| Author | Message | ||
     Court |
This last week, Susan and Aaron Wilson lost one of their babies and I've got to tell you, if I felt hollow when I got the word of the cancellation of this years World of Speed, I felt totally down when I read that. Some of you may recall a tale I wrote several years ago. I was in St. George, UT at a super secret intro of the 1999 Buell lineup. I was totally digging the scene as one of my assignments was to take the off-the-wall group of journalists from England's "BIKE" magazine as they "tested" one of the first X-1 Lightning. That night, after a day in the 120oF heat, I returned to my hotel room to see the message lamp flashing. It was 11:00PM in New York City when I called. Vick's voice was broken as she said "quick, call Dr. Carreras, something's happened to Hobbes". When I called and got the prognosis it became obvious what I had to do. When we'd first learned of his cancer, in Waukesha, WI, it hit us like a ton of bricks. We read and studied all we could and the best route, although super expensive, was the University of Wisconsin at Madison, in-treatment 30 day canine oncology unit. I cried most the nights my 108# baby was away. When the day came to pick him up, the staff was standing in front with all the toys they'd brought for him, to tell me "this is one we hate to give back". Hobbes loved people. For a Will Harper trained guard dog, he never gave a hint of ill temper and was at his happiest, before we left Kansas, leaping and chasing frog's around the perimeter of the pond as we went on our daily adventures. Dr. C said that, after several years of remission, the cancer had returned and he'd found an enlarged organ the size of a football. I asked him if there was any treatment and the prognosis was that it was beyond that. I told him to not let that wonderful thing suffer one more moment and to do what we had to do. I cried most the night as I struggled to call Colin and Bryce. The next day was my "free" day. The heat of the desert sun would do nothing to hide the red in my face and there was no mistaking the tears for sweat as they rolled out of my helmet that day. Finally, with the journalists all dispatched, I left, on my own, to a flowered meadow high above the national park. There I sat. I reflected. I prayed. I questioned. I thanked. How much fuller my life had been made by a big brown lug of a fellow who'd never said a word. When I moved to Wisconsin, Hobbes went with me. He sat patiently on the seat of the truck as we made the 12-hour drive. All the time, I kept thinking of ways to get the landlord to recant the "no animals" policy. It was not to be and Hobbes, all 108# of him, would have to be hidden. Fortunately, the hours at Buell were long. We'd leave early in the mornings with all evidence of a dog in the house loaded in the truck with us. During the day, Hobbes would sleep in the front seat of the truck and the Buell factory folks would come out and play with him on break. Many times, Gary Valine and I would drive over to the field at the dead end near the Mukwonago water tower and forego our lunch to watch him frolic. As I began to make my 59 consecutive trips from Milwaukee to New York the logistical "what to do with the 108# dog" presented itself. Initially, the kennel near the Buell plant worked, but as time went on I missed him and found that it was only $50 and a medical certificate for him to travel. That night we went and purchased a HUGE travel kennel and the fun started. If you want to know the TRUE benefit of owning a HUGE loving lab, take him with you!. No kidding. To the front of every line we went, the skycaps, seeing I had the pup to contend with, did double duty. Inevitably, the moment we cleared the door, the gal at the counter would say "come on over here, I'll help you". What customer in line could say no to that face? The moment we had a boarding pass and it came time for Hobbes to head for baggage the dudes in baggage would extend the "come on down and play with him" invite. We got in the habit of, I'm certain, breaking lots of rules as Hobbes performed tricks for the baggage crew who always had water for him and allowed me to take him out of his cage until about 10 minutes prior to departure. This week, as I read Aaron's sad news, all those memories came back. I write lots of things at this desk, much of which you guys and gals never see. I have many things hanging from the wall, but my favorite is...... <B><CENTER><I>"Animals are absolutely pure, loving, joyful, loyal, appreciative and honest. They are everything I would hope to be. They instinctively have all the attributes that to me are the most beautiful, and I believe that God put them here for us to emulate" --Doris Day</I></CENTER></B> From Hobbes to the Wilson's, our hearts go out. Court  | ||
