Musings on Buffy

On April 8, 2017 I drove to the Folsom lake area to a kennel with green pastures and a gravel road lined with lie oaks. I wasn’t sure that the 3 1/2 year old, 81 pound dog I was going to meet was going to be right for me. She looked tough and intimidating in her photos on the Great Dane Rescues’ website. Her profile also described an incident when she had growled at a previous owners 6 year old. She’d been returned to the Rescue for that reason. The kennel was clean and the people friendly. Sunlight dappled the ground. Colleen and Karen answered all of my questions. The dog that I met – Buffy – was 1,000 times more beautiful than her photos, and she had a playful and gentle manner. It was love at first sight. I took her home that afternoon and my life has changed for the better.
I walk her every morning, every evening, and most afternoons. I work full time so a dog walker takes her out twice a week. My local pet store recommended a leash that buckles around my waist for walking her, and for those occasions when Buffy sees a squirrel or other exciting animals. She is a “sight hound” and very strong and quick, and I am a middle-aged woman. I don’t watch tv as often and I’ve already lost 10 pounds from walking her.
Buffy loves to snuggle on the couch. She gets along well with the other members of the household. She doesn’t bark at night and only barks when she meets someone new (dog or human). Buffy and I have explored Joaquin Miller Park and the dog park there. She is gentle with other dogs. But it’s true that Danes can be threatening to smaller dogs. She plays best with dogs of all sizes that are about a year old. I’m still learning how be the best guardian to Buffy that I can be. I’m so glad that I adopted Buffy from Great Dane Rescue.

Thanks to Pierce Macdonald for this very nice narrative on her adoption of Buffy. We are, in return, grateful to Pierce for seeing past an un-photogenic, small dog that had been returned!