Buddy had another life before he met the McClintocks.
Only three weeks ago he became a permanent member of their family. Before that, Buddy (above right) was found as a stray in Kirksville. A veterinarian thinks he is part Dalmatian and part Labrador retriever and estimates him to be two or three years old.
He was placed in a foster home while Second Chance, a volunteer animal-care organization, tried to find him a permanent home.
The McClintock family had another life before they met Buddy.
Six years ago, Jim and Debbie McClintock moved to Columbia from Blue Springs with their daughters, Jill and Julie, and their dog, Bo. Both daughters graduated from MU. Jill lives at home with her parents while continuing her Human Development and Family Studies graduate program at MU.
When Bo passed away in November after battling diabetes for two years, the McClintocks weren’t sure they wanted another dog. Bo, a Brittany spaniel and golden retriever mix, had been an important part of the family for 12 years.
“He was a good boy,” Jim says.
On clear, pleasant days, Jim and Bo would go for afternoon walks in their Heritage Meadows neighborhood. The sidewalks are wide, and the houses are spaced far apart, which gives dogs plenty of room. Now it’s Buddy who accompanies Jim. They are starting a new life together, a second chance for both of them.
Buddy was at a Second Chance showing at Award Pet Supply when Debbie and Jill found him.
“He was in a cage there, and he captured their hearts,” Jim says.
Not a lot is known about Buddy’s life before Second Chance rescued him. A dog that loves to be petted, Buddy is mild-mannered and calm.
“He’s still getting used to us, I think,” Jim says.
— Kate Carpenter
(photo by Benjamin Reed)
(Illustration by Elizabeth Neal)