Buddha,
My Golden Treasure
By Cliff Ryder Trainor
On November 10th, my birthday, I lost my dog Buddha to spleen cancer. You really, really, do not know what you have until it’s gone. He was my personal treasure, my always companion, my true friend. I think a lot about that chirpy, high pitched bark of his, greeting me when I got home from work every day. I really miss that. The end of 4 generations of Goldens under my stewardship is very painful. He is buried here on the Dogfarm and this spring when the ground thaws I will be placing a memory box in with him of photos, toys, bones, bandanas, collars and the ashes of his ancestors, along with the copies of their written stories. Their stories are done. Here is his.
Buddha was born on what I call The Dogfarm, my acreage in Rolling Green Township near Welcome, MN. Yes, my Golden Treasure was a dog! A dog who ended up being more valued to me than any metal gold or jewels, more than any amount of money or priceless artifacts. He was truly priceless, the Dog of Dogs, the King of the Goldens, the Master of Mellow. When he was born, I could not know this.
This litter was mom Katie Mae’s second and the fourth generation of my goldens going back to the original great-grandfather Woody in California. Woody had been a gift from a friend there and he truly made the phrase “the gift that keeps on giving” ring true. I soon realized Woody was very special and it became my mission to pass along his genes, his descendants, on to other folks. I just had to! This was the beginning of The Golden Ryder line of dogs, as I called them. Woody has his story, this is his great-grandson Buddha’s story.
By Buddha’s time the Doghouse and the runs were quite built up. The Dog Condos, as they’re referred to in the insurance papers. Made from a 12 by 12 foot shed that was originally a well pump house, it was a woodshed when I bought the farmhouse and land. Starting with just an exterior shell and concrete floor with a door sized entry; it has become possibly the greatest doghouse in the county, if not the state! A raised wood floor, insulated; walls insulated; dropped insulated ceiling, all protecting the dogs from harsh Minnesota winters. A recycled 100 amp electrical service that came from the farmhouse when its service was upgraded powers multiple outlets on each wall. It also powers lights, heating and a hot water heater. The Dog House includes windows, hot & cold water plumbed in, hot & cold water taps outside and the door is insulated and thermally sealed. The floor plan has 4 different stalls, each with their own entrance. The separation walls are low enough, about a large dog’s shoulder height, so that they can socialize with each other. The fifth stall is larger and in the middle for the puppies, keeping them secure until they are big enough to go outside. The multiple outlets are needed for milk house heaters used when temperatures remain sub-zero, along with the extra heating pads on the wood floor and heat taping for some of the plumbing.
Outside attached to the puppy exit is the puppy pen, about 15 by 20 feet square where the puppies can start exploring the outdoors without having access to the big Dog Yard, which is about ¾ acre in size. They can also start going outside for bathroom breaks, which is always great when they get that old. My favorite thing of all time was sitting with them inside their closet sized puppy space. That best thing of all possible best things is having them crawl all over you, watching all the pups just tear it up all around you, and playing with them. They are so funny, raging at imagined foes, chasing and wrestling with each other, doing tug of war over anything at all. When I’d had enough claws and teeth, I’d stand outside the puppy room to watch. There’s nothing like it, guaranteed to make you laugh out loud!
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It’s now getting close to their 6 week birthdays and I must choose which one to keep. Keeping the dog line going is my personal self-assigned mandate. Each generation has been so wonderful, so unique and with such great personalities that I must, I simply must, share these dogs with others. This is not me talking it up, building it up or embellishing the facts, this is feedback from very happy dog owners via mail and phone calls. I always tried to call those who got puppies from me to check on how they’re doing a year or so later. Over and over again people would tell me how great their dogs turned out, how much they loved them and what super personalities they had! Yes, I know there’s lots of dogs needing homes and I support adoption from shelters. There is a rescued dog in the line and these dogs are not purebred, they’re hybrids containing the best characteristics of Golden Retrievers and Labs. They are fun, smart, playful, loyal, obedient, good with children and beautiful. How could you not want to pass that along for someone else to enjoy and appreciate? All dogs should get a loving home and I currently have a black Lab that needed a new home. But also we need to ensure some selective breeding occurs to maintain that stuff, that hard to define stuff, the dog essence that makes them the best companions and partners for us. A few really great dogs should not be spayed or neutered, not before they can add that spice back to the line. Who decides? I’m not certain, but circumstances can help show you how to go. I wasn’t looking for a dog when I started, I was gifted with one and the magnitude of that gift didn’t occur to me till much later. Then it became a natural goal, so that along with the joy I received from having them near, I got the pleasure of passing them along.
