Goodbye Buddy

This past week, my family said goodbye to our precious little pup of over 14 years, Buddy. He was the sweetest, most friendly and kind dog I've ever known.

I still vividly remember moments from the day I met Buddy. I had been away for a week with our church youth group on a work project trip. It was the summer between my 7th and 8th grade year and our bus pulled into the parking lot where our families were waiting for us. When I spotted my little brother he was holding a puppy in his arms! What a fun surprise :) I remember holding Buddy in my hand on the car ride home. He was so soft and sweet. And over the last 14 years he became an important and real part of our family.

Buddy loved to go outside. He loved to walk and to see people as we went along, to sniff the ground and feel the fresh air. We always said he would "prance" on his walks because he had such an enthusiastic spring in his step. Even the very last walk I ever went on with Buddy, Christmas Day, he still had the same prance as we walked.

In his younger years when we would open the front door too wide, he would run out of the house. Not because he wanted to run away, but because he loved it when we would chase him. We used to say he could run "faster than fast" as he whipped around the yard in circles. He was full of life and excitement.

He had a special fondness for my Pops. Buddy would snuggle his head up on Pop's lap and try to drown him with kisses. I can still hear my Papa's voice, "no licking!" as he tried to guard himself from Buddy's wet tongue.

Even though Buddy lived with my parents and hasn't been a part of my daily life for a few years now, I still couldn't believe how hard it was to see him go. I will miss that old dog so much. He brought so much happiness, so many smiles and so much life and love to our family.