In Loving Memory of Buddy

It was either 1988 or '89, but it could've been as early as 1987. My dad and brother were down at our holiday house at Pringle Bay. Sometimes I used to stay behind with my mom for the weekend. We'd watch videos. Eat crisps and a bowl of cheese cut into blocks. I'd leave the olives to my mom - I didn't find a taste until 10 years later.

Dad & Doug had taken the dog with them - our beautiful long-haired Alsation named Apollo. Apollo was getting in years and my mom had it in her head to get another smaller dog as a companion to Apollo. Dad was totally apposed to the idea! He wasn't going to have a lapdog in the house - sitting on couches, laps or jumping up on beds! Not a chance in hell!

So my mom and I were reading the Weekend Argus while lying on the lounge floor in the afternoon sun. Mom was checking out the classified ads and came across people in Thornton (a suburb next to Pinelands where we stayed) who had little Maltese puppies for sale. We decided to go and check it out......

We arrived at this really grotty house in Thornton - the people looked even grottier!!! We walked through the dark, dingy house to their back yard which was smelly and full of dog poo - and dogs. Flea bitten, very sorry looking puppies - but cute non-the-less. We wanted to rescue all of them but had to just choose one. I was wearing a pair of denim dungarees with a big pocket at the front - big as far as pockets go anyway. This little dirty-white ball of fluff fitted right in that pocket and that's how he got to his new home. We bathed him and got rid of most of the fleas. The details are all a little hazey - it was a long time ago. I just remember that he was just too cute for words! He was a bit younger than the required 6 weeks cos his eye's were barely open yet.

Well, dad, Doug & Apollo arrived home on the Sunday..... and Apollo met his new Buddy.....

How cute is that little ball of fluff??? This was their actual first meeting.

Dad was horrified!!! Now we were going to have this stupid little yappy lapdog in the house!!! I have to tell you that it took all of a few hours before Buddy melted my dad's heart too! He was the one who got Buddy up on the couch AND up on their bed!! And Apollo did get that new lease on life as mom had hoped. Him and Buddy used to go tearing around the house chasing each other. They had a blast together until Apollo passed on a few years later.

1993 - The night of Doug's Matric Dance. Mom holding the big white fluf-ball Buddy.

This is a Welsh Dragon plush toy.

One of dad's distant cousins came to visit from Wales and brought one for my folks as a gift. Buddy took an instant liking to it and this was his first toy. We called it his "drabbon" - baby talk for dragon. Every toy after that was called a "drabbon". Whether it was tennis ball or his favourite, a squishy ball with a bell in it - they were all a "drabbon". If you'd ask him where his drabbon was, he'd start searching the house for his current favourite toy and come back to you wagging his tail. Clever boy!

199? - This is Buddy's new companion after Apollo died - Othello. Now Othello was a few sandwiches short of a picnic...... yes, he's actually sitting with his bum on the side of the pool and his paws on the top step..... Hrmm...... But Buddy and Othello used to have great fun running around the pool while we were swimming. There's Buddy (after a haircut) in the shade taking a break. We used to pick Buddy up and dangle him over the water, ready for him to have a swim - he used to start doing doggy paddle about a foot above the water!

There's Buddy doing a photo shoot with a shaggy dog. Ooops! That's Doug! LOL! That was one of Buddy's long hair periods - it must've been shortly before his annual summer hair cut. And what an absolute pilava that used to be! Show Buddy a pair of scissors and he'd run and hide - he HATED getting a haircut. That could be because he wriggled about and ended up getting nicked with the sheers or scissors.

This was a Mother's Day in the early 2000's. We had a wonderful spread - fancy cheeses, olives, cold meats, spreads, orange juice and champagne. As you can see, Buddy wasn't about to be left out of the celebrations!

Which brings to mind a Christmas morning when Buddy was still a puppy.... We used to do our big dinner on Xmas eve and then open our pressies at midnight. Someone had received a big box of Quality Street. The table you see in the picture above used to be in the centre of the lounge. The box of chocolates was left on this table overnight. Well, we awoke on Christmas morning to find chocolate papers strewn all over the lounge floor..... and a very satisfied Buddy wagging his tail! Buddy's love of chocolate was born. He had such a sweet tooth - anytime there were biscuits with tea, chocolate or rusks, Buddy would be sitting at your feet, wagging his tail and giving you such a longing stare, you just had to share.

Mom, Dad, Buddy & Chris (the first grandchild). Buddy was very interested in this other little person in the house!

Buddy in a series of posing shots!

Now this is a beautiful shot! He really was such a happy dog.

A group shot: Scott, cousin Shane, Granny, a wriggling Buddy & Dad, Mom & I

As I'm writing this, all sorts of memories about this charismatic little dog have come flooding back to me. If you pointed your finger at him (and he could see your finger through his shaggy fringe!), he'd growl at you. If Buddy was sitting on either Mom or Dad's lap and any of us touched them, Buddy would go nuts barking at us. Boy was he protective. AND jealous! If any of the other animals got a tidbit, you could be sure Buddy would be there trying to muscle in on the action. Same thing with attention - Buddy was top dog in the Wells house. Oh, and if you so much as mentioned the word "bath", Buds would head for the nearest hiding place! He'd look so miserable all wet and once he was let free after a towel dry, he'd run around frantically rubbing himself against the couches or rolling on the carpet. You'd swear that he'd been washed in pepper!!! :-) The vacuum was also something alien to be barked at.

Buddy passed away on 7 January 2009. Buddy was a amazing member of the Wells family for 20 years and he is remembered with great fondness. We all miss him - he was a real "buddy" to all of us.

Hope there's lots of chocolate in heaven, Buds!