Why am I doing this again!!

After 12 years of having the worlds greatest dog in my life, my Golden Retriever Buddy passed away in my arms a month ago. I've had 3 other Golden Retrievers over the past 40 years but Buddy was the best. I knew he was going to be special the first day I saw him. He was a big lug of a dog, the biggest puppy of a litter of 10. He ran over to me while the other puppies were more interested in sleeping, eating and all those other things that puppies love to do. But not Buddy. He ran over to me, jumped on me, licked my hand and I was hooked. He had me at woof. I brought him home that day. My wife and three boys fell in love with Buddy as quickly as I did. A dog like Buddy is something every home needs. When things get tough, Buddy was always there to make us smile. He didn't care if the laundry was done, if the house was a mess, how much money we had or didnt have in the bank, if the kids homework was done or what grades they got on their report card, he didn't care if you had a bad day at work, he didn't care about politics. Buddy was always waiting at the back door when we got home in the afternoon with his tail wagging and a smile on his face....and you couldn't help but to smile back at Buddy. He would walk in, sit in front of you and in a few seconds you had a 100 lbs dog in your lap. Always...even on the day he died in my arms, minutes before he passed away, his tail was still wagging when he saw me walking toward him. We both knew he was probably down to the last few minutes of his life...but that tail was still wagging. He was special. Tomorrow the story continues...and you'll hear more about how our lives changed on that day...and why you should get a few extra days off work every year if you own a Bassett Hound.