Introducing -- Bud the Spud

Son's Christmas gift to mom and dad increases the Estes pack by one.

By Jacque Estes
| 9:35 a.m. January 8, 2016

Buddy, or Bud the Spud, experiences snow in New Mexico over the holidays. He is the newest member of the Estes pack. Photo Jacque Estes

Sunny is our guest pup of the week. Courtesy photo

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

A trip to visit our son in Arizona, to celebrate our granddaughter’s first Christmas and her first birthday, resulted in a “special” gift to us – Buddy, a Jack Russell mix.

Buddy was OK, even protective over granddaughter Emilia the first few months. I have photos of him sitting attentively by her side in response to her cries.

But then she began moving – around the apartment – into his stuff. She began reaching out to pet him. His counter-part, Billie, merely walked away – but Buddy wasn’t that smart.

So to keep the peace we agreed to bring him back with us.

He’s stayed with us before. I even took him and Kodi (the Corgi) to an event at Washington Oaks one year, where he shocked the Friends who were selling plants by “fainting.” He didn’t actually faint. When Buddy wants to lie down he just falls over.

This canine addition is taking some coordination, especially at food time. Buddy has a puzzle bowl to slow his eating down; Kodi just gets two small servings. So far they seem to be eating at the same pace, and even when Kodi finishes first, the purple and green plastic food puzzle seems to baffle him. He’s a royal dog, he doesn’t work for his food – he is served by his “staff.”

Buddy is smaller than Kodi, and my husband calls him “Bud the Spud.” He does have a bit of a potato shape. This difference in size seems to have Kodi under the impression that Bud the Spud is a cat, and Kodi likes to pounce on our cat. No she doesn’t like this, and she darts away. Buddy on the other hand takes exception. We’ve had a few squabbles over this.

Kodi has also taken to what I call his “Elvis Presley” look, curling one side of his mouth up. This is the warning that something is about to happen and it's time for intervention.

For the moment the crates are still up and used when we are not home. Neither of us wants to find Amityville blood dripping walls when we get home; or dogs in need of medical attention.

Kodi is tolerating his new brother for the most part, but I think Buddy is probably wondering if that wild child he left in Arizona wasn’t so bad after all.