Toddy Pond Summer - Buddy

(Previous Posts)

 BUDDY

First of all, I have to explain that every few years my father has this irrisistable urge to visit an animal shelter and bring home a dog. He especially like German Shepherds. Why he got one while we were in the middle of a move, cramped in a borrowed cabin, I don't know - but Buddy was the best dog we ever had.

Buddy wasn't a tiny puppy, but he wasn't full grown either. He still had the bouncy playful characteristics of a young pup. I don't remember him chewing things, but he probably did - as puppies do. He would cock his head when you talked to him, but he didn't bark. He whined sometimes if he wanted something, but he never barked - but once - but I'll get to that.

That dog LOVED the water. He was wet all the time. If we were swimming, he was with us. He liked to climb on top of our inner tubes while we floated around. He especially like rides in the rowboat. Every day,rain or shine, he'd beg for a ride in the boat. His favorite spot was at the prow of the boat. He looked like a hood ornament with all four paws perched on the little triangle of wood and staring down at the water.

 My brother Phillip was the one who usually took him out. Phillip liked to get going really fast and then stop the boat quickly, causing Buddy to fall forward SPLASH into the lake. Of course, Phillip would pull him back in the boat, and Buddy would take his place in the front again.

My mother often worked the night shift as a nurse in the Ellsworth hospital. One evening, when my father took her to work, some bigger boys came to the cabin next door. Usually, no one was there - except for an occasional afternoon picnic or swim. These guys were having a wild party with loud music and hollering and we assumed alchoholic drinks.

Since we rarely had neighbors at night, we hadn't bothered to close the curtains, so the boys knew we were there - perhaps they had seen my parents leave. Anyway, they came over and began calling for us girls (Debbie and myself) to join their party. We locked the doors and covered the windows, but they didn't give up. They circled the house knocking on the windows and hollering.

We were scared. Buddy was scared, too. His fur was standing up on his back, and he was whining. Debbie said to him, "Bark, Buddy. Woof! Woof!" He cocked his head, and at first, he gave just a muffled snort, but soon he was barking. He barked and barked and barked until those boys left. He never barked after that day either.

Sadly . . . (This is getting ahead of the story, but I might as well put it in here) . . . when we returned to Canaan for our furniture at the end of the summer, Buddy was hit by a car and died. It was a very sad day for our family. He was a special dog and had a big part in helping us through a transitional part of our lives.

*sniff, sniff"

(Come back next week, for more of our summer adventures.)