BUDDY

Chellie asked me if I got to keep Jonathan's beloved dog Buddy and some other people that knew him and knew he was never without Buddy has asked me the same thing. SO, I'm going to try and explain why I didn't and why I think he is better off where he is now. Jonathan's way of life is impossible to understand if you've never known or experienced anyone who suffered mental illness. One of the times when we had convinced him to seek help, he had a councelor whom he liked a lot and she asked him what he wanted from life and he told her he just wanted to be "normal". And her reply was "Normal is just a setting on a dryer." He liked that and remembered it always. But what he meant really was he wanted to live a life like he saw other people living, where you were happy with yourself and you could have relationships and you could keep a job and a home and a family and things were peaceful most of the time. He wanted to face problems and know how to handle them.
As a child he constantly brought animals home that he'd find at the dump or abandoned. His love for animals was great, but because of who he was, he had to really bond to a dog to feel a real connection. So, most of the dogs became mine that he brought home except a few that he bonded with. After he got married he and his wife found a desserted puppy that they forever called Puppy. Puppy became his wife's dog. He loved Puppy but he bonded with her instead of him. Probably about a year later he found Buddy at a dump. He was just a puppy, some weird mix of what I'm not sure but from day one, Buddy and he were meant to be together. So Buddy and Puppy were raised together. But Buddy had issues of his own. He couldn't stand to be separated from Jonathan. Back in December I baby sat him while Jonathan went to a party with some friends here and I think I even posted about that dog moaning and groaning and crying and pacing the floor. I couldn't console him and I got no sleep that night.
Even though Jonathan and his wife were divorced, he never could really let go of her and she of him. And at the time of his death he was living with her again as "Friends" which she may of thought that but we, his family know he couldn't accept that. (another long story). Anyway, next to Jonathan. Buddy was the happiest being with the dog Puppy that he was raised with and with the ex wife. So that is where Buddy is and where I think he belongs. His wife is almost fanatical about dogs, to the point that she puts her feelings for her dog above any human, (another long story) but at any rate I know he'll mourn for Jonathan but at least he is with another dog and a person he knows. And I feel sure he will be loved and taken care of.