Buster Our Friend, Our Dog, A Gift from God

The Beginning

We were a young family. Our three boys, Michael, David, and Bruce were all preschoolers. We lived in an apartment building in East Dallas on La Prada. One side of the apartments looked out over a field towards the community college, and the other side faced La Prada. In all the years to come, we would forever refer to these apartments as "the Old Apartments", not because they were old but because they were the apartments that we used to live in.

We tried to make a habit of praying about things that concerned our family. There was nothing too trivial for us to include in our prayers. We thought that it would be a good idea to have a dog for a pet, because who could possibly raise three boys without a dog? So, we had included that idea in our prayers for several weeks. I remember very well the day that Buster came to us. It seldom rains in June in Dallas, Texas, but there was a continual drizzle that morning when I went out to the parking lot to get in my car to drive to work. As I reached out my hand to open the door of my car, a little white dog, soaked to the skin and quite dirty, came up to me, wagging its tail.

Even though I was in somewhat of a hurry, it just was not possible to leave the little creature to the elements. I had the trip to the office timed very well and did not have many moments to spare if I was to get there on time, so I picked up the little guy, hurried back to our apartment, rapped on the door, and handed the dog to my surprised wife, asking her to try and find out who the owner was. This was an acceptable thing for me to do because Debbie is an animal lover. Even though I had never seen the dog before, I thought that it probably belonged to someone else in the apartment complex and that it would be back with its owner by the time I got home from work. Not. When I opened the door that evening; I was met as never before or since by a rush of enthusiasm and a common chorus, requesting that we keep the little dog because his owner could not be found. They had gone to the apartment manager and neighbors, but no one had ever seen the little dog before. My first impulse was to say no, but who could deny one's family at such a time as this, or who could resist their happy faces? Therefore, I gave in and the whole world must have felt the joy, if not hear the shouts of glee, that came from that apartment.

Even though I let them have what they wanted, the little dog was just a mutt to me and I was somewhat irritated that it was living in our apartment with us. It seemed to me that a dog belonged outside. From the start Debbie hugged and kissed Buster when she held him. I never did get used to that. At least I would put my foot down and see that it stayed off the furniture and off the beds.

Michael came up with the name of Buster. The others agreed, and I did not let them know that I thought that it was a very plain and ordinary name. Little did I realize how much that name would one day mean to me. The first few years that we had Buster we thought that he was a mixed breed, not that there is anything wrong with that, but we just did not see in him the characteristics of any breed that we were familiar with. We thought that maybe he was a mixture of a poodle and something else. There was a distinctive curl in his tail and his short, slightly curly hair could be fluffed up nicely when combed. His eyes and nose were like three black buttons on a white background. A vet told us that he was a Bichon Frise, and the resemblance to photos in books was certainly striking. Anyway, Buster was very intelligent and very affectionate.

We were only in the Old Apartments for a couple of weeks with Buster. We rented a house in Garland where we were to live for the next three years. This was my chance to see that he be treated more like a dog ought to be: he would sleep in the garage! It did not go unnoticed by me that Debbie had accepted Buster as a fourth son, and it is hard for me to imagine that any dog could be loved more than Buster was.

Buster was a part of everything: the birthdays and Christmases, playing inside and outside, and even the trips to Granny's in Arkansas. Buster loved life. He never met a person or dog that he did not like, even though he enjoyed barking angrily through the chain link fence at persons walking down the sidewalk. He especially loved trips in the car. It was either because of the thought that he was allowed to accompany us instead of being left home, or the fun of sticking his head out of the car window, or the new smells that were everywhere.

In twelve years there was not a single occasion where one of us came home to anything less than a very hearty, friendly, and affectionate welcome from Buster. I have never known a human to come close to matching that.

Close Calls

While in Garland twice we came close to losing Buster, and to us it was further evidence that it was much more than a coincidence that we had him as our friend and family member. The first time he was gone for two nights, and we feared that we would not see him again, but he came back to us one morning, dirtier than any pig could possibly be. From that time Debbie was very careful to see that he wore his tags at all times, and this ended up being very helpful the next time that he got lost because he was picked up by a dog catcher and we were easily identified as the owners. We gladly paid the fee to get him back.

