You had me at Meow

I'll be the first to admit that I come off like a crazy cat lady, but I wasn't always a big cat fan.  When I was younger, I loved dogs.  I wanted a dog more than anything!  I remember one Christmas asking for two things:  a puppy and a Tamagotchi.  During my sister's annual "present raid" she told me that "Santa" got me both!  I was so excited until Christmas morning when I found out it was a Tamagotchi that was a puppy.  Pretty disappointing for me, but that never stopped me begging for a dog.  The day we brought Mia home, I had mixed feelings.

Mia

Mia was our first cat.  She was a very pretty, very typically independent cat. If you tried to get near her, it had to be on her terms.  That didn't stop me from trying to play with her as if she were a dog.  Let's just say, it didn't go well.  I still continued to pester my mom about getting a dog.  Preferably a Jack Russell Terrier!  I wanted a dog like Wishbone!

What's the story Wishbone?

The thing about Jack Russell Terriers are that they are known to be really hyper dogs and do not go well with cats.  I got a little mad at Mia for costing me my dream dog... and then he happened...

It was a cold December night.  My mom had made Shake and Bake chicken legs and my dad had just gotten home.  My dad, at the time, rode his bike to and from work.  That night, a little furball followed him home from the mailboxes.  He refused to leave our porch and had the loudest cry for such a little creature.  He wanted food.  Despite the fact that he had on a pink flea collar, we put Mia in the other room to protect her from any foreign diseases and we let the furball in for food.  He waltzed right in as if he owned the place!  Noticing this, I said "Hey, Buster!  What do you think you are doing?!" and the name stuck.

My mom had already told me at the time that he wouldn't be staying so in order to keep myself from getting attached to him, I sat with Mia in my room promising her this strange kitten wasn't sticking around for very long.  No wonder she hated me!!!!  Later that evening, my mom and I drove around to find the kitten's home.  No one claimed him but we knew he belonged to someone if he had a flea collar on.  On our way home, we pulled the car over a few houses down from our house to drop him off.  Our hope was that he would turn the other way and find where he came from.  When we pulled into our driveway, I turned to look in the direction where we dropped him off.  I half expected him to already be gone but as I looked down the road, I saw that little kitten under the streetlights looking my way.  He started running towards me!  I met him half way and tried to convince my mom to let us keep him.  At the time, she didn't budge.

I went to bed that night with the kitten outside and in the morning I found that same kitten in my mom's room.  I guess after I fell asleep, it started snowing and my mom felt so bad because he stayed on our porch meowing.  The next several weeks, we put up fliers at the local vet offices and looked around for his owner.  With no luck, we decided he had already found his home.

Baby Buster

Now the thing about Buster is that he is extremely patient.  He would tolerate me playing rough with him.  Let's face it, I was still a twelve year old girl who wanted a dog but Buster seemed to be a perfect fit for me.  Physically he wasn't a dog, yet he had similar characteristics about him as he is loyal and trusting.  Throughout the years, I managed to teach him dog-like tricks.  There have been hours of trying to get him to walk on a leash, play fetch, sit on command, shake paws (and switch paws on command) and even play dead.

Reunited after a 5 month adventure in New Zealand

Truth is, he was/is my best friend.  If Buster had been a dog, I would be a crazy dog person right now, but I wouldn't change him for anything else in the world!  He has always been there through all the good and bad times in the past 12 years of my life.  He was there when friendships ended, my parents divorced and on days I wanted to run away from home. He was even there when I left for Europe, New Zealand, and college and more importantly, he was always there when I returned.  When it comes down to it, I am a crazy cat lady today because he was always there.  Even as I write this, he is cuddled next to my lap.  It's a bond that is not easily explained and I've never had another friendship this strong.  I trust him more than I trust most people.  I've had quite a few amazing moments in my life, but none of them compare to that December night where my best friend found me.