Buhner

We were still considered in the newly married stage when we purchased our first house thirteen years ago. We opted for brand new in a rural city due to the get more for your money price. We had the hugest yard in the 80+ community and that is what sold us. My husband was a budding landscape hobbyist and we thought future yard for little ones. But before we delved into the two legged kind, we first went with the four legged variety.

We were planners. We built a nice side yard kennel for this unknown future dog; we could not afford a fence just yet for the over sized yard, but we really wanted a dog. It took weeks to build this nice sized kennel. We first had to move the pile of dirt and rock that came with the unfinished backyard, which then led to building a large retaining wall by hand. Next came the chain link fence enclosure, hiring the addition of a back door to the garage, adding cement steps and a porch to said door. Finally we added the crushed rock and the kennel was ready. But we had no dog.

Although we wanted to rescue our dog from a shelter, we had a specific dog in mind. A Labrador Retriever. The search began. I had a bi-weekly routine during my lunch hour to call all the shelters in the area. The search continued for over a month. Until one day in late September, just before the day was over, I got a call that a golden lab had been delivered and we made immediate plans for a visit. Three hours later, we had adopted our first dog.

He was picked up as a stray, perhaps three months old. We counted back to June 30th and deemed that his birthday. We named him Buhner, after our favorite Major League Ball player Jay Buhner. But when he was overly playful or mischievous we'd call him Bone or Jay for short.

A happy go lucky guy, always with a pant of a smile pasted on his adorable face. A good boy who would mind his manners, but enough mischief to add puppy throughout his life. A dog the kids literally looked up to, pulled on a few times, sat upon, kissed a lot. He was a gentle giant. He loved to play catch and would carry multiple toys in his mouth at one time. He could run with his tail wagging in a circle; it was his motor winding him up. He would pull the toddler kids on sleds during the winter. He would get bathed in the yard in the summer. A true buddy.

Eighteen months ago he went peacefully in his sleep. We have pictures of him around our house; the kids still talk about the remember whens. We planted a Yellow Dog Wood in his honor in our backyard with his favorite blue and yellow porcupine toy buried underneath.

Always loved. Our dog Buhner.
Happy Birthday.