Thinking Back

On the January 4, 2015 edition of this paper, this reporter wrote a poem entitled “Ode to Buddy,” our neighbor’s dog who spent a great deal of time with Hubby and me when their household was working or on vacation.  I’d like to remember Buddy again with those thoughts.  Since Buddy has gone to “dog heaven,” a little piece of all of our hearts went with him.  

Twas two days before Christmas

And what did we hear

But our neighbor’s dog, Buddy

Quite loud and quite clear!

He was up on the porch bench

With his sweet face peering in

Giving a small whimper

To join his next of kin!

We rushed to the front door

As quick as a flash

Opening for our dear Buddy

To pass us with a dash!

We do admit that the night was chilly

And that he was being unusually bold

But with that sweet longing look

Of course, we got him out of the cold.

Now, you’ve got to know Buddy

Part Shih-Tzu and part Beagle

He was the sweetest dog ever, and

For us to steal him would be highly illegal.

Buddy was quite the protector

Of his real family and us,

But we adored his visits

Because, over us, he made such a fuss!

He spoke quite loudly for a bit of food

We even changed labels to get rid of an itch.

No more generic food for him

Fish and potato labels, yes, that was the switch.

We didn’t own a dog, you see…

We were happy we had Buddy to share

With the dear folks who owned him

Cause we were just helping with boarding and care.

At our home, he had his own food, dish and bed

We wouldn’t have had it any other way.

A dog with two homes was certainly great

He knew that he always had a place to stay!

During my life I have enjoyed many dogs and cried over their deaths.  I still remember a lot of their names: Hobo, Bullet, Lady, and Brandy but there will never be another Buddy!