Name: Bud
Owned by: Cliff Archer

My daughters had always wanted a dog but as my wife and I both work fulltime and the girls went to “aftercare” daily from school, there was no way we could leave a dog home alone all day. But, once the girls started high school in 2005, they could come home at lunch and by 3pm, so it became more feasible. We all agreed that a puppy was not an option as there were plenty of older shelter dogs available, so we went to the North Shore Animal League who had just gotten a large influx of dogs up from the south from the Katrina mess.

“Buddy-Boy” as he was first named by them had been found tied to a fence in a flooded area, pretty much sitting in water. He arrived at North Shore sickly and scared but by the time he was put up for adoption, all he had was a mild case of kennel-cough. He was the last dog in the last pen in the corner of the viewing area and you’d have never known he was there as he was mild mannered and quiet, which was just what we were looking for. North Shore said they figured he was about six months old and a mix of lab and chow, given that he has a mostly lab body with a chows ears. His most striking feature is his tongue, which is a pinkish purple with black spots!

We took him home and he was as good as gold—house-trained, non-destructive, and he got along well with the cat who viewed him then and now as a minor annoyance-they actually play sometimes and it’s pretty comical. “Bud” or “Bud-Bud”, as we call him now, has a phobia about leashes, something a trainer told us was likely a result of being tied up and abandoned. He simply will not walk on a lead but he’ll “free-walk” for short distances before retreating back to the safety of the house or car. Thunderstorms also bother him, obviously a result from his Katrina experience. But he loves the car and will happily bound into it whether we’re off to the Cedar Creek where he’s a regular at the dog run, or just off to the market for milk.

He is my ever-faithful sidekick now and I never go anywhere without him. His head hangs out the window, his funny-looking tongue flapping in the breeze to the delight of motorists, especially children, in cars next to us. You could not have a better dog; friendly, playful and a constant companion. He is truly a “best friend”.

Clifford Archer, proud owner of Bud