Man's best friend

[Budnicks]

Dog #3

Flash #3 {yellow Lab}

My real father {Harvey} I refer to as ol' Pops
knew about my dog Lady, when he picked us up
for his monthly weekend visitation rights the next time,
had a little yellow lab puppy "Flash" in his ol' 63-64 Buick Skylark conv.
he was taking us camping to Pinecrest Res. & campground...
{it's just up the hill from where I now live}
Poor little guy "farted the whole dang way", almost stunk us out of an open car,
he wasn't dealing with the altitude very well...
Anyway it helped to slightly heal my heart from the loss of my beloved Lady...
We became steadfast best buddies, you couldn't separate us,
I never let him out of my sight the whole weekend camping, boating & fishing...

He'd try to retrieve anything you would throw, even rocks in the lake,
he'd go down bobbing for rocks {I know stupid to throw rocks for a dog}...
He'd bring back big sticks damn near logs to have you play with him,
even when he was just a wee little pup...
He was exactly what the Dr. ordered, probably one the nicest things
my ol' Pops ever did, when I was young, he was usually more interested
in chasing skirts usually...
Unfortunately I only got to see him on weekends, when I visited my ol' Pops...
Or I'd ride my bike some 10 miles to go see him, to the next town over
edge of Walnut Creek & Lafayette, several times a month...
But he was always really excited to see me, he'd ignore my sisters
& my Ol' Pops when I was around, we were of alike minds I think...LOL


Dog #4

Baron #4 {Black Lab}
A couple years later years, I found a dog wondering the neighborhood,
black lab puppy guessing maybe 6-8 months old, he was skin & bones,
looked like he hadn't been taken care of or was on the lose for a while...
My mother the salt of the earth, gentle soul, animal lover too said;
" I could keep him, only while I looked for his org. owners"...
He had no collar or tattoo no, idea where he came from...
But I didn't want him to have to stay in a kennel in the pound,
I felt sorry for the little dude...
I'm sure there was some tears on my part, involved in her decision too...

I made flyers, with help from my older sister Candy & went out,
posted them on telephone poles everywhere all over Canterbury Village,
a subdivision in Concord Ca. where I lived in Cobblestone Ct.,
this was like 1970-ish
I was like 10-11 & there were tons of kids, a real tight nit community of
mostly all younger families at the time...
Anyway we did that & checked in with the pound,
we gave them our phone # & address etc.

About 2 months went by still no one claimed the little black lab pup...
My mom told me not to mane him yet, so I wouldn't get too attached,
didn't matter I was already attached...
He slept on my bed, he played with me outside, all the neighbor kids etc,
he was with me every waken moment, it was in summer time...
I'd take him for bike rides to my ol' Pops house, to visit "Flash"
{the yellow lab, who was like 3 now}, we'd all tree play in Dads backyard
in Lafayette until it was time for me to ride home, before it got dark...
Little did my mom know...
I already was calling him "Baron" {all my dogs are royalty, more on that latter}
I got home one night my mom greeted me at the door,
she said; "she had news about the pup {Baron, she didn't know his name yet}
the pound said it was long enough & nobody claimed him, that we could foster
him or adopt him, as long as we licensed him" etc...
I begged & pleaded to keep him, but my step father said;
"NO, we have a dog already, {my sisters dog "Beary"} we don't need 2 dogs",
I should have figured something out about my step dad Bob by then...

So I asked my ol' Pops Harvey, if he would keep "Baron" too,
because he had a big yard like 1.5 acre on a hilltop, plenty of room
& a larger indoor kennel, in the back part of the garage, for the dogs at night etc.
The dogs got along just fine, I promised I'd clean up after them every week
& when I came to visit...
He reluctantly agreed to adopt him & pay all the fees...
I was ecstatic, you can't imagine how happy I was, that I had 2 dogs now...
We spent many a weekends & even school days afternoons together...

They both lived really good lives, I moved in with my ol' Pops in HS,
1975, they pretty much both became the "family dogs" when my ol' Pops remarried
a woman that had 2 boys 12 & 13, 2 adopted girls 6 & 8, after he moved from Lafayette,
he moved to Garden Valley Ca. up in the foothills of El Dorado Co.
There's a bunch more but this book is getting too looooong

{Flash made it to 12, 1980-81 & Baron made it to 14, 1981-82,
they both died of natural causes, when I was away in college}...

that brings us current to 1977 grad. HS at-least
to be continued;

 

[BeeKool]

Flash #3 {yellow Lab}
#4
Baron #4 {Black Lab}
be continued
;

Is this where your love for labs comes from?

" in his ol' 63-64 Buick Skylark conv.

215 V-8?

 

[Budnicks]

Is this where your love for labs comes from?



215 V-8?

Yep & yep to both answers
Flash & Baron were the beginning of it...
I WILL ELABORATE MORE, IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF POSTS

That Buick was a cool ol' car, {IIRC} I know it was a V8
Red with white interior & top only bad part, it was an auto

not the car, but like this one

 

[speedchangesyou]

This is our best friend Gus he is 13 years old still doing great, when we brought him home he fit in our hands now 110 Lbs..

