IT'S BUDDHA THE PUP'S PAGE!!!
This page created 02/08/2007   Updated:  02/03/2012
I've always known I'm a better person when I have a dog. I've had dogs in my life since I was born and through my entire childhood. For most of my adult life I've had one. Without a dog near me, something important is missing. I hadn't thought about it much over the last few years, but I guess some part of me has been withering without canine companionship.
Petting a dog, or walking with a dog, or talking to a dog touches me deeply in a place I can't define. I'd waited over 2 years to get a new dog for a few reasons, but one of them was that I figured I'd know when the right dog came by. I think she has, and I don't regret the wait.

02/03/2012---Here are some more clips of Buddha around home. Just in case Buddha's original people still check up on her. Nothing exciting, just Buddha being her sweet self.    

       1/09/2012--- This was only my 2nd time using this inversion bench. Already, Buddha knew the best place to go for attention. (wmv 28.3mb)    
      12/23/2011--- Buddha wants me to shut up? Nope. She wants to go outside.                                                                            (wmv 9.6mb)  
       11/22/2011--- While I relax on the "couch" Buddha likes to relax near me with a bone.                                                        (wmv 4.3mb)  


02/03/2011---Buddha's been with me a little over 4 years. Although we usually relax at home, sometimes she really wants some attention. She will express this occasionally by making little noises, and sometimes by not-so-little noises. And then, Buddha decides making noises isn't enough. At any level of her request, sometimes it just a good idea to have some good "dog time"--whether we just go sit together, or we have a little playtime. Such moments can only enhance my day.  (wmv 23.9 mb)

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                                                                                                    BUDDHA WANTS RICK TO GET OFF THE COMPUTER!
                                                                       BUDDHA "ASKS" FOR SOME ATTENTION (WMV 23.9 MB)

08/31/2010---Buddha's been with me about 3 1/2 years. After just a few weeks, we established a greeting protocol. I am lucky enough to be part of this every time I return home. I thought I'd post this to show that she's doing well, and we're both making each other happy. This way, I can also come here and relive the greeting anytime.  (wmv 13.5 mb)

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                                                                                                    BUDDHA AND RICK GREET EACH OTHER!
                                                                       BUDDHA AND RICK GREET EACH OTHER (WMV 13.5 MB)

05/05/2010-05/07/2010---Just decided to post some video of Buddha running with me at the dog park.  The images are frames from the clips, the links to the clips are under the images.  I'd had to travel a lot for the first 3 months, so we'd missed a lot of time at the park. She's happy to be there.

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                                                       BUDDHA AND RICK RUNNING                                                                BUDDHA RUNNING AROUND RICK
                                         BUDDHA AND RICK RUNNING (WMV 5.6 MB)                               BUDDHA RUNNING AROUND RICK (WMV 10.3 MB)  

03/06/2010---Some time has passed. Last November, Buddha had a lump removed from her muzzle. She's ok now, but for a week or so she was in bad shape. I almost put pictures of her healing here, but figured the pictures immediately afterwards would upset people (they upset me, and I'm a people). Instead, here's some slow-motion video of her running after Olive (an old acquaintance--see 7/15/2007 below) today.  (wmv 19.7 mb)

---               -------------------------------------------   ---Budda in mid stride-
                                                                                                    BUDDHA IN FULL GALLOP AFTER OLIVE
                                                                       BUDDHA AND OLIVE AT THE DOG PARK (WMV 19.7 MB)

06/01/2009---Buddha and I still go to the dog park. I've been able to carry a pocket camera that shoots high speed stuff. Here's a video file that I edited together from movie clips and photos shot at Danny Jackson Bark Park between March and May of 2009. I think is shows some of the joy of being a dog. Click here for the clip. (wmv 75.0mb)

---               -------------------------------------------   ---Budda with ball in mid air-
                                                                                            BUDDHA HAS HER EYE ON THE BALL BY THE POOL
                                                                        CANINE JOY AT THE DOG PARK (WMV 73.6 MB)

12/07/2008---Buddha in SUPER SLOW MOTION !!! Buddha's still fine, we've come through year ok until now. Here's two short clips of Buddha catching a ball--shot at two different frame rates.  And after that, there's Buddha intently watching the Spin Blade, that RC toy helicopter. She pays a bit more attention to that than to that Mockingbird back in May.
 
