We adopted Buddy in 2000 from Animal Friends soon after buying our home. My husband and I were already a three cat family, but wanted a dog as well once we had the yard and home for him to run and play.
We fell in love with big Buddy boy the moment we saw him. He was about 2 years old and had been in several homes already. He had a “Marmaduke” look to him that just made you love all 65 pounds of him! I loved the fact that he was an older dog that was already house-trained, but was concerned about whether or not he would get along with the cats. After speaking to an adoption counselor we were told we could take Buddy home, but we wanted to wait until the following day. We had to go home and talk to the cats about it so they would be prepared, you know! Plus, we wanted to have a bed, bowls and leash ready for our new family member when he came in the door.
We returned to Animal Friends to adopt him the next morning and Buddy was introduced to our three cats on his leash at home. Although the cats weren’t so sure about him at first they warmed up quickly. One of our cats rubbed against him and he just sniffed at her and let her be. It was going to work!! He was a big boy with a kind heart – always wanting to please you. He must have been smacked on the nose as a puppy because his sense of smell was never very good and he only came down into the basement with us a few times over the years, so he must have had a bad experience with being in a basement in his young years, but he was a good boy!
Buddy lived a great life in our house. Always rolling with the changes – we’ve added three children into our home through the years. It’s true that when our first child came home from the hospital it was tough for him even though my husband had brought home a blanket from the baby for Buddy to check out. He adjusted and our daughter even crawled for the first time… towards Buddy (not us). Buddy was gentle with the kids even though he towered over them for the first 2-3 years of their lives! When Buddy was three, we fostered an American Pit Bull Terrior, Medea, in our home that was found wondering the streets in Oakland and Buddy got along with her wonderfully! Medea was under a year old and was fabulous with the cats and kept Buddy in the best shape he was ever in with all their playing! Once Medea was spayed and back up to a healthy weight we found her a home and Buddy once again adjusted to being an only dog.