In April 2004 I arrived home to find that my wife had made an executive decision. She had brought home a malnourished, sensitive stomach, ADHD, puppy by the name of “Percy” for my son.

I was not at all happy as we were going on vacation to New Mexico the next day and “Percy” would need to come along.

We loaded up the minivan and away we went. During the trip the dog slobbered all over the place, had several accidents, tried to escape, and threw up.

We had a good trip anyhow, but the dog was still a challenge as not every motel was pet friendly.

When we got back, the dog was renamed. “Percy”, the shelter’s name just would not do.

My son named his new dog “Buddy”. I did want to name him “Zen Buddha” but I was overuled by all three of my children and wife and Buddy stuck.

Buddy would run everywhere. Inside, outside, up and down. No wonder he had been through three other families. Somehow, though he started to grow on me.

He went to the vet a few times because of his overly sensitive stomach and some “sick shelter” syndrome.

One time while taking him on a ride Buddy decided to leap out the window from my car.

He ran into a horse pasture and chased the horses, jumped in the poop laden pond and then proceeded to run away.

I finally corralled the dog and took my stinky Buddy home for a bath. I was not a happy camper.

Nontheless, Buddy had some surprises in for us.

We did not know at the time we got him he was a pure bred rat terrier.

Rat terriers are extremely intelligent, energetic dogs. Bred for erradicating vermen from farms and hunting, the rat terrier, is truly a handful as a puppy.

Over the next year we trained Buddy to do several basic tricks such as sit, stay, lie down, and dance.

Buddy will dance, not beg for a stick of dog jerky. He never quite got beg, but he sure can do a good dance and hop when the food is above his head.

He has now become this grumpy man’s best buddy. Buddy has brought joy and happiness to my family.

He is so loyal he stays outside the door after “doing his duty” until we let him in. He always sounds the alarm when anyone knocks.

And he runs away when the word “bath” is mentioned.

He loves his tummy scratched, ears massaged, and will eat anything that falls from our dinner table before we can get it up.

The once villified “Percy” is now the family Buddy and I cannot remember what the last three years would have been without Buddy, my “brat” terrier.

He kills mice better than any cat and he can turn on a dime when playing fetch.

We walk almost every night and every tree and fireplug is a potential victim.

Buddy judges no one and loves everyone he knows.

New people have to earn his respect, but when they do he is as happy to be around them as any other friend or extended family.

Rat terriers have a life span of around 14 years. I hope he has a good life with us. If I have anything to say about it Buddy will not see another shelter in his lifetime.

Mark,
Thanks for this page and allowing me to share this story of foe to friend concerning my Buddy. He is now the family dog. My three sons love him, he is a God send to my wife, and he has brought the boy back to this middle aged man.

Buddy is a conservative rat terrier. He listens to Rush, Hannity, and Glenn Beck in the car.

He hears Mark on the internet because he is not yet in our market in Utah.

Mark, you air in St. George about 300 miles away and me and Buddy cannot get you during the day here.

Anyway a message from Buddy: “Get the show in the Salt Lake City market you big dope”. Don’t blame me, blame the dog.

Thanks for all you do Mark in defense of our nation and way of life.

Dave in Utah