| Location | Derbyshire |
| Age | 15 years |
| Date of Birth | 01/10/1994 |
| Date of Death | 02/10/2009 |
| Visitors | 1,991 since 14/01/2010 |
| Creator |
Truly, it's the little things that I miss the most. The tinkle of his medallion when he ran to greet me. The smell of wet dog as I dried him after a rainy walk. The rattle of his bowl against the kitchen flagstones during the 30 seconds he took to eat his breakfast.
Then there was his sudden appearance in my bathroom when my shower took longer than he thought reasonable, and the look of deep resentment if he was sprinkled with water as I reached for a towel.
I even miss the old causes of annoyance. These days, I can load the dishwasher without fighting a losing battle to stop Buster licking the plates, and I can leave the morning's letters on the doormat without them being perforated by Buster's teeth.
Now, I long to be inconvenienced again - to be forced by Buster's persistence to go out in the freezing Peak District rain; to be woken in the middle of the night by his snoring; and to go through the complicated ritual of fastening on his safety harness in preparation for a journey.
In the car he would fall asleep and, if we were driving from London to Derbyshire, wake up with a whoop when we turned the corner into our village.
After he had inspected the house, room by room, he would sit on the first landing, staring out of the window and grumbling at the ramblers who changed into hiking boots sitting on our wall.
We played a game on the landing. Buster had to guess which of my hands - on the stair below him - held the biscuit. He pawed at my fingers without ever hurting me, and always won the biscuit in the end. It is one of the little things that it hurts me to remember.
Most dog owners regard their dogs as special, so I do no more than describe the qualities that I found irresistible.
Thanks to his energy, he imposed himself on all the lives around him. Doors banged open as he marched into the room. A morning rarely passed without him becoming entangled in the wires that connected my laptop to the world.
I could never lay a fire in the drawing room without him helping me by examining every log. When he saw bags in the hall, he sat among them - like a brindle suitcase - to make it clear that he was travelling, too.
A guest who sat on what he regarded as his sofa often found that Buster hurled himself into the next seat and leaned hard against his new friend, head on shoulder.
He was not so well-disposed towards cats, rabbits and domesticated rodents. But he liked people.
He became a favourite at book festivals. Literary old ladies travelled across country with 'treats' - which he never refused.
While I was speaking, he only barked during the applause or when, by putting my hand in my pocket, I gave the impression that I was about to produce a treat myself.
I have spent long hours during the past ten weeks thinking what it was - apart from the thrall in which I'm held by dogs in general - that bound me to Buster.
I enjoyed the knowledge that he was dependent on me, and I admired his apparent belief that I was dependent on him.
His appeal was increased by what is best described (despite the reputation he acquired after he killed one of the Queen's unfortunate geese in St James's Park, and I was fined for contravening Royal Parks' regulations) as an aggressively affectionate nature.
But, most important of all, he radiated hope.
Whenever I opened the pantry door, he appeared behind me - assuming that I was getting something for him.
I would call him a born optimist, but I never made the anthropomorphic mistake of thinking of him as a little man in a fur coat, and dogs are not capable of thinking about the future.
He was never fed at table, and he slept in his own bed. Treating him like a dog was a mark of respect. Being a dog was enough. I asked for nothing more.
For 15 years, I watched him grow up, grow wise and grow old. His vet predicted he would be happy to the end, but that one day he would just be too tired to carry on.
'When it happens, he will let you know,' I was told.
And so he did. Every step of his brief morning walk was a struggle. Breakfast was eaten with slow determination. Then he lay down with no intention of ever getting up again.
The final decision had to be based on what was best for Buster. So the temptation to put off the fatal decision was resisted.
After a moment of agonising indecision, I made the fatal phone call. The vet arrived within the hour.
Buster died eating a piece of blue cheese - the muchdesired but forbidden food which he usually only tasted when it was wrapped around a pill.
I do not pretend that my grief was unique. Many families, I know, have been devastated by the death of a dog. I merely state, as a matter of fact, that nothing has ever caused me as much pain as Buster's death.
Nor have I ever behaved with such a shameless display of emotion.
I sat in the first floor room in which I work, watching my neighbours go about their lives, amazed and furious that they were behaving as if it was a normal day. Stop all the clocks. Buster was dead.
He left a permanent legacy. Do not underestimate what a dog can do.
I never contemplated teaching him to sit-up-and-beg, shake hands or play dead. And Buster certainly never condescended to carry a rolled-up newspaper in his mouth or retrieve balls.
But he did - perhaps it is a minor achievement - change my life.
Some of the ways, I can describe. I gave up red meat because I could not bear the thought of eating anything that was Buster shape.
But there is more to his abiding influence than that. His real legacy is the memory of the pleasure he provided.
Birth and upbringing - and an almost-labrador called Dinah - made me a dog person. Buster ended the years of deprivation, and made a return to dogless life unthinkable.
Of course, there were times when it seemed that even the thought of another rescued cross-breed in the kitchen was a betrayal. But after ten weeks, the search has begun.
The new dog will not be a replacement. Buster was irreplaceable. His successor will be a dog in his own right.
But he will be a reassertion of all that Buster stood for: the incalculable blessing of possessing a dog.
