I was a sworn cat person, you see. I was not able to have any pets as a child because I had severe allergies and asthma. When I finally was able to have a pet, I wanted a kitten. Enter my first pet, ever, a beautiful Russian Blue kitten whom I named "Ziggy," given to me by a dear friend home on leave from the Marines. Ziggy got his name from the cards Buck and I exchanged in the mail. Ziggy the kitten was perfect. He was an adorable little bundle of gray fur and green eyes. I loved that cat and, although I had to leave him at my parents when I married 5 months later, Ziggy was a valued family member for 15 years.
Next came Kitty Tiffy and then Esmerelda, a runt kitten that Craig and I adopted when she was only a few days old and weighed less than a pound. Then there was Bobby, Kitty, Chico, Princess Jasmine, Sonic, Colette, and now Missy. All cats over the years. No dogs. Cats are so easy. They love you when they're in the mood, they're low maintenance, and yet they're companionable and fun to have around. When you leave town for a week, you put out extra litter boxes, huge amounts of cat food and water and you're done. You know when you return, you will encounter the revenge only a cat can exact, but even that is part of their charm. (I don't know how they manage to tear up complete rolls of paper towels, toilet paper, or paper plates that were locked in various cabinets. They're quite creative!) However, they make up for their scary moments by being loyal and sweet companions when you're sick, depressed or lonely. They're funny, smart, and entertaining too.
I never was a dog person. Never. Let me put it this way. When I was a tiny first grader, I was chased and pinned to a house by a huge German Shepherd who was not in a sweet mood! I seriously thought he was going to eat my head in one bite and was so terrified I couldn't move. Fortunately a teacher from my elementary school saw the attack and saved me before I was too badly injured. For years after, any dog terrified me. Small yippy dogs, big hairy dogs, barking dogs, snappy dogs, sweet dogs, any dog, scared the bejeebers out of me. Completely terrified I was.
Over the years, Daddy taught me first how not to be afraid of dogs, how to gentle them, and eventually how to talk to any dog I met. I lost my fear, but still wasn't too keen on dogs. We had a few over the years for the boys. There was Charlie, the American Eskimo we bought for Nat on his 4th birthday. Charlie was beautiful, but dumb as a rock. Or maybe we were dumb as rocks. We never could teach or train that dog to do anything. There was sweet Maggie, who was Joshua's birthday present and was the sweetest dog I'd ever met. Unfortunately, she got sick one morning and was gone by the time we returned home from work. She had parvo. Well, actually, I guess that's all the dogs we had.
For some reason during the fall of 2005, while I was making trips back and forth from Texas to Colorado and back, I suddenly had this crazy idea of getting a dog to accompany me. Someone to be a companion and perhaps even provide some protection. I prayed about it, but after a couple of weeks, decided that was a silly idea and let it go. I knew nothing about what kind of dog I would want or would be a good companion. I knew nothing really about training a dog. Dogs required a lot more attention and care. I was working full time, had a father with Alzheimer's in a nursing home, two sons at home, and a husband who had moved to Colorado in preparation for the day when I could move there too.
Anyhow, I gave up on the idea. I guess God had not, however. I was traveling to Colorado the day after Christmas. It was cold, snowy, and basically miserable weather. I stopped in the Love's truck stop in Texline for a little break and to buy something to eat and drink. As I stepped out of the truck stop, a little black and tan puppy ran right up to me, yipped once, put one leg on my leg and then sat down with adoring eyes trained on my face. An elderly couple said, "Oh, there's his owner! We wondered who he belonged to!" as they hurried into their car and sped away. (I think it was a set up! Ha!) The little puppy looking at me so sweetly was obviously hungry, very dirty, shivering cold and...a charmer of the first order. There was absolutely no way I could leave that little guy in a big old dirty truck stop. I decided to take him with me and drop him off at the Humane Society along the way. He jumped into the car, I gave him my burrito, which he promptly ate, he curled up on my lap to sleep and off we drove. We were firm friends by the time we arrived in Clayton, a mere 10 miles from Texline. I stopped and bought a collar and leash, some real dog food, and a food/water bowl.
By the time I reached Raton, NM, his name was Buddy and I was trying to figure out how I could keep the little toot. I was completely in love with this little 9 pound DOG! The rest, as they say, is history. We kept Buddy and he became part of the family. Fortunately he was fairly easy to train. He did prove to be an excellent companion and on the trips I still had between Colorado and Texas, he was perfect. When either Alan or I are sick, tired, in pain, depressed, or just in need of some unconditional love...Buddy is right there for us and with us. He plays with Alan every morning and evening. He sleeps with me nightly. He protects me from anyone he sees as threats whether they be "bad guys" or other nefarious critters such as squirrels, neighbor cats, and mailmen.
So, yes, when we were considering what to do with Buddy while we have a vacation week in Steamboat Springs, I looked up different kennels, found one I liked the look of, called and talked to the woman to get a feel for the place, and booked a room for a week. Most of all I made sure I'd be able to stop in periodically through the week to see and play with Buddy. He gets separation anxiety, you know. Not me, him. Truly! Really! It's Buddy who gets the separation anxiety! Well, ok, maybe I get a little separation anxiety too. Yeah, I've become a dog person who pampers, spoils, and loves her dog to distraction. How in the world did this happen?! Oh yeah, it's this guy's fault:
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