---                  ---Budda with ball in mid air--------------------------------------Buddha watches the spin blade. ---------------- -
                            BUDDHA HAS HER EYE ON THE BALL                                                       BUDDHA WATCHES THE COPTER          
               BUDDHA,  CATCHES THE BALL (WMV 3.5 MB) -                               BUDDHA AND THE COPTER (WMV 12 MB) -
 
05/31/2008---I caught a couple more short clips of that parent Mockingbird as it swooped down on Buddha. Both animals are unharmed. In fact, Buddha barely noticed the bird. The clips are pretty funny, though. I also have a slow-motion version of each. The images below are frames from each video. The links to see the video clips are below the images. 
---                  ---Buddha and mama bird--------------------------------------Buddha watches the ball. ---------------- -
                                  BUDDHA, BIRD, AND DIVEBOMB                                                             KEEP MOVING, YOU BIG BEAST!            
             BUDDHA,  AND MAMA BIRD CLOSE PASS (WMV 2.3 MB) -                        BUDDHA GETS HERDED (WMV 2.6 MB) -
             BUDDHA,  AND MAMA BIRD CLOSE PASS  SLOW (WMV 3.3 MB) -               BUDDHA GETS HEREDED SLOW (WMV 3.0 MB) -

05/21/2008---It's been a while since I've updated the page. Buddha's still fine, and we still go to the dog park. So, here's a new update. First, there's a mockingbird or two that apparently have a baby or a nest near the dog park. For some reason, they (or she) seem to want to harass Buddha (and only one or two other dogs out of all the ones I see while I'm there).  I got a short video clip of one of the birds divebombing Buddha. Buddha's pretty laid-back about it. The image below left is a frame from the clip that shows the bird harassing Buddha while she's trying to do some business. The link to the clip is under the picture.
---                  ---Buddha and mama bird--------------------------------------Buddha watches the ball. ---------------- -
                                  BUDDHA, BIRD, AND BUSINESS                                                             BUDDHA WATCHES THE BALL               
             BUDDHA,  AND MAMA BIRD (WMV 3.5 MB) -                                  BUDDHA AND I IN A LAID-BACK CATCH GAME (WMV 6.1 MB) -
I found a ball that Buddha liked.  She swam, she rolled in dirt, she swam again. And then we played an interesting game of catch. This is how we do it if it's a bit too hot for strenuous activity, I guess. The image above right is a frame from a short video clip showing Buddha's interesting game. The link to the clip is under the picture.

01/31/2008---I've finally gotten a chance to catch Buddha playing with two friends of hers together.  Jasper (the yellow dog) has been a friend of Buddha's for quite a while. Bella (the black and white) played really well with Buddha some time last year, but they hadn't played much since. A big reason I was happy to finally catch Bella is because I think she's a beautiful dog, and also because she reminds me of a favorite comic character of mine.
The first picture below is a frame from the video I got tonight of the three of them wrestling. The other picture below is one I shot of Bella in August of 2007. Look how she stands!  Now, see if you can pick out a resemblance to the dog (known as "Dog") in the comic strip, Footrot Flats. Here's a link to my webpage talking about the strip. Strictly speaking, Bella would be more like the character of "Jess, down the road", Cooch Windgrass's dog, in Footrot Flats, as "Dog" is a male, and Jess is his, er, sweetie.
---                  ---Buddha, Jasper, and Bella--------------------------------------Buddha and the helicopter ---------------- -
                                  BUDDHA, JASPER AND BELLA                                                                BELLA WATCHES THE POOL                
             BUDDHA, JASPER AND BELLA WERESTLE (WMV 8.0 MB) -             

01/24/2008---This is Buddha playing with a really distinctive Pit Bulldog.  The Pit Bull's name is Simba, and he's just a puppy. He's really sweet-natured, but what I find interesting is that he reminds me of a big cat...like a lion (and his name has nothing to do with this). Here he is playing with Buddha. On watching this clip, I started laughing when I saw what Buddha was doing. Watch near the center when Simba is looking away from me (the camera) and Buddha is facing him. When Simba turns to look behind him, Buddha takes a couple steps towards him.  The Simba looks at Buddha and she stops. Simba looks behind--Buddha steps again. I thought this was hilarious. There's another clip of just this part slowed down a little. They just seemed to hit it off today.

---           ---Buddha and Simba face off-----------Buddha and the helicopter ----------Buddha and the helicopter ----------Buddha and the helicopter ------------- -
                                           SIMBA                                   BUDDHA AND SIMBA FACE OFF                BUDDHA AND SIMBA READY!                    BUDDHA AND SIMBA...GO!               
             BUDDHA, AND SIMBA PLAY (WMV 5.5 MB) -       BUDDHA  PLAYS STOPLIGHT SLOWMO (WMV 2.9 MB) -

