Mr. Buddy Rose the Pit Bull Part XIII

(Parts I through XII of Mr. Buddy Rose's story are posted below. If you would like to read them in chronological order, please scroll down.)

Wednesday, September 1, 2010
May 22, 2010 was the day we acquired a filthy flea, tick and parasite infested Pit Bull who could not walk. Since I started writing Buddy's story, I have known this story could only go one of two ways and that one day I would have to write one of those two entries. One of these two would have been a worst case scenario for Buddy, which hopefully will be many, many years down the road. The second, although nowhere near as heartbreaking, makes tears roll down my face. Hopefully, by this point in his story, you know how much I love Mr. Buddy Rose.

I don't know who said it originally, but Cesar Milan is who I will quote, "Sometimes we don't get the dog we want, we get the dog we need." I need Buddy as much he needs me and when he was crawling, he needed me as much as I needed him. It's hard for me to believe it has only been 100 days. I feel like I have known Buddy forever.

Yesterday, Mr. Rose had his last medical procedure. He will no longer be able to father any litters of pups. He had an uncomforable night, but is resting much better today. He has to take it easy for a week or so. The hardest part may be when he recovers a little more and realizes he can not play in his pool or walk to the park for a few more days. He's never been one to show pain, and except for sleeping, I am not sure you would know there was anything going on with him right now. He's a tough, big-headed, handsome, tuxedo boy.

The other thing we had done during this vet visit was the DNA test for dogs. We want to know exactly what breeds make up Mr. Buddy Rose. I know we'll get remarkable results for a remarkable dog. The Colonel and I have both done a lot of research on-line, trying to figure out what breed or breeds make up Mr. Buddy Rose. With the money we have already spent, another $100 seemed well worth it to find out definitively which breeds are in him. Who knows, maybe we'll find out he is a 60 pound Boston Terrier! Our vet told us it would be a very interesting DNA test. He thought maybe Buddy was 2% Chihuahua. Chihuahua? That's a little more doubtful than the Boston Terrier. Buddy looks like a Pit Bull, maybe a Staffordshire Terrier. We should have the results back in a week or so.

As I type, he is sleeping on his pillow beside me. He and I are home alone this afternoon. (Well, except for the cat who's locked in the bedroom.) The Colonel and Mollie are visiting the Colonel's Mom and, although Buddy loves to go to that big yard, today wasn't a really good day for him to make that trip. To coin a phrase from a very wise "dog-ma" no "dippity-doo-dahs" in his kiddie pool for a while after his "snippity-doo-dah." Buddy and I needed to be alone this afternoon for me to write this.

We need to start looking for a loving, "furever" home for Mr. Buddy Rose. It absolutely has to be the right home for him, anything less is simply unacceptable. And, before any of my East Coast friends say, " I would take him, but I am too far away." Be careful what you ask for. We will deliver him to the right home, no matter where in the U.S. that home might be. Of course, it might be easier to find him a home near-by, but, the most important thing is to find him the RIGHT home. Please, we don't want anyone to take him because they are doing us a favor, he needs someone who wants him. He has a good home where he is until we find him his right forever home.

Before you ask how could you think about finding him another home? Let me tell you just how hard that is...it's heartbreaking. We love Buddy and always will, that's why we have to do the right thing for Buddy. Buddy needs a yard and at least one other large dog to play with him. Although he gets along great with Mollie the Mini-Schnauzer, he likes to play rough and tumble and Ms. Princess Mollie Pollie Siss Boom Bah really wants nothing to do with the rough and tumble stuff. Although he wants to play with her, she does little more than play tug-a-war with him. Most times, he lets Mollie win tug-a-war, then he's bored with her.

Currently, Buddy lives in our living room during the day, playing with his toys or sleeping on his pillow. We don't have a back-yard. We have a small patio with flowers bordering the edges. At night, because of the evil kitty, Buddy gets to sleep in our little bathroom. This is the only time the cat gets out to eat, relieve herself, etc., except when Buddy and I go for our twice daily walks for a little more than a mile each. Buddy doesn't get up on couches or beds, although I am sure he probably would if he were invited. I think he would be a great snuggler to sleep with, but he might be perfectly happy on his pillow right next to your bed. He doesn't like being put in the bathroom at night. He would much rather be closer to you. Right now, Buddy's favorite times are his walks and going to the Colonel's Mom's house where his kiddie pool is kept. He loves to run around that yard off-leash, play fetch and take a dip in his kiddie pool.