There is one other time that we almost lost Buster, and I must say that we are thankful to God how things worked out and we do not want the credit to simply go to circumstances or good luck. I had a temporary contract assignment in Portland, Oregon that lasted several months and all six of us went there and stayed in a condominium. Buster slipped out an open door one evening and was gone. Once again we feared that we had seen Buster for the last time, and once again we prayed and asked God to help us get Buster back. A kind, elderly gentleman found Buster that night, took him home, and let him sleep with him. The kind, old man saw that the dog was wearing tags registered in Texas, and he made a long distance telephone call to Texas and found out our name as the owner. He then dialed directory assistance and found our phone number in Portland, and contacted us about Buster. Thank God for such a person because he spared us great sorrow and anguish, and cared for a little lost dog and his family.

A New Phase For Buster

After leaving Garland we entered a period of time in our family when we were a little bit down on our luck financially speaking, and we had to move into a duplex where we had neither a fenced yard or a garage. That which may appear to be bad for one may be good for another, because Buster was now permitted to sleep with us. He could now get on the bed whenever he wanted and even get on the couch. What a happy site to see him dashing down the hallway at top speed, fly through the air with a bound, land on the bed, dig and claw at the pillows until they were just right, and then to lay regally on them as a king on his throne. Perhaps because of all the years when he was not allowed to do so made these things now so much more enjoyable for him. It was at this time that I also came to regard Buster as an individual and not as just a "dog". In my mind and my attitude towards him he now had all the rights and privileges as any other member of the family.

One of Buster's characteristics was his ability to be gentle, especially with Debbie. Whenever Debbie needed to brush and comb him, or to do something like trim the hair around his eyes, Buster would hold perfectly still in a very relaxed manner and was totally pliable in her hands. The first few times that we took him to the vet, the vet marveled at how relaxed Buster was. Although, after a few visits Buster became very wary of the veterinarian office, and it became an undesirable place for him, obvious by the way that he would cling to us while we were there.

Buster got to know each of us very well, and he used that knowledge to affect how he approached each of us. Initially, I was the taskmaster, the one who would do the scolding and would limit his privileges. The first couple of years Debbie was his protector, and the one that he was most attached to. Michael could be counted on for any rough and wild playing whenever Buster so desired. David was the most gentle with Buster, and the last couple years of Buster's life he spent a great deal of time in David's room and even slept with him every night. Bruce liked to play tricks on everyone and Buster was no exception, so Buster learned that it was in his best interest to avoid Bruce at times. But Buster also knew that Bruce was the one who would always give in to him when Buster wanted a bite of what everyone else was eating, so Bruce was the one that he would go to in those situations.

Much can be said without words, and Buster communicated with us by body language, or a glance, or a bark. It was obvious that he wanted to go out back when he went over and stood at the glass door to the back patio, looking back to see if he had caught anyone's attention. If I was sitting on the couch and he came up in front of me and sat and just stared at me, it usually meant that he wanted a doggie bone. When he stood under the window in the living room, he was asking to be picked up and put in the windowsill so that he could look out the front. He reminded us of a cat the way that he would lay there and look out the window, and also the way that he would jump up and lay on the back of the sofa. Buster was always aware before any of us when someone was approaching the house, and he would let us know in no uncertain terms by his loud barking and running back and forth between the front door and the carport door.

Perhaps we were so attached to Buster because of how affectionate he was. He did not like to be alone. If I sat down in the living room or in the bedroom, I knew that it would not be long before Buster would jump up and snuggle in beside me. Of course, this gave me the benefit of not being alone either. If I reached down and started scratching him, he would often roll over on his back because he liked to have his belly scratched. What a look of ecstasy with his feet stuck up in the air and his eyes rolled back and a smile on his face. Sometimes he would go to sleep in this position.

Whenever Debbie and I were sitting next to each other, or were laying next to each other in the bed, Buster would not be satisfied unless he were between the two of us. I never did figure out if this was because he was jealous or because he wanted to be able to touch each of us at the same time. It was probably a little of both. If I walked up to Debbie and hugged her, Buster would come and demand to be picked up and to also be hugged by jumping and barking at our feet.

Buster's Last Days

Buster was getting older. He slept more, and obviously had less energy. He did not run around in circles with excitement as often, although when he did he seemed to be able to go just as fast as always. The winter before we lost him, I remember looking at Buster as he lay resting on the couch. He was thinner, his coat was not as healthy looking, and his best days were behind him. I said to Debbie that we should realize that one day Buster would be gone. Knowing that it would happen did not make it any easier, when it did.

