Buddy

If you didn’t know him, this may seem exaggerated or excessive, but if you did, then you know my words cannot do him justice.

Buddy came home with me when he was just 5 months old, already an explorer. Our chain link fence couldn’t hold him back. We added electricity. He didn’t care. The moment of pain was worth the hours of freedom. I eventually realized he wasn’t running away, because if I joined him, he’d wait for me at each corner, to make sure I knew which way he wanted to go. As soon as I understood this, he let me direct the way. For most of his life, we roamed free almost every night.

Everywhere he went, he made new friends. Kelsey and I have taken Buddy for runs along the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians, from New York City to Orlando, from Los Angeles to Washington. He’s toured the country with The Color Pharmacy, meeting literally hundreds of people at the South by Southwest Music Festival. Buddy made it to 32 states! Even Alton Brown went out of his way to meet him.

Buddy was the calmest, most peaceful being I have ever met. He would break up fights at the dog park by getting right in the middle of them, not once getting bit or biting another dog. He was our protector, curling his body around Kelsey, Molly, me, or any of the nephews, before turning to face whatever threat he sensed. When I got him, I was so afraid of the dark, I literally ran every time I’d go up the stairs at night. Buddy showed me how to overcome that fear, getting me to the point where I could run through a forest I’d never been to, even if it was pitch black. He always made us feel safe.

Buddy loved you all and I appreciate all the messages and stories I’ve been hearing from friends around the world. Thank you everybody for being a part of his life. Buddy made us all better people. Now that this part of his adventure is over, he deserves to be free and feel the peace that he always gave us.

Buddy Boy

48 photos

Written by Jimmy Morrison