Buckley and Jen are the fourth human/canine pair in this series to explore the special bond between people and those few special dogs we call heart dogs. I know Jen as a “Shiba person” so I was a little surprised to find out that her heart dog is a terrier mix, not one of her Shibas!
Buckley’s personality is funny. He’s just a fun loving, perpetually happy little guy. He is sort of “sassy” in a way, but I’ve been told that’s a Bichon thing. And he’s stubborn, which is a Beagle thing. Very people-oriented. He’s true to his breed mix. He thinks his Shiba-siblings are rock stars.
I love the admiration that Buckley has for me but I think it goes deeper than that. He’s shown me the sort of affection you can only get from a dog that truly trusts you. It’s more than tail wags and licks. It’s long sighs of contentment, gazing into my eyes, always finding a way to position himself to be touching me. It’s not quite clingy or velcro-y, but there is definitely a strong connection. I feel it deeply. I always say that I feel it in my bones – me and Buckley were meant to be.
His official gotcha day is January 13 – the day we signed his adoption papers – although we were fostering him before that. His birthday is in October. He was 13 weeks old when his family gave him up to a local rescue. He was acting like a tasmanian devil and they thought he was dangerous to their kids. I was meant to be his foster, but within a week I was completely done for. Our relationship started right away, I think he really wanted to be treated fairly with kind hands instead of constantly correcting hands. He would follow me around, snooze on my feet, snuggle on my chest, always want to lick my face. And he still does. My husband says that I’m his due north – he’s always facing me.
He’s taught me to not be afraid to seek out a deeper connection with all dogs, even temporary ones (fosters). I’m no longer afraid to get my heart broken from inevitable goodbyes because the journey there was worth it.