RIP Little Buddha

My little Japanese Chin, Little Buddha (of Suburbia) is gone!

I let him and Sandy out to go pee and play this morning. Then I left the front door cracked open so he could push it open when he returned, like he always does, but I know he never will again. Recently, he had a back injury and was hurting for months. He got a couple of steroid shots and then he began to feel like a puppy again. He and Sandy loved to go for runs in the nearby fields, visiting the neighbors. I knew the risks, but keeping him close was nearly impossible. He would wait and wait until he got out of sight and then make a dash, running off for twenty minutes at a time. I guess his luck ran out this morning.

As I was waiting for him to come back, I heard some yipes in the distance behind my house. I also heard Sandy growling and barking along with another dog. I ran to the back door and saw a brown shape, carrying something in it's mouth run across the fields in back of the barn, followed closely by two more brown shapes. They were gone in a flash and then as I headed out that way, Sandy came running up to me. I wish she could talk. I fed the horses in silence, thinking about it. I know what happened. Coyotes. I always thought Sandy would protect him because she is the only dog I know that will go running after coyotes but I guess the numbers were stacked in their favor. I guess it's all about the Circle of Life, isn't it? He couldn't have been worth eating. He weighed all of four and a half pounds and most of that was his thick fur.

Buddha will be missed so much! He would come back from doing his duty outside and just run around the house madly for a few minutes because he felt so good. Whenever it was feeding time, he would do "Chin spins". He loved to lay on the top of the couch or on the table so he could look out of the window. He was always called a puppy by strangers and a "she" because he was so tiny and pretty. He had a beautiful white coat that was never dirty looking and the silkiest, softest long hair ever.

He was the best lap dog! He was my constant companion for the last seven years. 

Just yesterday, I was thinking about my life and how I couldn't cry any more and it's true, I can't. I just visited CTG Ponies blog and The Hurt, sung by Johnny Cash, was playing. It should have made me break down and cry just for the song but now, with Buddha gone, I still can't.

R.I.P. Buddha, my little buddy!!!