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How we came to adopt Bucky, the brave.
We were given the chance to be first-time fosters that
Sunday
in January when the second wave of dogs were brought in from Wisconsin.
I was there only to help those frightened puppies get a bath and was moved by the generous hearts of all those LEARN volunteers who loved dogs, labs in particular, and I wanted to do my small part to help.
We had lost our LEARN dog, Maggie to cancer last June, and I was finally brave enough to think about a new dog. We were hopelessly bonded to Maggie and losing her tore out our hearts
That
Sunday
I was so in awe of Claudia who had found a way to rescue these dogs from a breeder who loved them dearly, but could not care for them adequately.
So when Chris asked if I would take Bucky (he was the last dog that was not assigned a foster home) I immediately said yes despite not consulting my husband who was at a dinner I was missing.
When Dick came home asking what happened, why didn’t I show up at Lino’s for the neighborhood dinner, I said nothing, didn’t need to say anything, as there was Bucky, frozen, frightened, settled between a chair and the couch, shaking.
Your heart melts at such a point and you worry that this dog would never acquire the capacity to bond with people or trust in them.
But these are labs, remember.
It didn’t take more than hours before Bucky was accepting the caresses and hugs.
He was Dick’s dog from the start; Dick knew he couldn’t give him up that day, although I was still trying to learn the role of the foster home, still trying to find how you foster a dog without adopting.
With gentle encouragement, and patience, Bucky is doing all the lab things he should, retrieving tennis balls, lying on his back for belly rubs, walking like a big boy on a leash, learning to walk and play with other dogs, learning to sit and come, waiting at the door for the signal to go out, waiting for his dinner; he also learned a few bad habits, like chewing up the printer installation manual and the scholastic classroom magazine.
He also did his first counter surfing (we were sure, proudly, that OUR DOG would never do that, until a rice crispy treat was placed too close to the edge).
But he was house trained the first day and Dick was sure he was the smartest one and the handsomest of all the labs brought in that
Sunday
. Just like a proud grandpa.
We are so taken with Bucky that it is hard not to tell everyone about him—kind of like those well-meaning grandparents that tell you about endless accomplishments and show too many pictures of their grandchildren.
W
e proudly tell you that Bucky can leap in the air completely off the ground and catch his tennis ball.
He is now hiding his toy rabbit and pheasant under his bed in case those humans want to steal it—such a little rascal!; he has had his first overnight, away from home, at Mr.Ed’s(LEARN alumn) house and was, by all reports, well behaved.
When we went to pick him up after two days, you could almost hear him say, “Oh, joy, oh my, they’re back. My people!
My people! They love me! They came back for me!”
He would run up to one of us, wiggle and spin, then run back to the other, smiling as only labs can do, and finally nestling in our arms, exhausted with happiness.
Bucky will still need more encouragement, patience, and time to adjust to new situations, to new people and experiences. But with obedience training, and help from friends with other sweet dogs, Bucky will be the brave little warrior that will fill our hearts with joy. Click a letter to find an animal or view all.
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