Buddy's Inspiration

Hi Friends--I am sharing a good one (I think) from Petwarmers.com.  It's a tear jerker, but good!  Love, Merry

BUDDY'S INSPIRATION
by Betty King

      Many face disabilities or handicaps in this world.  Life is not
always fair.  Even the animal kingdom experiences their share of
adversities.
      Buddy was a canine.  He had lost one of his rear legs in a freak accident but that did not delete his worth.  He recovered after intensive care and mountainous amounts of love.  Buddy soon showed his eagerness to resume his rightful place as friend, family member and walking partner.
      He and Betty, his owner and walking companion, slowly began
their twice daily stroll after Buddy showed an interest in resuming their daily ritual.
      It took awhile for Buddy to obtain his previous pace.  At first, Betty accommodated her three-legged pal with intervals of rest time along the way.  Soon he was back to his old self again, except for the fact he looked like a friendly pirate minus his wooden leg.
      Drawing disability benefits, myself, I can vouch for the fact
that the capability to love does not diminish when body parts are
missing, or they fail to work as once they did.  Nor does it hinder
the desire to seek, accept or give love.
      Buddy continued to love, maybe even more intensely.  And Betty's love perhaps doubled, in seeing the will Buddy possessed.  True love sees past handicaps and perceives beauty that lies within the heart that remains.
      Betty is the grandmother of my ex-daughter-in-law.  My name being Betty too, we had a kindred spirit.  Betty lives in a town a few miles away and since our son and her granddaughter's divorce, Betty and I had not seen much of each other.
      The other day out of the blue, after being away from home on an errand, I returned to a message on my answering machine.  It was Betty.  She wanted to talk with me and I returned her call.
      "Betty," she said, with a sorrowful tone to her voice, "I just
wanted to let you know Buddy died last week."  "Oh, he did?  What happened? I asked, deeply concerned. "Well, he had been slowing down on our walks.  He just couldn't keep up as before.  I found myself waiting for him a lot lately.  We heard him bark about 11:30 the other night, and didn't think anything about it, and the next morning about 6am I went to check on him in
his bed.  When he didn't move, I thought it was just his hearing.
But when I bent down, I could tell he was gone."
      I could hear the grief in Betty's voice.  I wonder if she could
detect the sorrow in mine.    Whether we are human or canine, it is not the adversities that come to us, it is not the disabilities that befall us -- but how we overcome them, and continue on that counts. Buddy had overcome his adversities.  He had not let his
disability keep him from loving life and living it.  He had not let a
missing rear leg keep him from being the same loving companion that he had been with four legs.
      Six years without a leg did not diminish Buddy's worth -- it
only emphasized his will to persevere amid hardships.  His desire to continue his daily walks with Betty were exercises in proving his will and to show love to the master he adored.
      I thanked Betty for calling.  She knew I would understand her sorrow for having lost Buddy.  She also knew that I would forever remember Buddy's will to persevere.  She also must have known that I knew Buddy was special, loved and would never be forgotten.    Indeed, Buddy, you will be loved and remembered.

               -- Betty King     <baking2 @ charter.net>