Remembering Buttons

Gloria B. of the Town of Poughkeepsie sent in this remembrance of a special dog:

I read your story about your Kate, and it made me remember my Buttons (who is now in Doggy Heaven). He was a lovable character.

Buttons loved pizza. One day I was walking my four dogs (Buttons was without a leash on the sidewalk, he would go far into the woods so no one could see him do his duty), when my daughter came home from work and Buttons recognized her car. When he turned around to see her, she was carrying a pizza box. Well, he took off like a greyhound and beat her into the house.

He would always be at the door when I came home from work. He could tell the motor of my car. If I was carrying a plastic container, he knew that I had fresh fruit from the salad bar at the A&P. He loved watermelon, cantalope, etc. Actually, anything I would or should or could give him he would eat. He was really a little person with four feet.

He use to sleep on my bed at night and wake me up by throwing his body across mine. One night he was at the bottom of my steps near my bedroom barking. I kept telling him to stop but he kept it up. I brought him up to the kitchen and he went right to the stove and barked. I did not notice anything right away, and he kept barking. Then I looked into the grates on my stove where I found mice droppings. He knew or heard them at night and was letting me know that they were there. The two mice were caught, and he could finally get a good night's sleep.

He was a very affectionate dog, and he made my life a pleasure after my divorce. I miss all my dogs, but he was very special to me. He was like my best friend.

Thanks for writing, Gloria.