01/20/2008---Buddha came to live with me on this date 1 year ago. She has brightened my life, and has been a complete joy to live with.  To mark this event, I shot a short video clip. The image below left is an image from the clip. It's just Buddha and I, with me talking. The link to the clip is below the image.
A little after I shot that, I decided to fire up one of my Spinblade helicopters (more about those on my page here) and see what Buddha would do. After the first few minutes of surprise, Buddha adapted quite well, and wanted to investigate the flying thing. I've got links to two clips of her with the helicopter below, with one a bit longer than the other. And don't worry. There is absolutely no way she could be hurt by the toy. She cracks me up.
---                  ---Buddha and Rick--------------------------------------Buddha and the helicopter ---------------- -
                                          BUDDHA AND RICK                                                                BUDDHA WATCHES THE HELICOPTER                 
             BUDDHA AND RICK AFTER 1 YEAR) (WMV 7.7 MB) -               BUDDHA WATCHES THE COPTER CRASH (WMV 9.9 MB) -

                                                                                           BUDDHA CRASHES THE COPTER (WMV  3.3 MB)
Using some footage I shot with Buddha above, and some more I shot the next day, I put together this short video that sort of pays homage to the new monster movie, Cloverfield.  Click the following link to see it.  EXCLUSIVE HELICOPTER DISASTER FOOTAGE NOT SEEN IN CLOVERFIELD! (WMV  8.6 MB)

12/25/2007---It's Buddha's first Christmas with me! I had bought her a bunch of toys, and then Autumn's owner and Daisy's owner bought Buddha a toy also. At first I thought it was an alligator, but after further thought I realized it was a crocodile.  By the end of today, Buddha has already torn up the little monkey pull toy in the picture.  There are also two clips of Buddha wrestling with the crocodile. 
------Buddha and the croc-------Buddha and croc and monkey ---------------- -
         BUDDHA WRESTLES THE CROC         BUDDHA HORDES HER LOOT                  
                 BUDDHA WRESTLES  THE CROC (SHORT) (WMV 1 MB) -

                 BUDDHA WRESTLES  THE CROC (LONG) (WMV  5 MB) -

10/28/2007---I saw this camera online. It's a self-contained video camera that can shoot video clips by turning it on. I bought one, and I rigged up a quick strap that I attached to a harness. Then, I turned on the camera. Today, I introduce the BUDDHACAM! As expected, the video is pretty jumpy. I don't know if I can stabilize it or not, since I want Buddha to be comfortable. Here are 6 clips. The first shows Buddha wearing the camera. The other 5 are from the camera.  Even with the bouncing around, they cracked me up.  From time to time, you'll see legs with bluejeans and brown running shoes. That's me. In the last couple clips, Sophie and Layla have appeared (they're below on the page), and things get a bit rowdy.
------Buddhacam setup-------Buddhacam setup close up ----------------Buddhacam setup close up -
          BUDDHA WEARING THE CAMERA    CLOSEUP OF THE BUDDHACAM                        RICK'S LEGS THRU BUDDHACAM
           BUDDHA WEARING THE CAMERA (WMV 1.5 MB) -               BUDDHACAM VIEW PART 1  (WMV 4.5MB) -
                                                                   BUDDHACAM VIEW PART 2 (WMV 6.1MB)
                                                                   BUDDHACAM VIEW PART 3 (WMV 5.0MB)
                                                                   BUDDHACAM VIEW PART 4 (WMV 5.5MB)
                                                                   BUDDHACAM VIEW PART 5 (WMV 3.8MB)

09/26/2007---Jefe is a doberman puppy. He's always a sweet-natured dog, and a big doofus sometimes. Since this is a dog park, occasionally a dog will start digging for some reason. Something good must be down there. When one starts digging, often another dog will come investigate, and sometimes this leads to playing. Jefe and Buddha wer sort of sharing this small hole. Jefe laid next to Buddha and I guess tried to push her away. And then Buddha laid across Buddha's paws. Yeah, I suppose it was cute.  The three pictures below are images from a video clip (wmv 4.6mb) I shot of the two dogs being buddies. Then rest time was over!
------------------------Buddha and Jefe 01----------Buddha and Jefe 02----------Buddha and Tyson 2
                                       CAN YOU MOVE YOUR PAWS?                  DIGGING THE EASY WAY                         YOU'RE A GOOD DOG
                    BUDDHA AND JEFE RELAX (WMV 4.6MB) - 

09/18/2007, 09/19/2007---Sometimes, when Buddha's wants something, she'll tell me. In the clip below I'd eaten about 15 minutes earlier, but the bowl was still near me. Supernose Buddha could still smell it, and thought she should have some food. She started talking to me about it. I was facing my computer, not looking at her, while I held the camera pointed towards her and shot a short video clip.  Of course, once she sees that she has my full attention, she stops talking...unless I don't move right away. So, here she is. Who could resist that face?  She started again the next day, so I got a clip of that, too. It's in a smaller format, to save some space. Both links are below.
-----------------------------------------Buddha swims for a bottle
                                                                        -LOOK AT THAT FACE!
                          BUDDHA TALKS TO RICK (WMV 10.6MB) -    BUDDHA TALKS TO RICK AGAIN (WMV 4.5MB) -

