If you live near St. Louis and need a new furfriend, I may have him. Buddy, my neighbor dog, is looking for a new loving home.

I don’t write many stories about dogs needing homes because, well, there are so many of them. And I know they are all special. But, to be honest, not all of them live next door and have become part of my extended pack. Buddy has and he desperately needs a new home.

Buddy currently lives with a neighbor but its never been a good situation. My neighbor is a sweetheart of a guy but like many unsuspecting animal people, he got roped in by a woman who HATES ALL ANIMALS. So they got married and his last dog got kicked to the yard where he died of relative old age. I think it was a broken heart…

As time goes on the heartless woman and the neigbor have a son. My neighbor, in trying to help his son become a good person, goes to the Shelter and adopts Buddy. (He didn’t ask me or I would have said not to do it.) And he gets a puppy that will turn into 80-pound Buddy. You know where this is going don’t you?

The puppy gets bigger and because the heartless woman wants her house to be spotlessly white (really, I’ve seen it!) Buddy is only allowed to run through the house if they have been gone for some time. Why? TO check for burglers hiding in the closets! Really! Though if I were Buddy I think I might have thought this through and asked myself why I would care if a burgler did get her. After all, she’s the reason he couldn’t stay in the house.

Now the little boy is getting older and the heartless woman wants the backyard for her flowers and her son to play in. Did I say that she has trained the boy to be as afraid of animals as she is?

All this time I’ve been doing what I could for Buddy by watching out for him, nagging my neighbor when he wasn’t caring for him properly, hugging Buddy through the fence, etc. The one thing I’ve known was that the time would come when Buddy would be kicked out of the home completely. And that time has come. Now I’m looking for a new, better, loving home for Buddy where he can live indoors with the people (who he adores) and get the attention and love he deserves.

So here’s the message from Buddy to anyone who would like a new furbaby who will really appreciate your love:

Hi! I’m Buddy!

Are you my new furmom or furdad? I hope so because I don’t want to return to the scary, noisy place where dogs die.

Joy tells me I’m very smart! I learn new things, although I do have a mind of my own. I don’t wander and even when I get out of the yard by accident I just sit on the porch and wait for the people to come home.

I’m great with people and like children. I would really like someone who understands big dogs. I’m still learning what I’m about and I would appreciate it if you can help me do that.

I like many other big dogs though I’m not sure about small dogs. I haven’t spent any time around them.

I need to lose a little weight but I’m all for as much walking and other fun activities as you can muster! Let’s hit the road and see new things!

If you are interested in learning more about Buddy, please bark into me or paw mail via Buddy. If you adopt Buddy, I’ll try to deliver him personally.