In 2002 we found each other and that was that..my heart was his and he was the love we needed. My boys fell in love with him as much as I did and, well..he grew on my husband. But he was ours or rather, we were his. Buster was 1 1/2 when he came into our lives full of vigor and love with a smile that would melt your heart. My youngest grew up with him and as Buster grew older he never lost that happy puppy that was inside of him. Fast forward to 2012, Buster is looking bloated so a trip to the vet, some testing and an ultrasound later, we found out Buster had a tumor in his heart that would cause problems and he would retain water. We put him on meds, a trip to the vet every so often to drain off the fluid in his chest and Buster was Buster, happy as a puppy with a big smile. That went on for a couple years until it stopped working. After a trip to the vet on a Friday, he was bloated again on Sunday. Back to the vet on Monday and bloating again mid week. It was time, time to stop keeping him alive for us, he was suffering , and it wasn't fair to keep putting him through this. We had to explain to our youngest son still at home, even though he was all grown up by now, that it was time to let him go, he was suffering now. We had decided that we would take him in on Monday, we would have one last weekend with him. He didn't really want to eat but we let him have whatever he wanted....he loved chicken. We were scared, he was the longest we had ever had a fur baby in our lives and he would be the first one we would have to let go of and the first time we would have to go through this type of loss with. But we would do it together. How could I help my son understand this when I barely understood it myself. Buster knew better though. I guess he understood how and what we were feeling, and he died peacefully in his sleep at home, Easter Sunday, 2014. The loss was beyond heartbreaking for all of us. While we had a second dog, he wasn't Buster, my first true doggie love. We had Buster cremated and now he sits on the mantle. While we rescued another fur baby months later, and now had 2 fur babies again, things still weren't the same. Not that they ever could be. Buster ruled in a way no other dog could or ever would. In 2016 we found Dozer, a 10 1/2 year old cocker mix, with a heart murmur and more love than you could imagine. We knew we had given Buster the best life he could have had, yes we do spoil our fur babies...but wanted to give a senior dog the best rest of their life that they could have. Since rescuing Dozer, we have come to realize that Buster is back with us. I see him in all 3 of our babies. While my heart will remain a little fractured forever, I do have the love of our 3 fur babies that fills my heart with love everyday and makes me smile ear to ear. Our kids are all grown and I have managed to turn my husband into a full fledged fur papa who loves, spoils and cares almost as much as me. After all, I'm a momma, can anyone ever care as much as a momma does? Thank you God for bringing Buster to us. He taught us a lot about love and loss and, how to move forward even when it's hard to.

Lisa
SACRAMENTO, CA