| Peter |
Maybe they've both met Spike? I had this bloke for about 10 years until his heart stopped. He traveled through the majority of Australia with me on bikes over those years.  (Hmmm! I just realised that that picture's about 20 years old.....) PPiA | ||
| Phillyblast |
Over eight years ago, I decided I wanted another dog. My then-wife and I already had a cocker spaniel mix, but I wanted, well, a "dog" dog. So off to the shelter in Louisville, KY I went. I saw this scrawny puppy with her ribcage jutting out of her sides sitting quietly in a cage. I picked her up and she wrapped her large white feet around my neck and clung for dear life. When I tried to put her down she started to howl and grabbed me even harder. I couldn't put her down, I took her home with me, and named her Sophia, a nod to my lapsed Catholic-hood. The shelter told us she was a hound-dog mix. That was, as Court would say, an inaccurate statement. I also quickly discovered that not only was she left to wander the streets and fend for herself at 9-10 weeks of age, she was also abused by her "owner" before being abandoned, and had a rather aggressive demeanor, especially when food was involved, because of it. So off to the trainer we went. The first night he handed me back a broken "choker" collar. She had lunged at one of his dogs behind the chain link fence and snapped the collar. Seems she had not only an aggressive streak but a strong neck. Turns out the "hound dog mix" is part American Staffordshire Terrier. Pit Bull to you and me. Luckily, the trainer was a retired Army K9 corps guy, so we got her straightened out post haste. She and the cocker spaniel co-existed peacefully (for the most part) for the next 7+ years, until the wife and I split in the spring. I think she misses her buddy but she's also delighted to be the center of attention. It'll be a sad day in Philly when her time comes, and I hope it's a long way away. The last check up at the vet reports excellent health - the vet was amazed when she checked her chart that Sophie is nearly nine years old. How much do I love this mutt? She's the only thing I fought with the ex over during the divorce, and I dumped a woman over the summer after she told me she "couldn't stand dogs". besides, she's just so cute. This is her the day I got back from CO  | ||
| Court |
Ok....we're adding dogs to the guns, airplanes and guitars list that Buell folks seem to share a passion for. Here, pictorially, is pretty much how my "Conscribed Bachelorhood" ended......    That's all I have to say about that  | ||
| Road_Thing |
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| Firemanjim |
OK,I give---which one is Roadthing???(In case anyone needs to be told--that's a JOKE) | ||
| Road_Thing |
Jim--I'm the one with the whiskers!  r-t | ||
| Pilk |
I'm having a little trouble with the pics. 100lbs of pure energy. | ||
| Roadrunr |
Here's a few clowns for ya.. .  | ||
| Sandblast |
I know this is a really old thread, but I just read it and Court you moved me with your story about Hobbes. Here is my Black Lab I got a couple months ago from a pretty good Breeder near my home. His name is Murphey.  And here is the Buell content- it is a permanent Breeder tattoo that they use for identification, in case you cant tell it says "S1". I have always wanted a black S1 ! I picked him out of others before I saw that, but it convinced me it was fate.  | ||
| Court |
He is gorgeous! Where is the breeder? | ||
| Phillyblast |
Sandblast - nice pup - my new one has a tat as well. Ya gonna get him any more ink?  Gus, the new kid. | ||
| Henrik |
Really nice dog, Shawn. Congratulations. And Gus is growing I see. Henrik | ||
| Bomber |
I LOVE posts on creation's most noble creature! kepp em coming, so I can play vicariously with the pooches! | ||
| Ocbueller |
 /image{My Hound} | ||
| Sandblast |
