Buddy’s Story Buddy was born on August 12, 2017 and is a registered purebred Chocolate Lab. His parents were AKC “royalty” from a breeder in Maricopa County. Buddy’s name at birth was Guinness Stout Whiskey Monkey. He was purchased as a young puppy by a family that had an autistic child. As Buddy grew and got stronger, he was too much for the young child. Buddy had the typical high energy of a puppy that proved dangerous for the child. He was crated most of the time which worsened his pent-up energy. The family worked with a professional trainer and, although Buddy reached a perfect skill level, the family did not have the patience or time needed to reinforce those skills and continued to crate him. The family made the right decision and returned Buddy to the breeder when he was 1 ½ years old. A second family purchased Buddy from the breeder who told them he was not a puppy any longer and would be much calmer. The breeder told the family they could return him if it didn’t work out. Unfortunately, the breeder was not honest about Buddy’s needs for a lot of attention and exercise. Additionally, the senior dogs already in the home were stressed with Buddy’s constantly wanting to play. The new owners admitted that due to their work schedules they could not provide him with the level of activity and appropriate attention that a dog like Buddy needs. In July 2019 Buddy came to DLRR as a 2-year-old “marked” puppy. He never received the attention, exercise or discipline that his high energy body needed. He was labeled as “mentally challenged” and a difficult dog. He interacted in a mouthy way and was controlling with his own space. It would take a strong leader and committed adopter to work with this young boy. After several adoption attempts, finally in February 2020, Buddy found his forever home. He gets daily walks, lot of play with siblings, swim time in the pool and a large backyard to run around. Buddy is very social and loving. His new family reported he is very smart and learns quickly. His only noted bad habits were counter surfing and garbage diving, but he was learning quickly those things were off limits. Buddy’s forever family knew he would be a work in progress and that it would take time for him to learn appropriate behavior in his new home. They recognized he had been through a lot and it showed in his insecurity. They also recognized his potential to become a wonderful addition to their family. The new owner said, “I’m totally amazed how the previous adopter could not see what a great dog he is! I truly believe that Buddy was meant to be with us and our dog family. We feel very blessed to have him.” With proper direction and owners who were committed and loved him, he is coming into his own. We checked in with Buddy’s new family and here’s what they have to say. “Buddy and I have become very attached. He’s everywhere I go and very close by unless he’s playing with his brother. Buddy still has some things to work on, walking on lead (being distracted by other dogs or people), someone coming to the door ringing the doorbell and jumping on people mouthing. He’s progressing slowly but surely. He’s just not had consistent and repetitive correcting, but he’s very smart and eager to please. He’s a wonderful dog who has never really gotten the chance to be part of a real family, but he’s home now here forever to be loved and spoiled. Thank you so much for this gift of another great dog from DLRR and giving us the chance to provide him a happy and safe future life.”