My First True Love-At-First-Sight

Over the next few days, I'll tell you some of my background, so you'll hopefully better understand the life that led me to this blog.  

There were milestones, of course.  Learning to walk, ride a bike, drive a car (actually an old truck in a hay field, but that's another story), ride a horse, skate, etc. 

There were boys.  That first hand-holding situation.  First kiss. First "real" hug, etc. 

Marriage, children, college, grandchildren, etc.

But, perhaps, the oddest of my milestones happened on August 27, 2005, when I experienced the very first true "love-at-first-sight" experience of my life.

He was a Texas Heeler, half Australian Cattle Dog / half Australian Shepherd.

I named him Buster.

Here is the day we first met at the Frances R. Willis SPCA in Summerville, SC.

Look how he loves me! He was about six months old in this photo above and the photo below too.

Buster grew quickly.  Then suddenly one day we both realized that Buster had become "large and in charge." This is when all the dog training courses began.  What an adventure!  

Buster was so bad at his first training class that the instructor separated us from the group so Buster could not see the others, but Buster continued to bark maniacally.  

Buster did a LOT of things maniacally when he was very young...okay...for pretty much his whole life.  -sigh- 

After the class was over the instructor told me that our goal for Buster would be for him to be able to join the class without being disruptive. 

Over the years, Buster went from that disruptive unmanageable dog to this:

Yes. That IS a Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) Certificate!!  He finally passed and it only took five years of training!  (Yikes!)

Buster taught me to never give up.  

Buster eventually became a very well-trained and registered therapy dog.  We visited Heartland of West Ashley, a nursing home and rehab center in Charleston, SC, weekly from 2006 until the week before Buster's sudden death in 2013.  

Buster made a LOT of people happy there.

Buster is most likely still watching over those folks from heaven.  He loved them all, but the lady pictured above was one of his very favorites.  She loved to feed him treats!

Buster

February 27, 2005 - December 3, 2013. 

Buster died of a malignant tumor on his spleen that spread to his liver.  His spleen burst the afternoon of December 3, 2013.  It was a Tuesday.  I rushed him to the vet when I got home from work and found him collapsed. The vet did x-rays and other tests and found the problem, but it was too late.  There was nothing they could do. 

Buster had just been to the vet the Friday prior to this for an eye infection. The vet examined him then, but found nothing else amiss. We thought he'd be fine.  


I firmly believe that all things happen as they should, but losing Buster was a bitter pill to swallow. It truly was love at first sight, but, more importantly, it was also love at EVERY sight. 

If you are interested in seeing photos from Buster's training classes, click here.

Did I mention that Buster was "ball crazy?"

 

He loved playing fetch, but he REALLY LOVED his herding ball.  Buster was a herding maniac! Don't believe me?  Watch the video below.  

Buster really really really needed a herd of cows.  My good (but LOUD) boy.