Transport #41: Buddy

I am embarrassed to say how long it's been since I last did a transport, but I'm sure if you scroll down you can see the amount of time that has passed.  Nearly an entire year!  But this year has been a nightmare of ups and downs with my father going through cancer treatments (and ultimately passing away) and my new agility endeavors (there's the "ups" of the "ups and downs"!).  So when a transport came up on a free weekend for this handsome old guy I just couldn't resist.  His story is a sad one:

This sweet senior yellow lab (8-10 years) was found standing in the middle of a highway the other night, not seeming to know what to do or where to go.  It appears he was hit by a car and suffered a stroke.  At first, they thought he was blind in one eye, but after doing some testing, it appears he can see okay.  

He was found by a good samaritan who got him vetted and kept him until a rescue could be found for him.  One in New Hampshire was happy to take this handsome old guy in and so he was sent on transport from Missouri all the way to New Hampshire.  Quite a ways to travels for an old guy!

I brought my Mom along this time as she loves dogs and is happy to have some time out of the house with someone to keep her mind off of things.  We got over to the meeting place early and we buckled in for a long wait as the transport was running behind.  Lo and behold, the person who was coming from the Rochester area was running a bit ahead.  So she got him out, found him a spot to pee, we got him some water and on our way we went!

The trip out was, thankfully, entirely uneventful.  The roads west of Syracuse were pretty hairy and I think the whole transport was a little on edge because yesterday a transporter in the south and the puppy she was transporting were killed in a horrific accident after getting caught in an unexpected ice storm.  I know I felt really nervous heading out, but it ended up that we had a bit of sun and dry roads all the out and back from the meeting spot.

We arrived some 25 minutes early and got Buddy out for a little walking around and some pictures and, since it was only 15 and very windy on the river, we hopped back into the car to love on Buddy and wait for the next person to show up.  My gosh this dog was a love sponge.  He couldn't have leaned any harder into our petting.  I'm pretty sure he was ready to crawl into our laps and I think my Mom was a little bit in love with him.

Once he was passed off, the car felt kind of empty without him.  He was such a silent, sweet presence.  I hope he quickly finds a home to cherish him for whatever remains of his life.  He deserves it!