Pondering the pups in action, looking for clues, I notice there is one guy not raging around the inside enclosure like all the others. He’s not tugging, biting or play fighting like all the rest. He’s just sitting there in the middle, calmly watching all the other pups from a Buddha-like pose. Alert, observant and relaxed. This is the one I pick, hence the name Buddha, a peaceful pup. A Golden boy and my Golden Treasure!
They grow up too fast, don’t they? From roundish ball of fur to lanky, smoothly muscled teenager in the blink of an eye it seems. And Buddha keeps getting more beautiful as he grows up. His mother Katie Mae was a purebred Golden Retriever of the reddish variety with a real live wire personality. It’s the only time there’s a purebred in the line, but she was such a character! She has her own story. No white on her at all. Dad Jerry G, however, was all white with large patches of brown like a cow’s coat. Jerry was short haired like a Lab, coming from Golden, Lab and a little Setter on his side. Buddha was turning into a blondie gold color with a white stripe down his nose, white on his chest and paws with white on them. This magnificent coloring went well with his mellow personality. Buddha was a very beautiful dog, inside and out. He stayed very mellow his whole life, with only one exception. His bark was high and chirpy but loud. He was developing into a very large dog, a fine and powerful specimen. Mid-grown he was already the size of most Labs.
Boy, did he have fun with his mom! Dad Jerry tolerated him well and all the dogs got along (with the one exception). For a while there were five dogs at the Dogfarm-Jerry, Katie Mae, Buddha, brother Bobby and Uncle Goldy. The mother-son relationship was very close; they were pretty much inseparable and a joy to watch. He would follow her anywhere in the yard and she was lively, always checking things out, running to the least little noise heard and patrolling the fence line. The Dog Yard is about ¾ acre fenced in with double-stacked cattle wire, just over 6’ high. Cattle wire is made from about ¼ “ galvanized rods welded in tight squares, very heavy-duty. I designed it and my contractor friend installed it. 6 by 6 inch corner posts with 4 by 4 inch running posts and top and bottom 4 by 4 rails. All treated wood with all mechanical clips screwed together, not nailed. I’ve seen no other like it.
Katie and Buddha were a team, keeping tabs on everything near or in the yard. Once Buddha matured, Katie was spayed. If anything, they grew closer together after that. The Dog Yard has trees, grass, dirt to dig in, birds to sing, rabbits to chase and the occasional squirrel, possum or skunk to fend off by barking their indignation about the nerve of any creature to dare come near. We made some time for the lakes but Buddha was not enthralled with water like his mom was. He could be coaxed in and actually was a good swimmer but Katie was the water dog and went into it like a rocket! Buddha was so mellow with both people and other dogs you could take him anywhere.
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We went on quite a few of the local shelter’s annual dog walks to raise money for them. He always got a lot of complements and was friendly to other dogs there. He loved to ride in the truck or car and he would get all wound up and excited if you even looked like you were going somewhere. All you had to do to fire him up was just glance at him as you went towards the gate and he would explode with energy to go, go, go!
He was so good in the car, too. When my brother Randy from Colorado and I drove to California in my 2012 Kia Rio to clean out my mom’s storage locker, I took Buddha along for the whole round trip from Minnesota. He was just so great and natural with it, like he’d been born to ride and not just the riding but all of it-meeting strangers, staying in strange houses or rooms, exploring new horizons. A natural, riding comfortably for hours with the back seat folded down and padded, eyes watching the scenery go by. You could not ask for a better travel companion. So sweet, so calm. Oh how I miss those days now.
Buddha became a very big, big boy, about 120 pounds at his peak. When he met other dogs, even if they acted out or growled, he never reacted to them. Male dogs were ignored and he never got into fights with them. Truly he was a peaceful Buddha, living up to his namesake and he was never neutered during his lifetime. There was, however, only one exception and that was with a blood relation, his brother Bobby. Bobby stayed with us for a long while, a brown, shorthaired Lab coated dog. When they were about equal to an age of human twenties, things changed very unexpectedly. They started getting into fights. Not little fights or even just biting fights, but huge, knockdown, drag out, full blown rippin’ skin dogfights. I’m no stranger to breaking up dogfights, and if you’ve ever had a dog of any size you probably had to break one up too. I’ve had to wade into a few to save my dog and break it up before one’s seriously injured, sometimes pulling them apart by their tails, always risking getting bitten. And dog bites are very painful. You’re not supposed to break up dog fights, but when it’s your dog involved, you have to do something. Hosing them with water is a technique that can work with some dogs but not with these dogs.