Thanks everyone! Court, the breeder is here in Riverside California, she deals mostly with Labs but has other dogs as well, including a "Labradoodle" mix that I guess is becoming very popular! Murphey is the perfect addition to my family, fast friends with my two year old little girl. They do cause some chaos together! Cool pics OC and Phillyblast- I could look at dogs and Buells all day. | ||
| Phillyblast |
Anyone wants to check out some more dog pics try here Online costume contest. Henrik - Gus is thankfully fully grown - got him at 18 mos. from a rescue. 55 lbs. of Pit Bull and he's scared to go near the cat. Good thing, actually | ||
| Dino |
I'm embarrassed to admit that we don't have any real dogs. We have only what Dave Barry would call small emergency backup dogs.  Front to back: Lucy, Sophie and Molly. | ||
| Nedwreck |
This is Connie, she's an Australian Cattle Dog. I'd try to get a better pic but I'm lucky she stopped this long. She's 4 yo and wfo most of the time. Fetch and Frisbee are her favorite pastimes. She tends to make a taco out of the Frisbee when she catches it and tries to kill it instead of bringing it back so we don't do it that often.  Bob | ||
| SouthernMarine |
I've shared some before, but thought I'd share more. We've raised him since he was about a week old, he'll be five in January. Rescued him after his mother was ran over and killed. We know he has Rottie in him. We think he might have some Blue Tick in him.     This is not staged. Yes, he likes to sleep with Barney, and uses him as a pacifier. We have three of them, just for him. I'm not joking.  | ||
| Court |
>>>small emergency backup dogs That is hilarious. I love all these pics. Jack, my mutt, has a habit of loving to sleep in bed under the covers too. At 100# it's hilarious. The moment I get up, at 3:45AM each morning, he's there! Good news is he's a great heater! Thanks for posting. Court | ||
| Dino |
Court, almost as hilarious as the term "small emergency backup dog" is the fact that we have a backup for the SEBDs. If someone knocks at the door and the SEBDs are engaged elsewhere, our cockatoo barks. "I love all these pics." Ditto! I should apologize for Sophie's (the white one) punk hairdo in the picture above...bad hair day! Dino | ||
| Court |
Dino: I seldom offer "lifestyle" advise. In your case I am going to make an exception. Avoid mind altering substances. Court | ||
| Dino |
Court: Yep, could be scary in my house. The trouble with being married and having three parrots is that if I'm not paying close attention to who's doing the talking I can end up following orders from a bird. A better option than ignoring one that came from the wife. And it's dangerous to ask, "was that you, or the birds?" Dino (Message edited by dino on November 15, 2004) | ||
| Blake |
Dino, My gut hurts. Please stop. LOL! | ||
| Dino |
Oops, sorry, my bad. | ||
| Dino |
Well, the small emergency back-up dogs had an interesting, if frustrating, evening yesterday. One of the parrots was playing in the cardboard box on top of her cage when she discovered that rapping smartly on the inside of the box with her beak sounded just like a knock at the front door. That, naturally, sent the three SEBDs tearing thru the house, sliding and scrabbling across the kitchen linoleum in near perfect formation and syncronicity, then piling up in one furiously barking mass at the front door. Eventually the SEBDs would strut back thru the kitchen and into the family room, woofing quietly among themselves. I believe the conversation went something like this: SEBD #1: Guess we showed them! SEBD #2: Damn straight! SEBD #3: We bad! Meanwhile the parrot, who had stuck her head out of a hole in the box to watch the melee, waited quietly for the SEBDs to return to the couch and get comfortably ensconced (which entails several minutes of circling and pawing), then popped her head back into her box and...knocked. It was indeed a relaxing night at home. Now, where did I hide those mind altering substances? Dino | ||
| Dino |
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| Phillyblast  |
Dino, Is that like having one of those "donuts" in the trunk instead of a full size tire? | ||
| Dino |
Similar, and about as useful. | ||
| Dino  |
While our dogs may be small, they're mountain dogs, born and bred. Hardened little animals, completely oblivious to the frigid morning temperatures. Uhuh.  |
