Buddy

During my hiatus from blogger, we sadly had to say Good-Bye to our beloved Buddy. Buddy was our 11 year old black lab we adopted when he was just 8 months old. I say that with a smile because he was so ornery his first day here. He immediately came in and shat on the floor in my office. Directly afterwards he found his way in the kitchen. He nosed around and was distracted by the hand towel draped over the handle on the oven door.  He quickly chomped down on it  and flung it in the air as if it didn't belong. LOL He made himself at home, and brought us enjoyment for years!

Anyway, back to my story. It was Easter Sunday. We took a trip with the dogs to visit Steve's dad, who lived in Pennsylvania. As soon as we arrived, Buddy and Lady were greeted with a large bowl of water. Being the typical lab and alpha dog, Buddy didn't hesitate. He drank until it was all most empty. The thought of leaving any for Lady would have never crossed his mind.  After Lady drank her water, they  began to run and release hours of pinned up energy.  Soon after we went inside, I noticed Buddy seemed out of sorts. He began to bump in to the walls, he was dry heaving, and tinkled on the floor. We immediately took him to an emergency vet clinic. After X-rays were taken, they informed us he had developed bloat. For those that don't know, bloat is when the belly flips and kinks the intestines. They said the surgery would cost $3,000 and he could not leave for a couple weeks.  Well, as difficult as the decision was, we only had the option to let Buddy go. Buddy was 11 years old, we were four hours from home, the surgery and stay would cost thousands of dollars, and lastly  the chances of him surviving the surgery were slim.The four hour trip home was long and quiet. Our border Collie Lady didn't seem to notice Buddy's absence until the next day. She moped around for days. Here is Buddy and Lady fighting over a ball. :)