The Buddha-Bobby rounds were of a class I’ve never seen before. And hopefully never see again! They would actually stand up on their back legs and go at it like bears fighting in jaw-dropping deathly battles I could not break up. Shock and awe moments in dog land! I absolutely could not get them to break it up for some very long seconds, and I was stunned and amazed at first. This happened 3 times and each time Bobby got his scalp ripped open by Buddha. And I mean long rips, so his scalp was torn for up to 6 inches. After getting him stitched up at my vets, seeking advice there, I was told that one would become dominant and that should stop it. After the second time, I had Bobby neutered, thinking that would help settle the dominance question (I was still hoping to have pups with Buddha). It did not stop it. After the third scalp injury on Bobby, there was no choice but to permanently separate them. Partitioning the yard was suggested but that was not practical at that time. It was completely out of character for Buddha and showed he wasn’t wimpy or a submissive male dog, but he chose to be peaceful with all other dogs in every other situation but that one. He never fought with any other dog in his lifetime. I don’t think I’ll ever see that much control again. The brothers had something very powerful between them, something uncontrollable and inexplicable. I was sad about it for a long time after that.
One of my happiest memories is of Buddha’s actions with his toys. He really liked the smaller Kong toys or tennis balls. I would throw them in the Dog Yard and the Race Was On! Before his dad Jerry G passed, it was Jerry, Katie Mae and Buddha scrambling to get there first. Dad was a powerhouse, once he got it, no one took it away from him. Katie was the quickest usually and often got it first, and then mostly Buddha or Jerry would try and take it away from her on the return trip to me. If she managed to hang on to it, she always brought it back to me. When Buddha got the toy, he would always do the same thing-the keep away game. Katie would drop it at my feet, Jerry would offer it to you in his mouth and let you take it, but Buddha, Buddha had a unique style. He would bring it back near you but out of reach. Then he’d drop it and roll over on his back, right on top of the Kong or ball, and wiggle! The Wiggle, right on top of the toy, looked uncomfortable because of the toy’s size, but he always did it and it always looked like he enjoyed it. It was a great dog game and he was highly amused by it, just about doing it every time he got it. Eventually he might bring it over and drop it if you called him a bunch of times, dropping it where you might just reach it if you stretched. Keep Away and Wiggle was some kind of twisted dog logic, Buddha owned it and I loved it!
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The Greeting: Buddha was one of those special dogs who wanted to be everywhere you were without being clingy, underfoot or a nuisance. He would hang with you, in your area, near your personal space and occasionally come up to be petted then retreat to his own doings close by. In the Dog Yard he would patrol the fence line or follow with the other dogs’ patrols. He always came back and checked in with you for a few moments. I love a dog like that! Then when I would drive up and park after work, having been gone all day, the clarion call from Buddha announced to the world I was home. It dominated the audio sphere: this high, chirpy, loud bark, him standing at the gate where he would then turn to the west, bark, turn to the north, bark and then to the east, barking again, telling the whole world in almost all directions, that I had arrived home. He would keep it up until I got inside the gate, always making me feel like I was sitting on top of the world, no matter what kind of day I’d had. Sheer joy.
Buddha was not without some health issues. He had this incredibly beautiful coat from the Golden Retriever genes, a super thick undercoat with golden blonde topcoat and very long, slinky, furry feathers on his legs, belly, chest and tail. Great for the super cold Minnesota winters, achingly beautiful to see in uncut glory, problematic to care for. Like many Goldens, he was susceptible to hot spots on his skin, reddish areas that just popped up suddenly, burning and itching. The problem starts when they start licking them and open the skin into sores and open flesh. There are various treatments: antibiotic ointment like Panalog (which they’ll lick off) then wrapping with gauze pads and no-chew stretch wraps, coat supplements with fatty acids, finally the Elizabethan collar, a funnel cone shaped device which doesn’t allow them to reach the skin. There is a doughnut shaped blow up collar version which is more comfortable but sometimes doesn’t protect all spots. My black Lab Sneakers ripped Buddha’s open in dog play. The coat supplement worked on the other dogs, but not completely on Buddha, he had to be different. His spots were always on his lower legs, always severe. I’ve actually been looking at his skin and saw a spot go from normal pale white to a fiery red purple splotch in mere seconds! The no chew wraps with Panalog worked sometimes and the other times he would still get the wraps off and we had to resort to the collar. When they were young dogs I started giving Katie and Buddha summer cuts with the Oster A-5 trimmers to make them more comfortable and cooler in summer here. That helped a lot. I gave them butch cuts from the belly down and a wide swath around the collar line. They looked funny to others but I didn’t care, their comfort mattered more, making sure to leave enough fur on to prevent sunburn. Like clockwork, you could expect the hot spots to come late July into September. That’s usually the highest humidity also but it seemed more tuned to the calendar than humidity. Low humidity and they’d get them anyway in that period. Strange. It cost me thousands of dollars over his lifetime for just that one issue but if I could have him back, I would do it again and again. How I loved that dog! I miss him so much: those attentive eyes, that happy demeanor, the ecstatic wiggle on the back. The Gentle Giant is gone and left me feeling as empty and alone as I would be standing in the middle of the Sahara desert by myself.