 

[Pops1967GTX]

A dog is a part of your life...But you are everything to a dogs life..

 

[Budnicks]

Dog #5

"Alfred Farten' Urinal" {American Staffordshire Terrier}
after HS & college I took a bit of a break
I didn't live in the right places &
I was away way too often to own & properly take care of any dog
Once I finished school & settled down again,
a friend of mine had a litter of Staff puppies, there was a cute little dude
he looked like Petey from the Little Rascals,
White with brown & tan pots, with a tan spot over one eye...
I fell in love, friendly & spunky little cuss & he had to come home with me...

I was in my 20's so we did stuff together all the time,
he would go surfing with me, he'd mostly hangout on the beaches,
babes petting him & playing fetch, a true surfer-babe magnet
he loved the water, he'd tow me around on my board on lakes
I had a waterski rope, he'd hold onto the handle & swim for hrs
we were best buddies, he was always with me...

I was working for an Ice Delivery co. still in school off weeks & vacations
& he'd ride along with me, protect the cab/cashbox or the refrigerator box,
in the summers when I was in bad area like;
Inner shity area's, Berkeley, Richmond, Oakland, El Cerrito, El Sabrante, Pinole,
Pittsburg, West point {aka Gun Point}, South SF, Berlingame, Redwood City
San Quentin Prison, Santa Rita Prison
even in better areas like Concord, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Alamo,
Danville, San Ramon, Pleasanton etc. all was part of my route

He'd just sit in the back growl when someone opened the rollup door,
he didn't like people messing with his truck & his Ice...LOL
He seemed to know who the good & bad people were too...
He was one of the smartest dogs, strongest & best behaved dogs
I ever owned...
Probably the most protective too, he was a softy if he like you,
really a great people dog...

He tore the **** out of a guy who came up from behind me,
clubbed me over the head, with a sock full of rocks & attempted to rob me...
Alfred was in the cab of the truck protecting the cash box,
he was startled when the guy opened the truck door & saw a 85#
mass of pure muscle, with a mouth full of teeth, staring right in his face...
The guy slammed the door, I was barely conscious still, but saw the whole thing...
Alfred broke thru the window, it was partially down for airflow, he'd jumped out,
chased down the robber/perp/guy, proceeded to tackle him/take him down hard,
bit the **** out of him/held him buy the leg, dragging him back,
until I came & told the guy;
"he was going to hold him there, until the cops came"...
He was like an Alfred chew toy...LOL I let him hold him the whole time...
The owner of the liquor store in Richmond, in a really seedy unsavory area,
lots of welfare transient people it was around the 1st of the month,
usually it was welfare check cashing day, it's out by Point Richmond...
The owner called the Richmond police, they took their sweet time getting there too...
Had to be 15 min.'s

The guy got handcuffed & hauled off to the ER,
The cop said that's one hell of a dog you got there !!
did you teach him to do that ?
I said; "NO I didn't he was just a smart dog, that didn't like people
messing with or hitting me or messing around with his truck or the Ice"

There was a write up in the local paper,
Alfred was a celebrity for a couple days...

That was really the most eventful thing that ever happened...

The bad thing is when I moved to Alaska to help my Sister Candy
whom was in the USAF, to help out with her kids, her & her husband
were both away on orders a lot...

I went home to Concord Ca. had a couple of contracts, I needed to attend to,
some guy claimed Alfred bit them, while they were delivering firewood,
the kids both said to the officers; "he/the del. guy, was trying to hit Alfred"
Alfred wasn't ever aggressive, at all !! unless provoked or someone threatening the kids,
sister or me etc.
The POS Del. guy, tried to sue my sister, unless she either
got rid of Alfred or put him down...
She got scared & but she had gave Alfred away, to someone she & I both knew,
Alfred love d him too, a mutual friend "PK" he was a good buddy of mine too,
that was just out of the USAF, moving back to Louisiana...
So the judge & cops said it was over...
He went to a great home & it saved my sister for getting sued,
but it still pisses me off, the cops & judge didn't believe what the kids said at all...

Dog #6

"Bear" {Akita}
I had another dog during that period of time too an Akita name "Bear"
a big 140# dufus goofy big *** dog, but great guard dog, looked really intimidating,
great for the Ice Plant service yard, looked like a damn Bear when he peered over the fences...
He was actually a really gentile soul too, just intimidating to look at...

Unfortunately;
He had died really young, like 2 years old...
I think he was either poisoned, supposedly he had some drastic liver & kidney failure
{? maybe, the vet didn't really say, it was my suspicions, antifreeze maybe ?, don't know}
or maybe ate some poisonous/bad type weeds, in the Ice plant trucks parking area,
where he was during the day, that he shouldn't have...
But he was prone to chew & eat almost anything, he was really mouthy, {bored maybe}
especially when he was on patrol...

I was heartbroken, yet again...

to be continued;