Buster Our IAMS Dog

After watching the “Duck” video, I’ve been inspired to tell you about our IAMS dog….Buster. 

My husband and I come from dog-loving families.  We both had a dog we got as a puppy and had all through our growing up years, so when our daughters were young we decided they needed a dog, too.  A dog they could grow up making memories with.

Our first attempt at a pet dog was a huge fail!  Before getting another dog, my husband did some research…because that’s what he does.  He found, somewhere online, a dog compatibility test.  This test asked lots of questions…many about your lifestyle, how much time you had to commit to a dog and everything in between.  It was then able to suggest the top ten breeds that would be best for our family.  To our surprise, the top breed for us was a Hairless Chihuahua!  YIKES!  I think it was because we said we didn’t want to spend time grooming.  

Moving down the list quickly, we saw Pug at about number three.  It said they were good with kids, didn’t bark a lot, friendly with strangers, and didn’t require grooming.  It did sound like a great dog for us….our girls were five and three, we had enough noise without a barking dog, we frequently had people in our home and I had enough hair (me and two girls) to take care of without worrying about a dog’s.  

After a trip to the local pet store where we saw a Pug, were told he was $1500, but not to worry, they would finance! The last thing we needed was a dog we had to finance!  We began looking for a reputable breeder who would, hopefully, be less expensive.  We found one in Baltimore, about an hour and a half away and at a much better price.

I’d like to say it was love at first sight but we actually did a lot of deliberation between Buster, a fawn Pug, and a beautiful black Pug puppy.  

We eventually decided on fawn with the idea we would get a black Pug for our next puppy.  I think it was then we opened the door to the idea we’d be a “more than one dog” family.  

The girls were thrilled!  

Now we had a dog, we just needed a name.  All the way home we talked about it.  Everyone came up with a few they liked.  A list was made then we began to narrow it down.  There were lots of good names suggested but we seemed to be coming back to one name over and over.  We were at the end of our trip, and just as we pulled into the driveway, we determined his name would be Buster!  It was simple, fit him perfectly and best of all….everyone could say it!  That had been a BIG consideration…after all, we had a three-year old.

Buster lived with us for over thirteen years!  

He was a handsome fella!

A great dog that loved our kids and they loved him.

Although, as we added dogs, our oldest daughter claimed Buster as her own.

That’s his “smiling” face!

He patiently endured the addition of another child…

Making our home three girls and three boys (including Buster)

Graciously welcomed his daughter (our black Pug) into the family

Survived two cross-country moves…

And eventually became a Texan, just like the rest of us

He made a wonderful effort to welcome our third dog, Bella

Even though she was bigger than him when she was 8 weeks old

And he did what Pugs do best…

SLEEP!

Usually, on things that DID NOT belong to him!

We miss him, but are thankful for the memories our children made with him

Thanks, IAMS for helping us keep Buster vibrant, active (or at least as active as a Pug gets), happy and healthy for thirteen wonderful years!

For more information on how IAMS can be a key component to helping enhance your dogs’ health at every life stage visit their website or follow on Facebook or Twitter.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.