Buster's Story
by Lisa
We are the proud parents of a five year old Cairn, Spunky. He is our first Cairn, and what a delight -- although there have been moments of various shades of delight. After seeing several friends that were "multiple dog families", we began to think that Spunky must be lonely. Well, after all, who would want to be the only human in an entire world of dogs? (Although, some days, it does sound quite attractive!)
We began to seek out a friend for Spunky. I went to the Petfinders page. I typed in Cairn. This certain dog kept coming up with almost every search. Day after day I went in, just browsing. And every day that I browsed, there was this dog, Buster: twelve years old, one eye missing, one eye bad. Compared to those cutsey little puppies, all fluff and wiggles, well, he really looked a bit rough, but the more I read about him, the more I thought about him. As more time went by, the more often I thought about him. I contacted the Rescue and Katie was so nice! Everyone that I encountered was so friendly. Buster had been rescued on the very day that he was scheduled to be put to sleep! A severe thunder shower had caused a delay in the shelter's operations, one thing led to another, postponing Buster's meeting with death.
Well, this was just too much. My heart ached for this little rag-a-muffin with the face of love. I scheduled an appointment for Katie to bring Buster for a visit. No small job, as she had to drive about 5 hours to do this: what dedication! Then I told my husband, "I found a dog on the internet." It really sounded much worse than it was. Paul groaned. "But," I whined, "he is homeless, and nearly blind, and just so loveable looking." He knew he couldn't argue: it was useless just from my tone of voice. "Well," he asked hesitantly, "how old is this dog?" That was the major obstacle. Paul was really skeptical about bringing an old, blind dog into the house, that is, until he met Buster.
Buster came to visit and Katie cried. He spent so much time in the outside pen smelling all the new country smells; he wagged and wagged and wagged his tail until I thought his tail would wag right off! You could almost hear him thinking to himself: "Oh, I smell a horse, oh, and what is that? A donkey! And sheep! I smell sheep, and lots of them! Oh boy, oh boy, I am gonna like it here!"
Katie had a really hard time letting go of Buster, and rightfully so. Anyone that has met this little guy is just amazed at his attitude. The poor little fellow had been through an awful lot: being given up by people that just didn't care where he was, almost being put to sleep, having lost one eye to a tumor, and his remaining eye was infected and most likely, painful. However, this little guy just kept on wagging that tail! It is like his whole attitude in life is "Hey, I am alive! I am out and about and my tail can wag. Life is GOOD!" Not to mention, he is a wicked snuggler. Take him in your arms, and it is instant love.
Well, Katie left Buster with us on a trial basis. Needless to say, the trial went very well. He and Spunky are not the close bossom-buddies that I had expected, but they get along very well, their boundries are well established, and I think Spunky is very happy to have a companion.
In September, surgery was performed on Buster to remove his eye. This was a really tough decision to make, but it came to the point that there was just no other option. Since his recovery, Buster has shown much more energy and has become very playful. Buster has become such a special part of our lives. In his own unique way, he taught me alot about life: number one, slow down. Life is short. There is no way that you can hurry a blind dog when he is outside enjoying the smells. So, adjust. Thank you, Buster.
And thank you to Katie, Danielle, and everyone in the Rescue. May no one out there ever hesitate to adopt an older dog: special needs or not. If they pull your heart strings, there is a reason for it. There is a lesson that dog needs to teach you. Let it happen.