Contest Entry : Buddy

Dearest Readers, this story does not have the happiest ending (don’t worry, he is still alive) but it absolutely embodies the spirit of what this contest is about.

If I could fly to Africa, I would. If I could raise enough money to have him sent back to the United States to live with Georgia, I would do it in a single, solitary, heartbeat.

BUDDY
By Georgia Reed

I was hesitant to enter Buddy for many reasons. First off, Buddy was not my dog from the start, and he is no longer my dog. But Buddy played a huge role in our lives.

Buddy is a mixture of what all I don’t know. He was found in a shelter somewhere in the southern U.S. and taken by a missionary family to rugged Northern Uganda. Buddy adapted, but after many years, the family found that what was best for their young children was to return home. The return trip would be too wearing for the then older Buddy so he became a “mission” dog, passed around to missionary families to be a friend and a guard dog.

Before my husband and I got married, he was in Kaabong, an isolated part of Karamoja, along the southern border of Sudan. He was alone, the only foreigner for hundreds of mile in a volatile and insecure area and went through an incredibly hard time. When he found out he was getting Buddy- the mission dog who barked a lot- he was sad. But Buddy came up and moved in with my husband. What blossomed there my husband never could have imagined. Buddy became more than a friend, he became a life-line and his only outlet for frustration, depression and the hurt that this foreign society brought into his heart.

We married at last that next year in the U.S. and quickly turned around and returned to Kaabong. Buddy had been left alone on the compound for three months, fed by the guards and rarely loved. When the “mzungu”, or foreigner would leave, he would often dig under the fence and go hide in the mountains that were also inhabited by hyenas and other African animals. He had been stoned and mistreated by the nationals there who fear dogs greatly. When we first walked up, bedraggled and weary, dirty and dragging bags across rough terrain, we could hear him yipping from a mile away. Somehow he knew we’d come.. I came to value him more than my family… It sounds awful, but it is true. During the darkest days we crossed, when no human could offer an ear, and there was literally no one who saw life as we did, we could come home and find solace in his big brown eyes, his gruff “old man” face, and his patient doggy love…When we had no one else to offer our tears to, and our racked sobs of frustration at the hurt and senseless violence and suffering around us; Buddy sat and soaked in our tears and offered comfort…

Honestly, what all we saw, and all we went through in Africa was hard on us, physically and emotionally. We knew that we needed to return home. Buddy had been missing a few years of immunization records and wouldn’t manage the trip well.. I was heartbroken- literally when I knew I would be leaving him there in that harsh environment after he had weathered us so unselflessly through so many storms.. For months before we left I would hug him every time I saw him and wouldn’t want to let him go. I would whisper in his ear that it wasn’t his fault that people he loved and trusted kept leaving him…. I’m sure only a dog lover can understand the pain in feeling that you’re letting down this friend who would do anything for you…

I cried on the plane, and initially coped with the shock and numbness of leaving by placing all of my sadness and anxiety on leaving Buddy alone… We left him with a young couple who hesitantly agreed to take him.. They’re not animal people and took him only on our council that if not for friendship Buddy was a great guard dog and genuinely cared about protecting his people.

We had been back in the States only a month when we got word that the young American couple we left Buddy with had been attacked in our compound at night. Armed raiders cut through the fence, and fired rounds for some time. The couple lay huddled on the floor frightened and praying as they said Buddy went wild (as he always did when “danger” came near). In the end, Buddy was the final deterrent that kept the raiders from cutting through the interior fence. I was overcome with sadness that Buddy has been abandoned in this awful wilderness of survival- the “real world” outside of the safety of our safe “civilized” western society.. I was overcome with pride and thankfulness that Buddy already served a greater purpose in staying than I could have ever hoped for him in dragging him away with us… And of course I was grateful that our friends were unharmed and that Buddy played such an integral role in that…

Honestly, I still miss Buddy, and it’s hard for my husband and I to mention him or even look at pictures… I love him so much, and you never forget that selfless complete love that a wonderful dog gives you back. I guess only a dog lover could understand how deeply a dog can impact, enhance and shape your heart and your life… Like Buddy did for us. I don’t think I’ll ever think of him, or our time there without having to fight back tears for the love of that friend and all he meant to us. Our Buddy.

P.S. I realize I can’t really “win” because Buddy is in Africa… But I really appreciate this chance to share this story with someone who would “listen”… It helps.