My buddy, my pal is now already 12 years old. I look at his white muzzle and I fear the moment when we will have to say Goodbye. I remember the day when I saw him for the first time. He was sitting in a kennel at an adoption event and he was looking at me, with sad brown eyes. It was love at first sight. 

He was an 8-month old black Labrador-mix and the lady said he had been found at an abandoned house, left behind like an empty milk carton. Human trash. We filled out the adoption papers and one week later we picked him up.

In the car I looked at the vaccination tags and all the paperwork and I froze when I read Pit Bull Mix. I didn’t want a Pit Bull in the house, I feared that breed. We already had another dog…what would happen? Would there be dog fights? Aren’t they all aggressive?

The first days were a total disaster, the dog didn’t know how to behave in a home, he was super hyper and had accidents all over the place. He drove me crazy. He was so full of energy, I feared it was too much for us. I couldn’t handle him, didn’t even want to try anymore. I run with him, walked him and the dogs played for hours and he still didn’t settle down. Pit Bull! No, that wasn’t what we wanted, that was more than we had bargained for.

One particular night is stuck in my mind. My husband had to get up early the next day, but we couldn’t fall asleep, the dog kept us awake, he was hauling and barking in the kennel. I went downstairs and let him out, decided to sleep on the couch. It was a rough night, the dog didn’t settle down and I felt worn out and frustrated. In the morning hours my mind was made up, this dog had to go. I was trying to hold onto his collar, tried to make him lay down on the floor, he jumped up again and that’s when I said it, “I hate you.”

I couldn’t believe what I had just said. I had said it without thinking. I had used a word that I normally don’t use… HATE . That’s strong emotion, an emotion that I don’t believe in.

I woke up when it was bright daylight outside. I had finally fallen asleep on our couch and had slept so much longer than I wanted to. The house was quiet, I didn’t hear a sound and I wondered if we all had overslept. That’s when I noticed the dog, he was curled up at my feet…sleeping silently; he looked happy.

My husband had left a note in the kitchen, he didn’t want to wake us, when he saw us sleeping like best buddies. That day an amazing friendship started. Over time he learned to be a good dog and I learned to be a good leader -we are the perfect team.

The dog sleeps with me every night. I pet him and tell him I love him, sometime I whisper, “I am sorry I said I hated you,” and he looks at me with understanding, then he curls up on his pillow and watches over me. He is wherever I am, never more than just a few steps away.

He is my buddy, my pal and I hope we will have many more years left.

Last year we decided to adopt a new rescue puppy, because both of our dogs are older now. Guess what breed we looked for? You guessed right. We were particularly looking for another Pit Bull mix, because now we love what we hated and feared at first.

Buddy