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Buddy's story started one warm spring day in 2004, when my new house was still under construction. The front door was open and this gorgeous little puppy, no collar or nametag, pranced in like he owned the place and started licking faces. Eventually he wandered off, only to reappear the next day and the next. Pretty soon he was waiting when the first subcontractor arrived in the morning, and at the end of the day he'd be forlornly watching as the last person drove away. Everyone fell in love with him; the builder would bring doggy biscuits for him, one subcontractor almost took him home, and of course he and Joshua became best friends. And we still didn't know where he came from or even his name! - my builder called him "Shep", and I (for lack of anything else) called him "Buddy" (as in "hey buddy, who the heck are you?"). Finally, a neighbor told me he belonged to a house up the street, and his name was - Buddy! His owners had been given the dog by their grown children to be a "Buddy" for their OTHER dog, but neither the other dog nor the woman of the household accepted him. As a result, Buddy was not allowed inside but was left outside unconfined. Maybe they thought the little puppy was living a life of freedom, but it turns out that's not what Buddy wanted - he really just wanted someone to be around. I moved into my house in spring 2005, and when Buddy realized Joshua and I were living there, he became pretty much a full-time fixture. I had made an unsuccessful effort (using my neighbor as a go-between) to buy him, but I took unofficial ownership of him anyway. I didn't have much choice, since Joshua would go crazy with Buddy sitting outside the front door all day long, looking in the windows. After all, Buddy had had the run of the house since he was a little puppy. Soon he was pretty much living here full-time and spending the nights. Finally one day that summer, his owner contacted me. He wasn't happy that I'd practically kidnapped his dog, which was ironic - normally it would have been the person in MY shoes complaining, since they were the ones who left the dog loose all day. Anyway the good news was, he agreed that it made more sense for Buddy to change owners, and I was finally able to officially purchase him. Which was an enormous relief - by then I was completely in love with him and was feeling considerable stress over the entire situation, worrying that I would lose him and never see him again. Buddy is a true companion dog. When I'm working on my PC all morning, he can be counted on to show up every 30 minutes and rest his chin on my knees, looking up at me through raised eyebrows to say "you're working too hard. You need to pet a dog". He loves and needs attention and will flop over for a tummy rub at every opportunity. He's just a very loving dog. Right now as I've been writing this, he's lying patiently on the floor beside me for company. Buddy has another talent that occasionally surfaces - he has an absolutely beautiful howl. This afternoon they were testing the weather sirens (it's now early spring in Nebraska). Buddy decided he needed to accompany them, and so he sticks his nose straight up and lets out with this long-drawn-out full-volume and incredibly pure toned oooWOOOOOOO... I swear one howl went on for at least 8 full seconds. He finishes with a little high-pitched "yip" for a flourish: ooooooWOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo...YIP! All without taking a breath. It's simply amazing to listen to. I don't have a lot of pictures of Buddy yet, page down for a link to the ones I do have.
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is my beautiful