Buddha really loved his mom Katie Mae. Anywhere she went, he went. If she got up and went to a corner of the Dog Yard and he didn’t notice it right away, when he did notice he got up and went to her right away. When she trotted along the fence line he was always right behind her. The only place he would not follow her was into the water. She was a water dog and he was not. Also wherever she urinated, he just had to go to the same spot and go right on top of it. Every time it had to be done, like clockwork, whether there was any other dogs around or not! Maybe that was a male thing but it was such that if he missed seeing her go that I just pointed to her and said “you missed her, better go pee on it” and he would go out, find the spot and go on it. I thought it was pretty funny. Once in a while he got there just a little early, she’d be still squatting and he would go right on her. Yucky dog stuff! You’ve got to love it!
Buddha was sweet and tender with her, when not trying to steal toys from her. When Katie had a stroke at 12 and did not function well, walking into things and continually pacing around the room, he stuck by her like glue. I did what I always do when that time had come. I knew the end had come for her and I called into work, spending an entire day with her, living our last moments together, constantly touching, petting and re-assuring her I was there. She was still in there but the body had failed her. She had clarity but not movement. Buddha would always lie next to her, touching her. He knew she was distressed.

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When his time was up a year and eight months later, it was a huge shock to me. He was only 10, just a month shy of 11! His dad Jerry G had lived to fifteen and so had his great granddad Woody. I came home from work on October 9th, 2015, and there was no chirpy barking going on. As I backed into the drive from the road, I looked for him and my heart just fell into a black hole. There poor Buddha was on his back on the concrete at the gate, legs flailing every which way, unable to get up on his feet. My world crashed around me, I’m thinking this is bad; really, really bad. A bright sunshiny day going to black doom and gloom in an eye blink. He must have been laying down on the cement and tried to get up when he knew my car was coming. He, like his forefathers before him, always knew when my vehicle was coming before they could hear or see it. Normally he would be barking before the car could be seen. I can never get that image out of my mind, on his back, legs kicking every which way, unable to get up on his feet. My world went black. His end had come, far earlier then I would have ever thought.
It was now the weekend. I was able to get him up and help him into the house. He recovered a bit and drank a bit. I decided to take him to our vet on Monday rather than somewhere that didn’t have the records or familiarity with him. It was all kind of a dreamlike state, it was so shocking and unexpected I was not fully in the here and now. I called in to work Monday and got him to the car by dragging him on a blanket. Have you ever tried to pick up a 112 pound dog? It’s very difficult. My spirits were very low; I’ve never had to do that before. Thank God at the car I was able to get him to stand up and get into the back seat. At the examination the vet noted his belly was large and had a lot of fluid in it. He recommended I take him to one of the 2 vet schools around, University of Minnesota in Minneapolis or University of Iowa in Ames, for specialized evaluation. I went to Ames, where his dad Jerry G had gone for back issues. Orthopedic Dr. Bergh’s treatment had extended Jerry’s life free of most pain for several years with a high quality of life.
Three and a half hours later, we arrived. Luckily Buddha was strong enough to walk into the lobby. Then the diagnosis after exam and tests: cancer of the spleen. Heartbreaking news, definitely not what I was hoping for. This cancer creates weak blood vessels to supply it and they bleed out into the belly cavity. This is a genetic trait of Golden Retrievers I had never heard of before. Even if the bleeding is controlled, the cancer will kill him eventually. Despondently dark news. Amazingly, this Dr. Pugh had a treatment to slow the bleeding that was a Chinese herb called Yunnan Baiyao, stocked in their pharmacy. Together with the pain medication Tramadol, they gave me an extra month of quality time with Buddha! Historically, Yunnan Baiyao was used on the battlefield by Chinese warriors to stop bleeding from wounds and cuts so they could continue to fight. This herb and the pain meds worked like magic! They gave me an extra month of closeness with him, constantly touching, petting and talking to him. He was like his old self again, if only for a short time. Standing up on his own, walking the Dog Yard, even trotting around at times. Barking at me when I came home, oh how joyous it was to hear that sound again!! How I blissfully enjoyed those moments with my Golden Treasure! If I could have, I would have taken that whole month off from work to be near him all the time.
