Buck & Lilly, his favorite little girl
During the summer of 2010, our home was being remodeled. We came home every evening excited to see the progress the construction crew had made. One of those days brought a big surprise in the form of a half-grown hound dog puppy! This was just a few years in to the establishment of our non-profit group, the Voice for the Animals Campaign, & years prior to the opening of the Clarke County Animal Shelter. At this time, our family consisted of two humans, Jack, Bee, & Pearl. I had been capped in terms of adding more animals to the pack. There was a rescue in the county at the time, so I reached out to them for help & guidance. The lady & I worked out a foster deal with this puppy, who we named Buck, because he looked like a hunting dog, although I don’t hunt.
Buck at the vet in his younger days
When you foster an animal, you agree to house & care for that animal until he/she is adopted. Doing so creates a vacancy in the shelter or rescue for another needy animal, & it gives the foster animal a loving home, & time to be socialized, leash trained, etc. Fostering was going well until the lady at the rescue started acted like a donkey. We decided to adopt Buck & not deal with her anymore. I continued leash training Buck by taking him for walks, & he ran 5Ks with me for a long time.
Buck & me after a patriotic run
During these walks, we often crossed paths with our neighbor, Jimmy Earl. Jimmy Earl, Buck, & I made countless laps around the block on evening walks. When our next 5K fundraiser rolled around, I asked Jimmy Earl to be Buck’s handler at the event. He agreed, but made sure I knew that he would only do that for Buck & me since the 5K was scheduled for the opening day of turkey season. I told him I would find someone else, but he said he would be out of the woods in time. A few days before the race, Buck went missing. We found him in a bush a day or so later. He had been hit by a car & had a broken shoulder as a result. Once we knew that he was going to be ok, I teased Jimmy Earl about running over my dog so he could turkey hunt, lol. I have enjoyed telling that story many times since.
Buck & me at the St. Jude’s event
Buck, as hound dogs are, was very resilient. He recovered & continued to run & walk with me for years. He lived in our fenced-in back yard until this summer. This was a nice setup, though, as his quarters were marked by a sign reading “The BUCKingham Palace.” He could no longer take the heat. Buck was a really good dog who never caused trouble. He wasn’t cooperative about doing things he didn’t want to, though. If he saw nail clippers, he prepared for war! He howled and bayed at the train & at the truck drivers as they fueled up every morning. He had a handsome voice, & received many compliments.
Buck was a character, & we have a lot of funny Buck stories, ranging from his hatred of excessive Christmas inflatables to Jason yelling a few choice words at him to stop barking at the Vacation Bible School parade that was lined up in front of our house.
Jason started a trend on his own cheat day of bringing cheeseburgers to the outside dogs. Buck enjoyed this very much, & picked up the scent as soon as Jason opened the door. He waited anxiously at the gate for his cheeseburger.
Buck & me at the Christmas parade
Buck participated in Voice for the Animals Campaign events with me. He walked in a Christmas parade one year. He looked handsome, but didn’t act handsomely when it was time to go. Several grown men & I were scared to put him on the truck against his stubborn will. We ended up having to get the animal control officer to do it. Another time, we represented V4AC at a St. Jude’s coon hunting event. Buck was very sweet & handsome that day, & received lots of compliments.
Buck & Drake in the creek
Since Buck has lived inside these last few months, he’s cracked me up, & we’ve developed a routine. Buck was very persistent about where he wanted to sit. He often tricked Trooper out of his seat. In the mornings, he reminded me of my brother. Jared could not wake up to get ready for school when we were kids, and he would drag around once he finally got up. It was the same with Buck for a few weeks until we developed a routine. He was like clockwork after that.
Buck lived a great life until his last evening, which was last night (9/11/21). His appetite had been dwindling, he was old & arthritic, but I didn’t expect him to go so soon. I heard him whimper & checked on him. I knew he was dying. Jason got up, & we did our best to keep him comfortable. I went to bed, but Jason stayed with him. He got me up after 1a & said that Buck was gone.
On the couch after tricking Trooper out of his seat
Just like Pearl, Buck is a prime example of the importance of adopting, not shopping. That little hound dog puppy who was thrown away by someone else made his way to our house and into our family & hearts. We will miss Buck very much, but reflecting on his life makes me proud to be an animal rescuer who sees the beauty & value of animals thrown away by others. Rest easy, Buck, we love you 😘🌈
Buck sleeping just a few days ago
Buck sleeping just a few days ago
