When we moved to Guam in the year 2000, we had to give away our cat, Kramer, because we weren't willing to pay the $1400 quarantine fee. The kids were sad and so we got them fish as soon as we moved into our new home. But within a couple months, we knew that fish weren't really the same as a dog or cat. So, I persuaded Mario to go to the local animal shelter (on the way to the mall) just to look. We saw Buzz and immediately I fell in love with him. He was just a puppy and so darn cute. So we asked the workers if we could take him for a walk. I begged Mario to let us adopt him and he resisted. I told the workers we were on our way to the mall and we'd think about it. We put Buzz back in his cage and when we walked away, Buzz started barking for us to come back. It broke my heart. Somehow, while at the mall, I convinced Mario to go back and get Buzz. When we went back the worker told us another family had come to adopt him but the workers lied and told the family that he was already taken. So we were able to take him home. The worker also gave us the name of the family that just dropped him off that day or the day before. So Mario called them and they offered all his food and belongings which Mario gladly accepted.
Some favorite memories of Buzz (who is named after Buzz Lightyear by Eric):
Eric just turned 3 that month when we brought Buzz home. He and Buzz fought like they were brothers. It was the funniest thing. But Erin, who turned 1 that month, could do anything to Buzz and he would just lay there and take it. At first Erin was scared of him and she'd just climb up on the couch to avoid him. Mario was a little worried and thought that she would never learn to walk really well if she spent all her time on the couch. Erin didn't learn to talk until almost 2, but she did try to say "Buzz."
When we got Buzz, the animal shelter told us that he was 17 pounds and that he'd probably only grow to be about 24 pounds. We quickly found out that wasn't true when we took him to the vet. The vet said, have you looked at his paws. They were way to big for 24 pounds. I think he maintained about 48 pounds for most of his life. The cool thing was, both Erin and Buzz weighed exactly 17 pounds when we got him.
Erin got her first Barbie doll either right before or right after Buzz. She left it on the floor in the living room and Buzz chewed it up. She and Eric learned very quickly not to leave anything out. Speaking of chewing everything...When you move to Guam, the military provides you with furniture the first few months while you wait for your furniture to arrive. It's usually junky stuff, but this time, they brought us a brand new table with new chairs. Buzz chewed all over the base of the table. I thought for sure they were going to hand us a huge bill but they never said a word about it. By the time our furniture arrived, he was out of the chewing furniture and toy phase. But any dog toy we bought him was torn up within minutes. We stopped buying them.
I remember taking the kids out for Halloween just a couple months after getting Buzz. He loved all the kids and so he was so excited to be out on a walk with us while trick-or-treating. We had to quickly put him back in the house, he was way to excited.
I remember our neighbor kids in Guam who didn't have dogs. They were scared to death of Buzz. He was the sweetest dog but you'd never know it by the reaction of the neighbor kids. Mario knew then that it was good we had a dog so our kids would never act like that around dogs.
I remember going to Florida for a month about 6 months after getting Buzz. When I came back the neighbors told me how Buzz and Mario would sit out at the park behind our house for hours and how Mario looked so sad. I'm glad he at least had Buzz.
9/11 happened while living in Guam. Mario had to work around the clock and I remember being scared to go outside at night to take Buzz potty. We had heard so much about Bin Laden targeting Guam that I was convinced there were terrorists waiting outside my door. Not really, but maybe a little. That's the only time I was scared with Buzz. Most of the years, I found great comfort in having a watchdog. If I woke in the middle of the night and heard a noise, I would just go back to sleep because I knew the house was safe if Buzz wasn't barking. He has been a great comfort to me over the years.
Buzz was the only one in the family to go through typhoons in Guam. We left him for a month with friends while we vacationed in Florida. Then they shipped him to Hawaii where we met him. While in Guam, two typhoons hit that month.
I think it was in Hawaii, we sent Buzz to obedience school fulltime for a week while we went on vacation. Up until then we used the Gentle Leader collar to keep him from pulling our shoulders out while we walked him. We tried for a few days to keep up with the obedience training but eventually we just resorted to using the Gentle Leader for pretty much the rest of his life. It really has been only in the past year that Buzz hasn't pulled us while walking. Lately, it was more us pulling him along. That was really sad.
Buzz was my running partner. I learned to run in Guam and he ran many miles with me in Guam, Hawaii, and then Illiniois. I remember that Buzz was scared to death of anything like grates or manholes. He would avoid them at all costs while running, sometimes almost knocking me over in the process. I always ran the same route in Hawaii. The last part of it was a hill right before you turned into our townhome. One day I was feeling especially great and I decided to keep running and so I just ran past the driveway. Buzz wasn't happy and he tried really hard to turn. I still laugh when I think about that run. Buzz's running days ended in Illinois when he injured his leg. As long as he didn't run he was ok. But if he tried running, he'd limp for the next few days.
I remember when the twins started eating in chairs on the floor. That must have been the happiest times for Buzz. He was well fed.
I remember Buzz eating a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies, pound of thawing hamburger, loaf of homemade bread, bag of almonds, and anything else he could sneak off our counters. I remember going to church a few Sundays with a cake that I had forgotten to remove from the counter. I would sit through church and wonder if Buzz would get to the cake. He never did for some reason. We discovered that potatoes and almonds made Buzz throw up. So we had to be extra careful with eating those foods around him.
Whenever Zach was mad at us for something, he'd run and find comfort in Buzz. He'd lie down beside him and drape his arm over him. That's how I knew Zach was really upset. I think this will be the hardest on Zach. He hasn't known a life without Buzz and he's very attached to him.
I don't know if there will be another dog in our future. Mario says no and I am on the fence right now. Life would sure be a lot easier in some aspects without having to worry about a dog. We could pack up and leave for a weekend trip anytime we want. We could possibly (hopefully) move overseas next time and that always presents challenges with pets. Our landlord doesn't love dogs and we are the only exception he has made for a tenant to have a dog. So he would very much love for us to be pet-free. Mario has no regrets about adopting Buzz. He has loved him just as much as the rest of us. I think that's part of the reason he doesn't want another. He doesn't want to go through this pain of having to let another one go.
We have had so many children over our house. Almost all of them have fallen in love with Buzz. Many have asked us to let them adopt him over the years. We even had no dog lovers want to adopt him. But we were never willing to give him up. We love you Buzz. You will be missed by us all.
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| My favorite picture of Erin and Buzz |
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| Just a couple nights ago |
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