The summer came and we had been planning a family canoe outing on the Buffalo River for several weeks. The trip was to be an all day affair, but Buster fell sick a few days before we were to leave. He lost his strength and his appetite and had a fever. The vet said that he thought that Buster had an infection of some sort and gave us some antibiotics in pill form to give to Buster. Over the next couple of days Buster's condition did not improve and Debbie was having trouble getting Buster to take his medicine, so we decided to leave him at the vet's so that Buster could be given antibiotics intravenously. Over the next couple of days, Buster's condition worsened and tests showed that he had kidney failure. The vet suggested that we have him put to sleep.

Our anxiety turned to tears as we took Buster home, hoping that the vet was wrong and that we would be able to nurse Buster back to health. Of course we prayed for Buster, just as we had the times that we lost him. Certainly God could make Buster get better, just as the times that we miraculously got him back when he was lost. But it was not to be. We took Buster to another vet, and she told us the same thing as the first.

The first few days Buster would vomit whatever we would give him, and then he would take nothing at all. Debbie was with him constantly and comforted him by holding him in her arms. He loved us to the end, and he wanted to be near us to the end. Even his last night he mustered the strength to get up, come to our bed, and put his little paws on it and peer up and over the edge. Every breath became a struggle for him now, his little emaciated body was tensed up, and I knew all hope was gone, and I had to take him to be put to sleep.

It was Sunday, July 3, and we called the vet who was on duty and arranged to meet him at his office. Debbie cradled Buster in her arms as I drove to the vet's office. Our sobbing and tears were now unabated. I tried to be brave and fight back the tears as much as I could as I talked to the vet. I laid Buster on the clean stainless steel examining table. Buster lifted his head one last time and looked at me as if to say that he understood that it was time, and he laid his head back down in resignation. The shot of barbiturates put Buster instantly to sleep.

We took Buster home and buried him near the back gate. The boys and I built a cross as a grave marker and labeled it simply with stencils and a black marker: BUSTER 1982-1994

No one was ever loved as much as Buster loved us, nor as much as we loved him. The sorrow and sense of loss that we now felt was therefore to be expected. The next few nights were sleepless ones for us. After one of the nights I went out and sat in the back yard with such grief and despair that I would have never thought possible. It was very early in the morning, about 5 or 6 A.M. For most people this would be a day like any other day, I thought. The birds were even singing just as cheerily as always. Even though almost overwhelmed by sorrow, I was determined to learn from Buster everything that God had meant for us to learn. What I was experiencing now was that the worst thing about life was death, at least for those who are left to sorrow and feel the loss of one who is gone. But Jesus rose from the dead and promised life after the grave for those who would trust in Him. He offers hope where otherwise there would be none.

It was clear that Buster had come to us as a gift from God. We learned things from Buster about life, and love, and God. God is the creator of all life and all good things. It is now the established order of things that life is temporary. We make a very big mistake if we forget the temporary nature of life. Perhaps God gives us animal friends with a shorter life expectancy in order to remind us that we will be following them through the gates of death.

When one life is over, the world keeps turning. One generation begets another. Death follows life, but new life follows death. God could have answered our prayer and healed Buster and kept him with us longer, but He did not. God is not a genie who gives us our every request. He is God and we are his humble servants. God determines who lives and how long they live.

Knowing these things were a small comfort, and I suppose that we would have eventually gotten over it, but in order to speed up the process we found a kennel that breeds Bishon Frise puppies. They had a litter that was ten weeks old, just the right age to enter the home of a new family. It was the only litter that was ready that we could find in the three state areas of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, and it was right here in our own town of Fort Smith, Arkansas. This was another one of those “coincidences”.

Animals And The Bible

Of course, all of the animals were created by God just as man was created by God. We all have the same source as our origin: the mind of God. It is interesting to see some of the things that the Bible says about animals. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” On the fifth day of creation God created the animals. The Bible says about the animals in Genesis 1:22, “And God blessed them…” It also says in Genesis 1:25, “And God made the beasts of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” These verses clearly answer the question as to where the animals came from. For example, consider your dog. It has a mother and a father, and each of them had a mother and a father, etc., all the way back to that time when God created their original ancestors. The animals came from God. Knowing this truth already sets us in the right direction to determining how we should view animals. They are God’s creatures. When God created them, He blessed them and God said of them that they are “good.”

Why did God create the animals? This little bit of writing is not intended to answer the question entirely or to look at all of the passages in the Bible that demonstrate all of the uses that God has given for animals, but it will look at a couple of them. Note first of all that God created the animals on the fifth day, and then God created man on the sixth day. That which God creates, He provides for. God created the animals, and then God created man so that man would help take care of the animals. That is one of the very first things said about man. Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” This dominion carries with it responsibility. That which has been given to you to control, you must do so responsibly. For example, Deuteronomy 25:4 gives the commandment, “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.” In other words, even an animal that you may be using for your benefit should be properly fed and cared for.

