Buddy, Me and Mr. C

For those of you who know me, you know I made the comment I would never ever own a male dog.  This came after a particularly traumatic event when Ashely, then four,  called me to the window and wanted to know what Rascal, our male Bulldog, was doing with the lawn chair pillow.  I never looked at the lawn chair the same way again.  And, vowed never to own another male dog. 

We were rocking along.  I had a wonderful experience with a female Boston Terrier, Missy.  She is still with us at 16 and still ticking.  No, she is not as fast as she once was.  Now she reminds me of Aunt Clara off of Bewitched or Helen Keller.  She runs into things and can pee at will.  The kids have tried to prepare me for the inevitable, but I don't want to go there -not yet anyway.  Then there is Buffy, a lovable, yet not so intelligent Pug.  Her claim to fame was being able to sing when Ashley or I would yell at J.R. to get up.  We also have had numerous female felines who have come in and out of our lives.  But, one day my luck came to an end. 

As empty nesters, Patrick and I had settled into our own routine.  One day he came in and told me that he was tired of being the only male in our house and he wanted another boy.  Gasp!!!!!  We are too old to be parents again." 

"No, I don't want another child I want a dog."

"Patrick we have two dogs and a cat we don't need anymore animals."

"Oh come on, what about adopting an animal."

"No!  Absolutely not."

"Well, I bought us ticket to go to the Pug Rescue event."

What?  A rescue event????  "Patrick I will go but we are not, I repeat not adopting a dog.  We can give to the cause but nothing more.  Do you understand?"  These were my famous last words.  Two weeks later we had gone through the adoption process and were being delivered our precious Buddy.  Buddy had been through numerous homes.  When Pug Hearts got him he had no hair.  And he only had slightly more when we got him.  He was gotten for Patrick, however, you know who he immediately gravitated to-  you got it me.  We were fine and then I inherited 105 pounds of insane energy and love in the form of Mr. C.  Like boy dogs,  I didn't do large dogs either.  But, here I am today my backyard is like a minefield, with my boys who I have to admit love me unconditionally.  No matter what kind of mood I am in they are there for me.  And it is through them that I am able to truly appreciate life in the moment.

Dogs are not the smartest of creatures.  Yes, they have some intelligence, but I don't think they don't have memories like you and I.  They know how to live for the moment. All they ask is that you scratch their bellies or throw a ball for them.  Nothing more.....food, water, attention and love.  That's all. So today I decided to be like Buddy and Mr. C- just live in the moment.  I made Patrick get out of bed and dressed.  He was very tired, but he had told me he wanted to eat at Topwater Grille one more time before he went into the hospital.  I loaded up the car with our camp chairs.  We ate a wonderful lunch and then we just parked and watched the gulls and pelicans, boats, and fisherman come and go.  We just soaked in the sun and truly enjoyed the moment.  Quietly we sat with the wind on our faces and the sun shining down drinking in life.  For a while nothing else mattered, we were just a normal 50 something couple enjoying the day.  It was fabulous.  And to think, I had Buddy and Mr. C with their craziness and unbridled love to thank for this moment.  Thanks guys.....We can learn a lot from our 4 legged friends if we would just take the time to observe and listen..