Buffy's family

My mom and dad were born and raised in Taiwan during a transition from rural to urban environment in the cities that they lived in. While modern conveniences were present, people still had farm animals around in the middle of the city and for my mother and father this meant that they played with the chickens they later ate for dinner.

This also included having dogs around.

These were outside dogs which mostly ate table scraps and were mainly utilized for security purposes, however the universal appeal of dogs to children was present for my parents and they would play with these dogs and enjoyed having them around.

When I was growing up, it seemed that all of my friends had golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers. I remember asking my parents if we could get a dog, mostly wanting one so we could fit in and they would say no citing responsibility or allergy issues.

So I was surprised when I asked my mom what she thought about Diana and I getting a dog. She immediately told me it was a great idea. She said that she felt that everyone who was willing to put in the time and effort into to having a dog should have one. To my mom, a dog enriches one’s life. Through caring for someone or something else, it invigorates the spirit and getting a dog is a great way to do this.

I’m thinking my mom may have had some ulterior motives.

My mom followed our first couple months with Buffy closely through my blog and conversations over the phone (my parents live in Seattle). In the Fall, my parents usually visit Diana and I in Chicago and my mom and it seemed like a perfect time for my parents to meet Buffy.

My mom called me a week or two before they came and told me she was worried that Buffy wouldn’t like her. I reassured my mom that of course Buffy would like her but as soon as I hung up the phone, I realized that there was a possibility that Buffy may not like my mom.

Buffy likes people. In general she comes up to people that she senses wants to pet her and is happy to be petted and played with. Now there have been people on the street that Buffy has shied away from but she has never not taken a liking to people Diana and I care about. Regardless of this, Buffy is a dog, and sometimes and you really can’t predict everything they do.

When my mom first met Buffy it took approximately 0.5 seconds for Buffy to fall in love with my mom.

My dad didn’t initially know what to do with Buffy, which was pretty much exactly the same as when I was babysitting a dog before we got Buffy (which I discussed in this earlier post). However, within a couple hours I could see that my dad was enjoying Buffy and within a day, he was infatuated with her.

By the time my parents were leaving for Seattle, we had spent pretty much the whole weekend walking and playing with Buffy. We had a great time, it was beautiful Fall weekend in the Midwest and it was great to see how much fun Buffy and my parents were having with each other.

When my mom got back to Seattle, she called me and told me that she and my dad were already missing Buffy before they got on the plane. She suggested that we move our family trip, which we planned to do in Seattle in the spring to the Midwest so that we could include Buffy.

This really warmed my heart.

I’ve always felt that Buffy, Diana and I are a family. But I didn’t have any expectations that my parents would necessarily feel the same way. I know whatever is important of my life, my parents will embrace and maybe Buffy gets that too. Maybe that’s why Buffy and my parents affected each other so much. Or maybe Buffy just liked the way my parents smelled.

Buffy, you not only got me, Diana and Diana’s family but you’ve also go my parents as part of your family. You’re a lucky puppy to have such a great family and we’re lucky to have you as part of our lives.