What a wonderful tribute
I have just lost my dog Pepper, I wish I could have written something as wonderful as you did about Buster.
Pa Bei
Buster's waiting for You by the Bridge in Heaven
There is a Bridge in Heaven where the sick and weak Pets go and await their Loving Family's arrival in Heaven. He will walk by You once again Strong as a Pup. A wonderful Life You gave Buster. I was so taken with Your Tribute to your 4 legged Family Member. We do love them as Our Family. God Bless You and I only have one question that waits to be answered. When You get another Dog will You let us all know? I'm sure Buster will Love that day also. There are so many Dogs needing Homes.
We live in Arizona in America have have our Dogs that are getting close to that time also. I had fun reading Your words for things we call by different names here. Such as a Livingroom or the way You have of saying things are so cool. It's nice to hear about Your Daily Life through Buster's Life. I'm glad your not replacing Buster but looking for the dog that will be Your Friend for the next 15 years and walk in the Rain with You.
Ashley's Grandma Cupcake
In Memory of a Special Pet
By Unknown
With tears of grief and heavy hearts
we said goodbye to you.
Animal friends as sweet as you
have been a precious few.
You stayed with us
and played with us
and gave us all your love.
Now we give the gift of peace to you
and thank our Lord above
for the years you joined our family
with your patient, gentle face.
we'll always keep you in our hearts
in a very special place.
All the memories you made with us
are surely here to stay,
for what love has already given us
death could never take away.
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and they are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days gone by. The animals are so happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together each day, but then the day comes when one suddenly stops and peers into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
YOU have been spotted, and when you finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved soft head, and you finally get to look once again into the loving eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.
Author unknown...
I know what you're thinking. You think I'm dead. Because you cannot see me with your human eye, cannot feel me with your hands or hold me in your arms, you think I am gone forever.
You recall how I looked when I left this place, and you cannot remotely imagine that I could possibly be alive in another place. You are racked and torn by the pain of our separation and it blinds you to that which is right in front of you... me..............
I'm here to tell you different. You were worthy of my love and undying devotion on earth as I of yours. Do you really believe this love would be snatched from us forever by a loving Creator simply because I wasn't human? Was I not a living, breathing creation with personality? How could I have been so if I didn't possess the energy of soul, spirit and loving light? And if this energy is and always will be, then how can it be that I am dead?
.................
You say that all you have left are memories. Not so. You see, when I took leave of my earthly body I left a little something behind for you. You can't touch it, hold it or examine it for what I left behind is far too uninhibited for confinement. I left behind a piece of my soul. I placed it right next to your own which is quite fitting as we were always side by side in our earthly life together. I love you too much to have left you with nothing but memories, which tend to fade and grow cloudy as the years go by.
I love you too much to have vanished without a trace. How selfish it would be of me to remove love and light from your life.
.............
I understand your tears, each one you shed is testament to your love for me and I am honored and humbled. But don't forget the good things we shared - remember and smile. This is an honor for me as well. And when you need me I will be here. Close your eyes, relax, take slow, deep breaths and picture me in your mind. Shut off the world and your notions of what death is and give me a chance. Look for the subtle signs I send you. Don't stop being proud of me, I am a friend to be proud of, I am still your friend and soul mate.
Don't memorialize the death of my body but instead honor and celebrate my never-ending life for it is eternal and forever as is my love for you.
Until we meet again...
Author Unknown
(Passage from UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN)
THIS IS NOT THE FULL VERSION AS SO MANY CHARACTERS ARE ALLOWED, IT WAS WRITTEN FOR A DOG AND YOU CAN FIND THE FULL VERSION ON THE NET
Our Angels in heaven
They haven't really been taken away.
They have only gone with the Angels to play.
They have been given wings with which to fly.
All their troubles have passed them by.
Their life in heaven now must start.
But we'll hold their memory in our hearts.
Nothing about them will be forgotten.
But now they sleep on billowy clouds of cotton.
Author Unknown
Beyond the Rainbow
As much as I loved the life we had and all the times we played,
I was so very tired and knew my time on earth would fade.
I saw a wondrous image then of a place that's trouble-free
Where all of us can meet again to spend eternity.
I saw the most beautiful Rainbow, and on the other side
Were meadows rich and beautiful -- lush and green and wide!
And running through the meadows as far as the eye could see
Were animals of every sort as healthy as could be!
My own tired, failing body was fresh and healed and new
And I wanted to go run with them, but I had something left to do.
I needed to reach out to you, to tell you I'm alright
That this place is truly wonderful, then a bright Glow pierced the night.
'Twas the Glow of many Candles shining bright and strong and bold
And I knew then that it held your love in its brilliant shades of gold.
For although we may not be together in the way we used to be,
We are still connected by a cord no eye can see.
So whenever you need to find me, we're never far apart
If you look beyond the Rainbow and listen with your heart.
(Written by CG - 1995)
Precious Love
The agony is so great...
and yet I will stand it.
Had I not loved so very much...
I would not hurt so much.
But God knows I would not want to diminish
that precious love...
By one fraction of an ounce.
I will hurt...
And I will be grateful for that hurt
For it bears witness to the depth of my love.
And for that I will be eternally grateful.
AUTHOR:UNKNOWN
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