Bud's story; How I got adopted...again
In 2016 my youngest niece called and asked if I would watch a dog for her while they went to the lake for the holiday weekend. When they brought the dog I was surprised - it was big, it was red, it was MALE! And he was confused and scared but oh so sweet. Come to find out he was found as a stray after the July 4th fireworks and ended up with my niece and her abusive hubby. Hubby had declared the dog had to go so I was asked to help find him a new home. (Now dog and hubby are gone and niece is very happy with her own Goldendoodle, May Mobley.)
I talked to quite a few folk about him who were interested in taking him but they weren't what I was looking for so I passed on them. The dog had been with us for several weeks when I finally met a young man who seemed to be what this dog needed so I let him come pick the dog up for the weekend one Friday evening. Bright and early Sun he called and told me was going to have to bring the dog back...it simply was not going to work. WHAT? WHY? This is the sweetest dog I have seen in ages and ages. If you even acted as if you might think about touching him, he just melted into the floor with his belly exposed and tail gently swishing. The fellow told me the dog would not eat or drink...he just lay at the front door and cried. So he brought the dog back and I realized I had been adopted once again by this big, red, healthy, male dog who became Bud...as in my buddy, my pal, my friend.
Folk kept telling me to stop trying to find Bud a home, that he was mine, that he had been sent to me specifically, that we were meant to be. I told them all they were crazy. Plus I simply don't do big, healthy, male dogs...I am the tiny, female, special needs/hospice dog lady. Well, they were right and I was wrong. Bud was mine from the very beginning. He knew that but it took me a while to catch up. I should have taken the hint when he climbed his 50 lb butt up onto my lap the very first time he met me.
He has been a complete joy to have ever since. I have NEVER had so much dog hair in my house. Between Bud and Soph it's a battle I simply cannot win. So I have started telling people who eat my cooking to consider any dog hair that may be (probably is) present as insoluble fiber. LOL Bud is very smart and gorgeous. I haven't had him tested but in my mind he is part Golden Retriever, part Carolina Dog, and part wet noodle.He just KNOWS the day is coming when he will catch one of the many hawks that fly around here all the time and that one day he will be able to climb a tree to get that pesky squirrel but meantime bees and wasps will do (which thankfully he has yet to catch!) when there are no wood rats or possums around.
Bud has been very healthy for the most part. He is treated for dry eye but that was it until recently. Last year Bud was diagnosed with Diabetes Insipidus...only the second case of DI our beloved Doc B has seen in his 40 years of practice. Bud has always been weird about his water and has always peed buckets frequently. I had him tested right off just sure he had either Cushing's, thyroid issues or Diabetes Mellitus but the labs always came back fine. USG a little low from time to time but nothing conclusive. So we just put it down to Bud being Bud...until it started being a 24 hour thing. Bud would down 2 quarts of water in one go then spend the next 2 hours needing out every 15-20 minutes to pee and pee and pee. His urine was never yellow any more. He also became withdrawn, wasn't interested in much of anything (and this dog LOVES his toys and walks!), his beautiful shiny coat became dull and brittle, and the drinking/peeing was alarming. So we went to see Doc and he was diagnosed with DI. He takes Desmopressin tablets because the eye drops won't work with his eye disease and so far we are doing well. Doc and I sort of collaborate on the dosing because as time has passed, Bud's dose has had to be adjusted both in mg/day and the timing of the dosing. At first it was 1/2/ tab AM, then 3/4 tab AM, then 3/4 AM and 1/4 PM, and now 3/4 AM and 1/2 PM. I have a refractor at home so I can test his specific gravity and tell if the dose is working or not. Actually it is pretty easy to tell simply by looking at the color of the urine...yellow = working; clear = consider increase. And as a result of the Cyclosporine eye drops, which are a very strong immunosuppressant, Bud has develop some skin issues (a fungus is among us) that cause him to itch, lose hair, and get raw sores. It was pretty bad this last summer but we finally got that cleared up with meds and diet changes. He is starting to get some areas of concern again but hopefully the same meds will keep working.
I still dogsit and most of my visitors just LOVE Bud. The teeny tiny ones will follow him around and mimic his behaviors and he is so so gentle with them all. He seems to know the ones he can play with and the ones he needs to simply walk or lay with. It is so cute to see him and one of the little ones staring out the fence slats watching the neighborhood. Paw patrol indeed!
So that's a bit about my baby boy, Bud. When I get time I'll try to add some pics of him to my profile.
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