Pups of the Week: Buddy Boy and Luca

Buddy Boy Smith

Occasionally there is the perfect match between dog and parent. Buddy Boy Smith and his mom were the perfect combination of unconditional love and devotion.

I keep tabs on my human friends via Facebook.  His mom posted frequently.  Her favorite subject was how her big Rotti/Lab Buddy Boy.  We could tell by her sweet words, and the legion of pictures she posted, her love for Buddy Boy.  When we looked in Buddy’s deep brown eyes, we saw the love for his mom in her brown eyes.

But we worried too.  Newfoundlands are not known for their long lives, and Buddy was getting older.  We dreaded the inevitable post that Buddy was showing signs of slowing down.

We first saw one in the fall.  We prayed hard; we sent Buddy strength, but that heartbeat rule that I have written about habitually worked against Buddy.  On Christmas day Buddy came to Rainbow Bridge, under heavy clouds of his mom’s, and their friend’s tears.

Buddy did not arrive quietly.  Even the hardiest Yorkie cannot contain a distraught Newfoundland determined to run back to his mom.  It was one of the hardest crossings we have endured.  It took all of Buddy’s friends to understand he could not go back to his beloved mom’s side. Finally, Buddy laid down in a puddle of her tears licking them.

I sat next to him.  A Yorkie does not desert a friend in need.  He finally arose, and nodded, accepting his fate,   Scooby had designed beautiful wings for him.  Ladybug made sure they fit perfectly.  Smoochy taught him how to fly to the moon and back.  Tommy Tunes took him on a varmint hunt.  

It is winter in Northeastern Canada so it will be several months before Buddy can visit his mom as a butterfly or other pretty flying creature, but Leo taught him how to fly into the sun, and become a ghost so that he can sit with his mom.  He is working on his energy.  It takes a lot of physical exertion to ghost.  But he is becoming stronger.

And he learned how to visit his mom in her dreams, which helps him with missing her, but since dreams are often wiped away by the morning light, they are not helping his mom.

Buddy Boy is getting settled.  He is beyond the need for prayers.  But we think his mom is going to need plenty to get through the heartbreak of losing her soul mate.  Everyone gets a lot of new prayers on New Year’s Day.  If you can, send some Buddy Boy’s mom’s way.

Luca

It was a busy week at Rainbow Bridge.  First Buddy Boy arrived and then Luca.  I was shocked to see my beautiful friend from Argentina coming up Enzo’s escalator.  He had not been sick, there had been no prayers for him, but he too ran out of heartbeats with little notice.

When I began the Tanner Brigade site, Luca was right with me from day one.  He was the one who suggested that we have a birthday group and parties, and started other groups as well.  He was a constant presence in our lives.  We loved him like a brother.

There are freedoms that we dogs have come to take for granted:  The freedom of a good house, of food, of loving parents.  And there is the Freedom to Bark.  But some countries don’t share these freedoms, and Luca’s beloved Argentina became one of those countries.

For years after that, we rarely heard from Luca.  Anything that was written could be read by someone in the government, and that could lead to trouble for Luca’s parents.   Eventually, as is always true with human governments, those restrictions were lifted, and Luca could communicate more openly with us, although he no longer had the Freedom to Bark that we had.  I can not foretell if having our freedom to bark restricted is in our past, or in our future, but Luca taught me never to take it for granted.

He too arrived under clouds of tears. Frankly, it is sadder when a dog arrives with no tears.  Luca realized his fate and was greeted by hundreds of old friends.  Clint built a fire and Luca’s friends gathered around.  He told them story after story, and soon everyone was howling with laughter.    He grinned ear to ear, his Freedom to Bark had returned.

He learned how to ghost, and was back by his mom’s side, and even though a New Year is upon us, it is summer in Argentina, and there are lots of pretty flying creatures to slip into and visit his mom and his brother Junior.

I was hoping that, having two friends arrive so close together, would mean that I would not would not see any soon.  But after Luca’s campfire had been extinguished I turned and saw another friend crossing the Bridge.