Some more pertinent details about Mr. Rose. Two things really motivate him. Food and cats. He hunts cats. He chases cats. Since we have had him, he has never gotten to a cat, so I don't know what he would do if he did, but I am afraid it would not end well for the cat. He and Lucky Charm have had some pretty close calls but luckily for us, we have not had a "cat"astrophe. Mr. Rose's forever home probably shouldn't have any cats.

He is great with children of all sizes, people and other dogs. He seems to want to play the most with large female dogs, but he will try to play with any dog who wants to play, big or little. He worries me with some small dogs. I am afraid he will sit on them, or lay on them, but this hasn't happened. He has never growled, or snarled at a person or a dog. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have ever heard him growl, even at our most evil cat.

Buddy is completely housebroken and needs to live in-doors. He knows how to use a pet-door if one is available. Since our pet-door leading to the patio is kind of Mini-Schnauzer sized, he doesn't use it very often, but he does go through it when he needs or wants to and no one is standing there to open the door. With no pet-door, he will need to be let out or taken out several times a day. From the day we got him, crawling to walking, he has never had an accident in our house. If things are pressing, he will let you know. If he can get to his leash, he will bring it to you.

He travels well in the car in his kennel/crate. He calms down nicely while travelling in his crate, but once the car stops, he will bark until the car moves or he is let out of the crate. We have never tried him at sleeping in his kennel, mainly because we thought he would have more room in the bathroom and the cat would likely drive him nuts in the kennel.

Yesterday, Mr. Rose weighed 60 lbs. In the time we have had him, his weight has varied from a high of 64, when he was crawling, to a low of 56 soon after we started taking long walks to the park. He has never been over-weight and at times, has looked on the skinny side but 60 seems to look pretty good on him. He is very muscular and strong. Have I mentioned he has a really big head and 19-inch neck?

Mr. Rose is no longer on any medications, except monthly Revolution, the heartworm and flea preventative. He is heartworm negative. He has had all of his vaccinations and is now an altered-male. Even after all of the tests, scans, etc., we really don't know why he did not walk. He was most likely injured, as all of the tests and scans came back negative for disease, stenosis or disc issues. Occasionally, one (could be any of his four) leg will tremble a bit when he is standing, or twitch a little when he is sleeping. His first reflex test, when he was crawling, showed NO reflex response in any of his legs. His last two reflex tests - the latest last week - he had NORMAL reflexes. I guess what I would want his new owner to know is that he didn't walk, only crawled, for at least 30 days and we never really discovered why this happened.

Although he can be pretty goofy, he's pretty smart. Since he has been walking, he has learned to sit, lay down and roll over. He is getting better at walking on a leash and once he's walked about a half-mile, he will calm down and "heel." Unless he sees a cat and then, well, all bets are off. Hold the leash tightly and hang on for the ride. Recently, I have started jogging a few blocks with him as we start our walks. This seems to calm him down a little. I have really struggled with walking him on a leash. When he's in the house, he's a very laid back dog, unless he sees the cat, or you pick up his leash and he thinks he's going outside. If he were outside more, the whole leash issue might go away completely. He understands a firm "no" and will obey.

So, here's what Buddy needs:
1. Someone to love him and take care of him forever.
2. A fenced yard with at least one other large, playful dog.
3. A home where he will be an inside dog and not left outside in the yard.
4. Someone who will send an occasional picture to us to let us know how he is doing.

One other thing we would ask of whomever gets the wonderful Mr. Buddy Rose. If something unintentional happens, we would ask that he come back to us before he went somewhere else. We are really, really hoping to find the right person, or people, to have him forever, but he means a lot to us and we would want the opportunity for him to come back to us, rather than him going somewhere else.

And, how much are we asking? Let's see, if I tally up all of the vet bills...well, you wouldn't want to know. What we are asking is for your commitment to love him unconditionally, just like he will love you, forever. So, are you the right "furever" fit for Mr. Buddy Rose? If you think you are, or know someone who might be, please let me know. We would first need to have a "meet & greet" with the other dogs in the household at a neutral location and see how things go for everybody.

Mr. Rose could be the poster child for Pit Bulls - if that really is what he is. He is sweet, loving and mostly gently - except his tail wagging can be pretty whip-like when he's happy, happy. He would be a great addition to the right "pack." Let me know...no hurry...I kind of like having him around!