I remember our first meeting. It was Feb. 14th, Valentines Day, 1999. Jenn wanted to get a dog and the time seemed right. We had just gotten our first apartment after college were settling in to our new lives. We had ridden by the animal shelter in Gwinnett County many times. Today we stopped in to see what dogs they might have. There were so many sweet faces we saw that day. A little poodle were liked, we took him for a walk and got to know a little. He was a good natured little guy and we thought he might be a good fit for us, but when we asked the attendant he point to a tag on the corner of the kennel that said "Hold". Someone had already come by and was coming back to pick this guy up. We browsed and saw many other great dogs for us, but there were a lot of "holds" on. We were about to leave when we passed a kennel close to the office. The dark figure in the Kennel fell against the chicken wire wall and peered up at us as we walked past. His looked seemed to say, "Hey people, look over here at me!". "What about this one?" Jenn asked the kennel attendant. There was no card on the kennel wall like all of the other stalls. "I don't know", she replied. "Let me check in the office to see if we have some info. on this one". We all went into the office as she looked through the files. After several minutes she replied that they couldn't find any information on the dog, but that we could feel free to take him if we wanted. He looked like a bird dog or setter with long hair mixed with a lab, solid black with long hair. He had tons of energy and his tail was constantly wagging. The attendant said she wasn't sure how old he was, but guessing from his teeth he must be a few years old. Jenn was in love. After filling out a few forms, we all got in the in the car and headed off to the dog groomer to get the first bath. On the way over we decided on the name "Buddy". Although it wasn't high on the originality scale it seemed to fit best with his personality the best and he was our new buddy. At the dog groomer's, which was kind of a "do it yourself" doggy bath, buddy was really hyper. He went from one side of the room to the next sniffing in every nook and cranny. He even took a moment to unceremoniously pee in the middle of the floor. None of us were to sure about each other. Here Buddy had just gone off with two strange humans and we had this hyper dog that we knew nothing about. After Buddy's first bath. We headed over to our apartment, to show Buddy his new home.

Our first few nights together were equally unsure. Buddy paced in the bedroom, breathing heavily, not sure what to make of this new place. I am not sure if he had been mistreated before arriving at the animal shelter, but we could sense that he wasn't too sure if he should trust us either. I eventually went and got the plastic kennel that we had from the pound. I had read that they might like to continue sleeping in the kennel until they are acclimated to their new surroundings. The next night as Jenn and I were reading and getting ready for bed, Buddy peered up over the edge as if to say, "what's going on up there?". I patted on the bed to invite him up, but I could see that he wasn't too sure. I patted again and he hopped up and curled up tightly in a half moon at our feet facing us, with an expression that seemed to say "I'll give this a try, but I'm keeping my eye on you two." Once we turned off the light, Buddy hopped off the bed and went back to his kennel for the night. The next night a similar situation occurred, but when we turned out the light Buddy didn't jump off. I said to Jenn, if he's comfortable let's just see how long he stays. I guess he slept about half the night at our feet before returning to his kennel. The next night he hopped onto the bed and started at our feet again, but this time he slept there through the night and when we woke up he wasn't in his tight half moon position, but had stretched out long way with his head out our knees. "I guess he's getting a little more comfortable with us", I said to Jenn. The next day Buddy followed us around the apartment and slept at our feet as we practiced and got ready for the day.

After we arrived home that night we went through a similar routine and Buddy hopped up to the end of the bed and curled up. I woke up about halfway through the night and saw that Buddy had uncurled and stretched out like the night before and was sleeping with his head at about our knee height between me and Jenn. I smiled as I turned over thinking that it was nice that he was starting to feel at home. As I was waking up the next morning I felt a body snuggled close to me. I leaned over for a good morning kiss, thinking that it was Jenn. As I opened my eyes I was shocked to see Buddy's face directly in front of mine!! He had moved up during the night and was sleeping with his head on the pillow between Jenn and I with his body stretched out between us! I lifted my head shocked and he opened his eyes and cocked his head up too. Then he open his his mouth and dangled his tongue out and pelted me with doggy breath. As he looked at me he seemed to be smiling as if to say, "Hellooo there mister, we're faaaaamily now!!!"

Buddy became part of our family and gave us so much love and joy for the next 10 years that it is impossible to put into words. I have a thousand stories about him that bring a smile to my face. His personality was one of a kind. He was always curious and playful and seemed to know just what we were thinking. He taught us so much about love and patience and made our house feel like a home.

Buddy left us suddenly last weekend, he had stayed over at my Mom's as we were finishing a mixing project and weren't at home for a few days. He had shown little signs of slowing down, but over all seemed to his chipper, happy self. Not knowing his exact age, we thought we might have a few more years together. On Friday night he passed away in the night, likely in his sleep and we buried him on Saturday afternoon. I am thankful that his passing was peaceful, but there is hole left in our family that won't be filled any time soon and we miss him desperately. We will always remember the joy that he brought us and lessons of unconditional love that Buddy taught us during our time together.

Goodbye Buddy, we love you....

-Jon and Jenn