Our thanks to Betty, who kept him safe and transported him from Tonopah to NW Phoenix in the heat. The pugs have been surrendered to a small dog rescue in Tucson.  UPDATE 7/18: We have been working with Buddy to see if he could learn to share his home with a cat. So far, he's proven to be a willing student. We have also found that he has no reaction whatsoever to a walker or a cane, but the cat is still a learning experience for him.
 Taking the afternoon off UPDATE 7/21: We have had a foster offer for Buddy in a home with a cat, so we're going to give him a chance to see if he can get along with a very rambunctious 3 year old female shepherd and a typical 4 year old human. Our thanks go out to Brad and Acacia for giving Buddy a chance at a real home and family. Our hopes are high!
FOSTER UPDATE 7/22: "...Him and Z play so good, we really feel like Zena is getting tired out!
We took them on a car ride last night to pick up Chipotle for dinner and he did great!
UPDATE 7/27: The cat said NO! Buddy is being returned to our rescue to continue the search for his forever home. According to his foster mom, "I wanted to reach out because we've come to the difficult decision that we think it's best if we return Buddy. He is truly a great dog, and this decision has been much harder than we expected. He has been wonderful with our 4-year-old and Zena; he has such a sweet personality.
Unfortunately, over the past three nights, Buddy has been barking around 4:00 a.m., usually because our cat is active and when he walks past Buddy's crate he barks irritably. Then he wants to be let out and wines a lot, and it's been causing a lot of stress in our We care about Buddy and want what's best for him, which is why we feel it's better for him to be placed in a home that's a better fit for his needs. He is a really good dog. We have also thought long term as well. August and September are going to be very busy for our family. In order to continue to work with Buddy in these different areas he will need consistency and he deserves that, and it is something we unfortunately won't be able to give him.
Thank you for trusting us to foster Buddy. We're truly sorry it didn't work out the way we had hoped Adoption fee $325.00.
| |||||||||
Around 4:30 this morning it seemed like he had a bad dream; he let out a distressed sounding bark and was a little restless in the crate but Brad went to check on him and he was ok.
We let them out at 6:30 for potty and we heard Buddy bark during play!
He is just the sweetest boy ever!
He takes a bit to respond to basic commands but he probably just needs more training and time, as he usually gets it after a few attempts.
Today he did have an instance where he chased our cat hard into our bedroom, he beared down and locked in but mako went under the bed. Not a big deal, he has done well all other times with the cat."
home. The sudden early wake-ups have been giving my husband a lot of anxiety, and we've realized that, despite our best intentions, we're not the right fit for him. We've also noticed that Buddy continues to chase our cat, even after consistently redirecting him and telling him 'leave it.' Sometimes Buddy does well and listens, others he ignores and 'locks in.' Mako has been showing signs that he's a bit stressed out, sometimes not wanting to pass by him. We know this behavior can take time and training, but we think maybe he isn't the best match for a home with a cat.