dogpage

PUG Dogs

Hi! We are Buster and Bogey McKinley (Buster's on the right and Bogey's on the left). We are world traveler Pug dogs. Buster is 15
(really old for a pug) and can't see anymore (but he can smell a morsel of food miles away) and I am 10 (and a damn good Captain!) . We
live with our Daddy and Mommy on our sailboat. We love to sail. Buster is King of down below, and I am Captain of the cockpit. Here
are a few of our favorite pictures of ourselves:

Becoming good sailors was hard work for us but we love it. During the day, Buster sleeps down below - his favorite place is on any dirty
laundry. I, as Captain, stay in the cockpit with Daddy and Mommy. My chief job is to alert everyone when the sails start luffing.
Mommy says that she is going to put a shock collar on me but then she kisses me instead! I must be doing good!

We are more social than other dogs because we have spent years on docks and traveling so we meet new dogs and people all the time.
We didn't start out this way - we used to bark at everybody and everything - but we got over that.

Dog care matters - Because we are exposed to so many different dogs, Mommy makes sure we have all our shots and take our
heartworm meds regularly. Of course, stray island dogs are off limits! Mommy also keeps meticulous records so we can get into other
countries with no hassle. Mommy says that all sail dogs must start with the required basics....ID Chip, annual Rabies (if you get the 3
year Rabies you still have to get shots annually - going 3 years is not accepted by 99% of countries), and the typical annual shots for all
the various canine diseases. Some places don't require vaccination against some diseases because it is rare in that area (i.e. Lepto), but
you might as well get vaccinated for everything in case you want to go somewhere that does require it.. That's okay, since I'm a real man
(I mean dog) and shots don't bother me. Buster is so old, he cries occasionally when he gets a shot. Hey, maybe that means I can finally
take over as dominant dog. Cool.

Dog grass - Sometimes, we do things different than other dogs. If we are anchored in a area where we can't go ashore to do our dog
business (swamps, marshes, only muddy shores, etc.), we have to go on the boat. Oh, nothing really nasty, but still on the boat. A couple
of years ago, Mommy and Daddy talked us into going on this funny looking, weird, green stuff (it's basically astro turf with holes in it). It'
home is on the swim platform. When it's time to go, Mommy puts our leashes on and takes us to the back of the boat. When dog business
is over, Mommy throws the grass in the water and uses a bucket that's always handy to wash the swim platform off with sea water. I must
admit it works pretty good. If the current is really strong, Mommy and the dogs get clipped onto the boat in case somebody goes in.
That's way overkill cause I'm too cool to accidentally fall in the water. I guess it's the safety thing to do for Mommy and Buster. If we go
on a long trip and are offshore for a while, Mommy has a piece of grass cut to fit the aft shower (no one uses it anyway). Before the grass
goes down, Mommy lines the shower with pet training pads. Later, the whole thing gets hosed down and disinfected in the confines of the
shower. I get the willies doing my dog business inside the boat, but it's either here or the cockpit. I did that once and don't want to hear
all that yelling and questioning of my heritage and all. I will take the grass anyday.

Ode to Buster - It's a sad day for the McKinley household. Buster left to visit the veterinarian with Mommy and Daddy because he was
really sick. He did not come back. It took a few days for me to understand, but Buster has gone to the big doggy resort kennel in the
sky. Mommy and Daddy have asked me to give a tribute to the life and times of Buster McKinley. So I will do my best.

Since I am only nine, I was not around for Buster's early years but Buster, Mommy and Daddy filled me in over time.

Daddy and my big people sister, Laura, rescued Buster from a cage in a pet store. Daddy, Laura and Buster surprised Mommy one night
in 1993 after returning from shopping at a mall. Buster has a pedigree. I don't. I'm just a common barnyard Pug dog, which distresses me
greatly (that's another story that I'll save for later).

Buster has always been a smart dog unlike me (okay, I'll stop talking about my problems). He was stubborn but could suck up to you and
play poor, pitiful dog so you would forgive his indiscretions. He was a dog's dog and loved to get nasty and smelly unlike the clean dog me
(okay, okay). When we had a yard, he could spend hours finding worms in the grass and scarfing them up with one swift plunge, pulling
them out of the ground with his teeth. He tried to show me how to do that for years but I always thought that was way too yucky. He even
once found a dead mouse in the flower beds around the house and brought it into the garage to show Mommy. He could always develop
lock jaw on command and it took a lot of yelling and screaming and unmentionables to dislodge the thing from his mouth. Buster was
proud of that for years.

Buster loved to eat. He always told me that he learned that from being in the pet store cage. He said they never fed him enough. "Never
miss a meal", he said to me at an early age. He could beg for table food scraps with the best of dogs. He begged so well, I never had to.
I just hung around and got some too. He loved to eat even at the end. He would sleep most of the day, but would wake up and walk
around the boat several times a day in hopes of running across extra food. I think he learned that when the bag of dog food fell over and
he tried to eat himself to death last year (see story about our stay in Marathon last Christmas). He would also stage himself in plain sight
about thirty minutes before feeding time so Mommy and Daddy would not forget (not that they would, but he didn't want to take the
chance). Buster would also keep his options open when taking a walk. Mommy and Daddy would have to watch him around mushrooms.
Buster could sniff them out (he couldn't see since he was about 10) and act like he was just looking for a place to go then lunge at the
mushroom and scarf it down before anyone could react. He even once got one bigger that his head (it was hanging out on both sides of his
mouth) and immediately got lock jaw because he knew Daddy would be taking it away. Buster won. Everyone was always amazed that
Buster never got sick from eating mushrooms. Hey, it was food.

Buster loved to drink. Galen, Daddy's life-long college friend taught him to drink Budweiser at an early age. He would only get what was
left in the bottom of the bottle, but he would lick that out with glee. He would even walk around with the bottle in his mouth after the dregs
were gone. Mommy put a stop to that after Buster broke a bottle once on the floor. He regretted that for years. Over time, Buster
refined his taste for Guinness. Not that he would turn another brand away, but you could tell he really got exited about the dark stuff.
Even during his last days, Buster would sleep in Daddy's lap during happy hour waiting on his due. One tap from Daddy and Buster was
instantly awake with his tongue in the bottle, then back to sleep waiting for the next one. Buster loved it when Daddy drank too much.

Buster was always good to me. When I came along it only took a couple of days for Buster to take me under his wing. We could spend
hours and hours chasing each other and hiding from each other. Only once did we knock over a lamp. Mommy came home and found the
lamp and thirty minutes later found both of us hiding under some furniture. We knew we had screwed up big time. Somehow we survived
and continued to chase each other until Buster got too old.. I'll always remember those years.

During Buster's last years Mommy had to work extra hard to keep Buster happy and comfortable. He needed daily care, basically twenty
four hours a day. Mommy would even carry him to go poop. Buster just didn't have the energy to walk. Buster was so grateful that
Mommy made his life so good.

We will always remember Buster for what he was. The perfect dog boy and big brother. Cheers.