Buddy spent nearly 14 years chained to a pole along a national forest treeline in The Columbia River Gorge. Isolation and a fixed walking distance was his reality. After discovering him this summer, a group of volunteers spent a weekend building him a fence and giving him his well deserved freedom. Simply meeting Buddy and spending a moment with him brought many to tears. As we worked, his old raspy howl could be heard, essentially telling us he demanded a visitor. It was painful to hear and it drove home why each and every one of us were out there. Everyone worked at an emotional pace until its completion in the afternoon. When he entered his fenced area, he hobbled along slowly swaying side to side trying to figure out how to run again. It was the first time in a very long time he was not dragging a heavy chain behind him. It felt as though he was not sure what to do and that uncertainty was beautiful. Knowing that he will live out the rest of his years liberated from a chain made me grateful that I was able to be a small part of this entire experience.
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| First glimpse of Buddy and his reality |
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| Andrea meets Buddy. He touched us all profoundly. |
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| Buddy is happy with all of the attention |
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| Outreach volunteers often form strong bonds with the dogs as was the case with Ryann |
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| Dragging around heavy chains like this often cause severe physical (and mental) disabilities for the dogs |
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| Getting a first look at a dog that has not been able to run for many years |
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| There really is an understanding of gratitude that takes place between the volunteers and the dogs |
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| Buddy got a steady flow of treats throughout his fence build |
It should be noted that Buddy will share his new fenced area with a young pittie named Roxy, also chained up in another area of the property. Hopefully, he will live out the rest of his life with a pal.
Stabler, WA
2013
For more information on Fences For Fido please visit the website:
www.fencesforfido.org
