Buzz

I'll never forget the phone call.

"Dad, it's Drew."

I knew something was up. My ten-year-old son had his pleading voice on.

"Mom and I are at Petco and we found a really cute dog named Buzz. He's a Yorkie and really nice. I promise I'll take real good care of him, Dad."

"Put your Mom on the phone," I said. I had already made it clear I didn't want an inside dog, and felt like I was being railroaded.

"Hello," my obviously nervous wife answered. "Why are you doing this to me?" I said grumpily. "Why did you have Drew call me from the pet store about bringing a dog home? You know I don't want an inside dog!"

"Honey, we weren't planning on finding a dog. We just came to the pet store to look around and found Buzz. He IS really cute!"

"Well, if I say No now I feel like a villain, so do what you want, but I won't have anything to do with him," I said.

They brought Buzz home, and I tried to ignore him. He was a pretty chubby Yorkie, and about six years old. He quickly became a part of our family, a fact I refused to admit for a time. I grew up in a home that never had inside pets, so the thought of having a dog shedding fur and peeing on the floor didn't appeal to me one bit.

Before long, I grew to love the little neurotic bundle of fur. Buzz would shake and yawn when family would visit. When needing to go outside to do his business, he would run to front door and jump up and down, whining. The craziest thing of all, if I took a tennis ball and starting bouncing it up and down anywhere in the house, Buzz would run into the kitchen and start eating his food! Sometimes he would whine as he ran into the kitchen, as if he couldn't help himself!

When we had been away as a family and returned home Buzz would greet us at the kitchen door almost like he was scolding us for being away. He would half bark, half howl at us as if to say, "Where the heck were you guys? Don't ever do that again!"

I would often pick Buzz up to lay with me on the couch. He would do it for a while, but would always want to have his space. Working out of my home, when nobody else was home, Buzz would come downstairs and lay by my desk as I worked. The photo is of Buzz and his crazy Dad. Notice his eyes. He's so ready to get this photo over with!

He loved his momma Jodi best of all of us. While he would only stay with me for a bit on the couch, he would lay with Jodi for hours. I think it was because she never teased him like I did. I never noticed his nervous yawns while with her like they were with me.

I remember such deep sadness when Buzz died after a short illness. It's been now over five years since Buzz passed, and we still often talk about funny things our furry friend did. 

Animals are a great gift from God to us humans. They teach us unconditional love, devotion and comfort. Us humans can be so fickle, cruel and manipulating. But a dog like Buzz is so quick to forgive, loving, caring and consistent.

We can learn a lot from our furry companions.