Buddy

After years of saying no to my family, I caved in and now we have a dog. Well, it wasn't exactly caving in, as I was the one who initiated it. Every one who knows me is in shock! Can I tell you the whole story? A few years ago I read about seizure dogs, and decided that that would be a good reason to get a dog. It also had to meet my long list of criteria. Trained, well behaved, not jumping on people, quiet, no shedding, small but tough, maybe a few other things. Recently I read an article in the local newspaper about a man who trains fox terriers for children with certain kinds of special needs for free. I gave him a call, and he brought Buddy over the next day. He seemed to target in on Mason quite quickly. So now we have a dog! This is a very special thing for someone to put all that work and cost into training a dog, to give it away to someone else's child!




Although we could see there was an initial attraction between the boy and the dog, right now Buddy is a little scared of Mason at times. That is because Mason does not behave as a typical child, petting and playing with animals. There will be some work involved in training Mason how to play with Buddy, but I think it is very possible. Especially as the girls get older and more involved with their sports and friends. There are those kinds of things that Mason will not be likely to do much, especially in the next number of years.

Buddy is a great dog. He is very social, will jump straight up in the air, but not onto people, unless by mistake if he is too excited. He loves going for car rides, he went along to Childrens Hospital last week and did great!! He also has Service Animal papers, so we just need to get a vest to that effect and we can take him anywhere. Mason can be kinda rough on Buddy, but really likes him. He does shed a little, but i can deal with that.

SOme of the goals for the future of Buddy with Mason, first off to be companions, guarding Mason from danger, or running off. It would really be great if Buddy would recognize the onset of a seizure, as some dogs are capable of doing.

I look forward to telling you more stories of a boy and his dog!