Mea Culpa: Mistakes were made, things were missed. I was so distracted by the multiple stressful things going on in my life I did not see the changes in him and of course, he could not tell me and that’s what’s just so wrong, wrong, and wrong! (I am going to write again soon about ideas on how to make dogs talk). I had my hours reduced at work all year, I was meeting with a lawyer an hour away, I had a long planned trip to Chicago to deal with, I was selling items on Craig’s List to raise money, I was conversing with a lady thru all kinds of media and all the normal stuff of keeping 6 acres and a house built in 1900 going. I was changing jobs to a better one. I should have been more aware of his health. Although the end would still come, I could have made him more comfortable for a longer period. Dr. Pugh said surgery would only buy 6 months and probably debilitate his quality of life during that time, but the herb and painkillers made him into his old self again. I ran out of the herb thinking I could just get it overnited from the internet. It took over a week. The pharmacy at Ames said it would be there in 2 days. It took 5 days. It could have been better and longer if I hadn’t treated the lump on the side of his ribs like a lyphoma, a fatty tissue benign growth that he and his dog line popped up with at times. I used to have them removed, but the last one on Buddha’s chest was very troublesome in getting healed up. So I assumed it was one of those. It was not. It was cancer and that’s weighed heavy on my heart ever since. He had a blood panel done 5 months earlier at his regular checkup showing low blood platelets among 3 other low levels. His belly was bigger now. I still feel pretty bad that we didn’t catch it sooner in the couple years I’m sure he had it. The outcome would’ve been the same but we could’ve made him feel better. He gave no other prior signs of ill health.
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When I see Buddha again (and in the righteous universe I believe in, I will see him again!), I will beg his forgiveness.
We could have had more time together. Love your mates, kids, pets and relatives but also stay focused, paying attention to their conditions. Don’t let the distractions in life push your attention away from your loved ones. “Nothing is certain but time flies” – Omar Khayyam, Persian poet. Be aware of their mental and physical states, make inquiries, ask questions and stay interested. Your regrets may consume you if you miss the obvious because you are too self-absorbed in your own problems or you have your face stuck into the cell phone all the time. All things matter to some degree, but don’t miss the big ones. We are only here a very short time and there are no repeats in this life!
I do take comfort in my faith that I will see and know all my dogs again, their spirits, and their personalities. The Rainbow Bridge description is really good at putting to words what cannot be described, I like that vision. We are a speck of dust in a universe so expansive, seen and unseen, known and unknown, that we do not have a clue as to what’s really out there. For those of you with faith in God, we have assurance that each of us is known to God. Our animal companions that we love and care for are also known, in my faith. Anything less than that would be cruel and heartless and not of the God I know in my heart, Sweet Jesus.
His Plan did not include puppies from Buddha even though I wanted them so bad, bad enough to knowingly complicate my planned retirement to Costa Rica. For of course, I would have kept one. So many people had told me by letter or phone how great their puppies turned out, how much they loved their dogs and how they were the best dogs they ever had! Two had become 4H state obedience champions. Maybe it’s best that the awful leg infections from hot spots, potential cancers or strokes were not passed on, did not have the possibility of coming out in new puppies. As painful as it was, the buck stopped there. And if I could do it again, I would. The vast majority of four generations of Golden Ryders were healthy adults who were well loved and well cared for. It is also possible that one of them carried on the line. I can only hope so.
Not only will I see and feel the presence of all the spirits of the dog companions I’ve ever had, I know where they are right now. They are playing in heaven while waiting for me to return to them. All the Golden Ryders were dedicated to Jesus, for he loves the animals. God created all the companion animals to give everyone the chance to love and be loved in return, in real time here on Earth, to lessen our pain, to comfort the lonely, to share our joys, adventures and our sorrows, to be there when we need them the most and to teach us how to resolve our grief. Dogs Make The Best People. They make us into better people, their character shines as the brightest beacon in a dark land. I love you Buddha, my Golden Treasure! Till we meet again.
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