B is for Bud, Part 4 -- Bud Retires - by Nan Brooks

                                                  A Retirement Party Requires Refreshments

 As we saw last week, Bud often went for walks “up the hill” with his favorite nurses, so his primary human thought he would lose some weight from all that good exercise. He had been pretty hungry when she first brought him home, probably from the months he lived on the streets dodging the dogcatcher.  So, he had gained some weight from a good healthy diet. But as his time working with wounded, injured and ill soldiers went on, Bud gained a little too much.

He enjoyed his walks at lunch time and loved to run in circles every evening, but he continued to become more and more, shall we say, portly. His human realized what was happening. Every morning as he arrived at work, Bud did what a good PTSD therapy dog does: he checked the perimeter. He made his way around the outer rim of offices in the one-story building, sniffing for suspicious smells and for delectable ones as well. Everyone loved seeing Bud and could be heard greeting him.

“Good morning Colonel Bud! Here’s a little snack to start your day.”  Bud was cashing in. Not only did he gain weight, but his allergies kicked in. Most grains are not what Bud should eat, but most doggie treats contain grains. So the word went out to his friends and co-workers: no more treats for the dog. Everyone agreed to stop feeding him.

After a while, the time came for his human to move to another place and new adventures, so Bud began preparing for retirement, or rather his human co-workers began to prepare to miss him. On his last day at the Warrior Transition Battalion, his human took Bud as she made her way  around to say her good-byes. Her co-workers told her how much they would miss her as she would miss them.  She noticed that while she talked with folks, Bud sniffed at a desk or file drawer in just about every office. And then nearly every one of her co-workers opened that drawer and said, “Here Bud, here is one last treat. I sure will miss you too.”  Everyone was still feeding the Best Dog Ever.  He was going to make some adjustments in retirement, as we all do.

Next week: Bud’s extended family