Buddy’s Story
Sunday, June 11th, 2017
As told by Bailey – a dog on the beat at the Union County Humane Society
Hi, I’m Bailey. I’m a 16-month-old Great Pyrenees mix. Mommy adopted me from the Union County Humane Society in February 2016 when I was just 2 months old and already weighed 20 pounds. Boy have I’ve grown in the last year – now at 130 pounds and still growing. Mommy is on the Board at the Humane Society and volunteers her time now that she’s semi-retired. Of course, I get to go with her sometimes and get to hear all about what goes on at the shelter when she comes home. Some evenings she has tears in her eyes when she comes home because of careless humans abusing or abandoning their animals, or letting them run loose with no identification. Other times she comes home smiling and very happy because wonderful people adopt pets from the shelter, just like she adopted me and the other members of our home.
I’m going to share a story with you that Mommy told me. It’s about Buddy, an 8-year old beagle. In the middle of February, a good Samaritan brought a male beagle to the intake door after closing hours. She said he had been hit by another car on Main Street in Maynardville. The beagle was in really bad shape. He was wearing a dirty collar with “BUDDY” written on it. No other tags or identification. The shelter called the vet (the man named “Doc” with the white beard who “fixed” me before Mommy took me home), and he came right over to examine Buddy. Buddy had a broken leg and crushed shoulder—too badly damaged to heal properly. Doc operated on Buddy the following day and amputated his right front leg. No one ever called or came by the shelter looking for Buddy. Buddy then spent time in a room with a nice lady named Tammy who showered love on him every day. I remember this lady when I was an un-weened puppy when she did the same with me. Oh, how I still love Tammy and I’m always excited to see her!
Buddy grew stronger each day. He stayed in a room at the shelter where it is nice and quiet and had a big fluffy bed (the kind I like to shred). He would always tell the humans when he needed to go outside to relieve himself. Buddy even re-learned how to lift his leg to pee – something I have not even attempted yet, but Mommy says it’s ok if I never do that. Mommy bragged that Buddy followed instructions given by the humans – I guess she expects me to always obey too. Buddy was even allowed to spend time at the reception desk during the day on his big fluffy bed. He never did become fond of the colorful bird they call Tango – boy, can he make some noise! Buddy put up with Tango in exchange for the attention he got from everyone who came in.
In early April, while Mommy was at the shelter doing some maintenance when a young, nicely dressed man came into the shelter looking for a dog. Mom was surprised because he had on a long sleeve shirt and tie – a rarely seen sight at the shelter. He said he was looking for a dog that would curl up on the couch with him. Mommy’s eyes lit up and she knew just who to introduce to him…Buddy!!! So out came Buddy – the man immediately fell in love. Soon his wife arrived and they toured around the kennels then returned to the lobby. And Mommy brought Buddy out to meet the nice lady. She got tears in her eyes and said Buddy was the one. Mommy did a happy dance and got things ready for Buddy to go home. This was the right family for a beagle who had been through so much and remained a loving, obedient boy. As you can tell from the picture, Buddy has found his forever home! And I know how nice that is!