Those who help animals are doing the work of God. God Himself helps the animals. Jesus used animals as examples of the fact that God will take care of people. God will take care of you because God takes care of animals. Jesus said in Matthew 6:26 on His famous teaching about why people should not worry concerning their material needs, “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”

It appears that God meant that there would be a close relationship between humans and animals. Human beings can be greatly comforted by the presence of animals. We see that taking place in our society where dogs and dolphins and other animals are used for those who have some illness for which humans are not totally adequate in themselves to treat. Elderly people and lonely people can be tremendously blessed by the company of animals. Perhaps Jesus Himself was comforted by animals. That seems to be what was indicated by Mark 1:13 where we are told of the experience of Jesus in the wilderness when Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights and was tempted of the devil. It says of Jesus, “And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.” In this verse the word that is translated “wild beasts” simply refers to animals. The word that is translated “with” is a preposition that is used to express a close association and companionship. In one of the most difficult times of His life on this earth, the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus at least had the companionship of animals along with the comfort of angels. Evidently it was not enough to just have the angels. It is better to have animals and angels.

There are other times that animals are mentioned in reference to Jesus. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven “as a dove.” Of course, the week before He was crucified, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. One interesting incident where animals are mentioned in reference to Jesus was the story of the Syrophenician woman. At first Jesus did not respond to this woman the way that she had hoped. But when she compared herself to a little pet dog who would eat table scraps from its master, Jesus said to her in Matthew 15:28, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” No doubt Jesus loved animals, and He taught that the heavenly Father loves animals. Jesus said in Matthew 10:29, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.” We sorrow at the loss of every one of our pets. God sorrows at the loss of every animal. God loves them. When our great Savior returns and transforms the world, He will do so for the benefit of His animals as well as for the benefit of mankind. That is exactly what Romans 8:21-23 is teaching. It says, “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

We can say that obviously God created animals so that men would be associated with the animals and receive companionship from them. We can also say that God created the animals so that man would learn certain things from the animals. We can learn about friendship from the animals and faithfulness and unconditional love. We can learn about the cycle of life: of life and of death and of new life, just as my family learned from Buster.

There are also several important lessons that the Bible gives us to learn from sheep and from lambs. Several times in the Bible people are compared to sheep. Sheep will easily go astray without a shepherd. Sheep without a shepherd will easily be attacked by wolves or will fall over a cliff. The Bible says about the common sin problem of the human race in Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Jesus was like a lamb: a lamb given in sacrifice for us. That is why Jesus is called the Lamb of God. Think of a lamb that is sacrificed: how innocent and unable to defend itself. Jesus became a lamb in this cruel world and took our punishment so that we would not be punished. Isaiah 53:7 speaks of this fact and says, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” Isaiah 53:10-11 also says, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him: he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

Once a person comes to know Jesus as Savior, that person is then compared to a sheep who does have a shepherd, a Great Shepherd. Psalm 23:1 says, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” The Great Shepherd provides for His sheep. The Great Shepherd makes sure that the sheep are properly nourished. Psalm 23:2 says, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Sheep need a shepherd in order to end up where they need to be. People who do not have a shepherd end up where they should not be in life and in the next life. Of course, a shepherd protects the sheep also. Psalm 23:4-5 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

One last thing that the Great Shepherd, Jesus, does for His sheep is spoken of in Psalm 23:6. It says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This is the thing that Jesus does for His sheep that a human shepherd cannot do: Jesus provides eternal life. Heaven will be a wonderful place, and you can go there through Christ. If you have never done so, make sure that you bow before Jesus and pray to Him and ask for the forgiveness of sins. Become one of His sheep while you have time.

There is one last thing that we can say about animals and that relates animals to heaven. There will be animals in heaven. When Christ returns to the earth to judge the earth and to fight the battle of Armageddon, Christ will come riding upon a white horse; and all of the believers will be with Christ also riding upon their white horses. These horses not only run, they also fly. They will fly from heaven to earth. What a ride that will be! Concerning this event, Revelation 19:11 says, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” If horses are in heaven, other animals are probably there also. Will the animals that we know on the earth be there? We will find out. Perhaps Buster will be there. How wonderful heaven will be: even animals will be there with us as part of the eternal existence. Make sure that you are also there by turning to Jesus Christ and praying to Him for the forgiveness of your sins.

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Copyright; 1994 by Charles F. (Rick) Creech

All Rights Reserved