B is for Bud, Part 3 - by Nan Brooks

                                             We continue the adventures of Bud the stray -turned-military-therapy dog.

As Bud settled into his new home and new job at the Warrior Transition Battalion, his days took on a new routine. No more dodging the dog catcher – now he made his daily patrol of the facility, as his new Army friends would say. He walked the outermost hallways in a clockwise direction, greeting his new coworkers as he went. Then he settled down in Margarette’s office waiting to great each soldier and to put his healing skills to work.

When lunch time came, Bud was ready for a walk, but his human had duties to attend to. The nurse case managers in the building offered to take Bud with them up the hill. “Up the hill” meant a nice long walk. Not only did Bud get to go for a brisk walk, but the nurse also let him off leash. Ahhh, a chance to run, which Bud always took advantage of. It took a few tries to get him to come back to his human companions because there were always new smells to follow and new “p-mail” to read in the grass. He and the nurses became such friends that Bud soon came obediently when she called.

Now that his “basic training” was complete and his duties were clear, Bud needed to be assigned a rank within the battalion. It is traditional an Army dog is one rank higher than the highest-ranking human. The highest-ranking nurse was a lieutenant colonel, so he became Colonel Bud.

Once while Margarette was out of town, the base newspaper decided that Colonel Bud was a worthy subject for an article, complete with photographs. So soldiers in the battalion cadre bought him an unofficial dog uniform. The picture of Bud in uniform cannot be copied here, regulations being what they are, but we can imagine him standing proudly in his uniform.  Alas, this was not to be. He hated wearing it and dislikes cameras so he appears, slouching and downcast, as the soldiers stand grinning beside the Colonel. Celebrity can be difficult for a dog like Bud.

 

Next time: Bud’s military retirement