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Friday, February 1, 2008

Womans Best Friend

I'm sad today. And yesterday, and the day before. Our pug died. His name was Bucca. He was just the best pug EVER. My sister brought Bucca home without any warning like 15 years ago (give or take, we all get screwed up on the date). I was in college, but home for the summer. She didn't ask anyone, she didn't ask my parents, she didn't kind of hint that she was thinking about getting a dog. She just came home one day with this cute pug nosed little guy. We already had a dog (a collie) and a few cats, so it wasn't that my parents were against pets. But in typical and wonderful Chrissy fashion, she wanted something, and on impulse, decided she would get it. So Bucca came into our lives.

My mom told her she had one week to find another owner because we were NOT keeping that dog. Yeah, RIGHT! I think he won us all over in like 3 days. He was only a year old when Chrissy got him, and he seemed to be a normal sized pug. But he ended up HUGE! I mean really. Most pugs are like, I don't know, 20 lbs? He was 40!
Yeah, you read that right. He was so sweet, and so lovable. He wasn't super hyper, and he loved to cuddle and sleep. I can remember full weekends where Chrissy and him just stayed in bed and come out solely to take him outside, and to get some food, then back to bed.

He sold our whole family on pugs. They became our dog of choice. So then a few years later, we decided to go for pug #2. Zoe. She was Bucca's little sister, and followed him around from day one. I think Bucca didn't love it at the beginning, he simply tolerated her. But they became the best of friends.

Bucca had a great life. I always said if I came back as a dog, I would certainly want to be my parents dog, because boy was he spoiled! When I lived at home, I would come home from work and smell something cooking and be like "Mom, what's for dinner?" and she would say "Whatever you decide to cook yourself. I'm making this for the dogs." And there would be two hamburgers cooking. She would buy them a rotisserie chicken every week when she went grocery shopping that was just for them. We weren't allowed to eat it. It was for the dogs. They ate more table food then dog food, and every single night ended with the dogs and my dad splitting a bowl of Butter Pecan ice cream.

I can remember this one time when I was living home, and I was so sad, and I was crying in my room (don't ask me about what, probably some sort of stupid breakup with a stupid boyfriend) but Bucca walked into my room, jump up on my bed, and start licking my face. It's like he knew I needed some love, and he always gave it. Heck, he was even mentioned in the speech our best man gave at our wedding. Everyone loved him, and he loved to be around people.

He was old, and he lived a heck of a charmed life, for a dog. He was having trouble breathing, and he went to see a specialist, but it was too late. He died on Wednesday in an oxygenated cage at the specialist.

He was a wonderful wonderful pet, that brought my whole family a huge amount of joy. He will be greatly missed. And wherever he is, I hope he's got a never ending bowl of shrimp to eat (his favorite food!), a comfy bed to lay on, and a constant hand rubbing his belly! We love you and miss you Bucca!
R.I.P. Bucca


Our Little Cowboy

Santa boy


Cute little man

Bucca and Zoe


Resting sweetly


Love,
Erica

13 comments:

Chrissy said...

I MISS HIM SO MUCH! That was a beautiful tribute to a great dog. I remember our Sunday morning expeditions where we would go to Dunkin Donuts and I would buy each of us a bagel and then we would go to the park to eat our bagel and walk around the pond. One Sunday, I took my sister's jeep and Bucca ended up jumping into the pond afer some ducks and was covered in black scum. He smelled so bad and I had to load him back into the jeep to get him home. Bucca will always have a very special place in my heart and will NEVER be forgotten. Thank you for paying tribute to him. I have to stop crying because my co-workers think I'm a freak.

Erin said...

Aw, it sounds like Bucca was such a great dog. I'm so sorry he's gone.

Anonymous said...

Bucca was a great dog, I am sorry to see him go, I will miss him

Anonymous said...

I am going to miss my boy all the long walks we took, He always wanted to be right next to me, always had to eat what i was eating, Sleeping next to me pushing me off the bed, I will always love bucca and I will never forget him.

Christy said...

Oh I'm so sorry for the loss of your beloved Bucca. What a beautiful, loving tribute to him too. You actually had me in tears by the end. I love reading of pets who are such integral family members. It also says alot about the family. Your people could be my people.

MoMo said...

I am so sorry to hear about your dog Bucca. He sounds like a wonderful dog!! I know the memories will stay and I hope they will always make you smile.

Unknown said...

Erica, I was so sorry to hear about Bucca - he was a great dog - I remember him on your wedding day all dressed up while the storm raged outside...let me know if you need anything.

Aimee said...

Oh no..... :o( I am so sorry for the loss of your Bucca. Losing a furry family member is so very hard. *hugs* He was there with you through good time and bad. It's unfortunate dog live such short lives. Sounds like he got plenty of love and attention in his years!! I know you will always have a special place in your heart for him. RIP in doggie heaven Bucca!

Lollipop Goldstein said...

I am so sorry, sweetie. He was a gorgeous dog. And obviously very loved.

Jen said...

I'm so sorry for your loss. He sounds so sweet!

Chris said...

Hi, you don't know me I'm up late blog surfing. I just lost my border collie Freckles a week ago today. She was 15 and your story about Bucca coming in and licking you touched me. Freckles was my single girl dog. My protector before my husband. I feel your pain and am sorry for your loss. We lost our 19 year old cat three days after Freckles...it's been a sad week. So odd that I stumbled across your blog so I felt like leaving a comment. God Bless Bucca and I hope he's running in beautiful green fields with Freckles!

Keeping The Faith said...

Just wanted to say...Happy 10 months to Jake and Hailey!

:-) Faith

so sorry about Bucca... I know how hard it is to lose your family dog.

Anonymous said...

Auntie Ar said. We too loved Bucca and was very sad to learn that he's gone. He IS in a wonderful place now with lots of shrimp and ice cream too. Because of Bucca and Zoe, we now have both our Pugs - Winne and Ernie. They are sorta Pug Cousins, I guess. I can still see your Mother sitting at my desk telling me how she got Zoe and how adorable she was and that Bucca was her big brother. They were the cutest pair. My Ernie takes after Bucca weighing in at a hefty 33 lbs. Winnie is more petite like Zoe at 27 lbs. We all miss Bucca but know he's up in Puppy Heaven having fun.