09/14/2007---One more word on Buddha's swimming. It's been about a month now since she's started swimming. Buddha's a lot more comfortable in the water. Here's a video of Buddha jumping in after a bottle.  Also, Perry's owner took this picture (with my camera) of Buddha and I at the dog park. I'll try for more of these. 
-----------------------------------------Buddha dives for a bottle----------------------------------------Buddha dives for a bottle
                                                                     -       BUDDHA DIVES                                                                                        BUDDHA AND RICK
                          BUDDHA DIVES FOR THE BOTTLE (WMV 2.2MB) -

08/22/2007---Buddha's been swimming at least a bit for the last few days.  Today, she grabbed an old plastic water bottle, and I tossed it into the pool. It submerged until only the cap was visible.  As shown in the clip, Buddha not only swam out to it, but circled around for it. Then she made it back to the edge, and started looking for it. Evidently she couldn't recognise it any more, she looked funny when she tried to figure it out.  Yeah, it may not seem like much of a swim compared to those diving Labrador Retrievers, but I'm sure proud of Buddha!
-----------------------------------------Buddha swims for a bottle
                                                                     - BUDDHA PLAYS JAWS
                          BUDDHA SWIMS FOR THE BOTTLE (WMV 7.8MB) -

08/20/2007---Actually, the big news happened two days ago.  We got to the dog park and Buddha and I made our way to the dog pond. Buddha waded in as she usually does...and then she just pushed off and began swimming! She swam to the center, turned around, and swam back to me. And that was it for the day. It was the FIRST TIME she swam on her own!  Today, Buddha waded out after a ball, and then just pushed off, swam out, and grabbed it! 
-----------------------------------------Buddha swims for a ball
                                                                     - BUDDHA IS SWIMMING!!!
                          BUDDHA SWIMS FOR THE BALL (WMV 1.6MB) -

08/18/2007---It's been raining. The dog park wasn't too full. Among the few dogs that were there today was a Basenji named Kito. I have my reasons for paying attention to Basenjis. However, this one did something that I'm pretty sure most Basenjis wouldn't do willingly. Kito SWIMS!  The images below and the short video clip show what happens as Buddha is wading towards a ball, and Kito shows her how to fetch it properly. You can hear my, and some other, exclamations of surprise in the video.
---------Buddha and Kito in the water------------Buddha watches Kito swim
        WHATCHA LOOKIN' AT, BUDDHA?              - IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?
                                      KITO GETS THE BALL (WMV 1.7MB) -

07/25/2007---Some time ago, the man who owns Chance the Basenji (he's on the page) mentioned that he'd seen a dog that reminded him a lot of Buddha the Pup.  I finally met the dog and his owner Tuesday. The dog's name is Tyson; and yes, he certainly looks like he could be Buddha's brother. To my great pleasure, Buddha and Tyson hit it off, and started chasing each other. To make things even better, Autumn also showed up! She doesn't come by the park much these days.  So for a while the three of them took turns playing "hunter and hunted".  Autumn is still one of the fastest dogs around, so she often seemed to be the "prey".
A bit later,  Tyson and Buddha started wrestling by the pool. I thought I'd filmed more of this, but I guess I was having so much fun watching them and also talking to Tyson's owner that I didn't shoot as much as I'd thought. I did get some, though.  Tyson and Buddha were pretty evenly matched, and used a lot of the same moves. It was fun watching them. What I really liked was when they'd put their faces so close together that it seemed that they were inhaling each other's breath between bouts of running and wrestling. Those looked like to doggy grins to me. I sure hope we'll see Tyson and co. in the future!
Buddha, Autumn, and Tyson 1------Buddha,Autumn and Tyson 2----Buddha, Autumn, and Tyson 3-Buddha and Tyson-Buddha and Tyson 2
BUDDHA, TYSON--AND AUTUMN!- - BUDDHA, TYSON, AUTUMN------ YOU CATCH HER...NO YOU!-------BUDDHA AND TYSON--------THEY DO LOOK SIMILAR-
----------------------------------BUDDHA AUTUMN TYSON SLOWMO (WMV 3.6MB) ---

Buddha and Tyson 3---Buddha and Tyson 4----Buddha and Tyson from clip-
----ARE YOU MY BROTHER?- ---I DUNNO. ARE YOU MY SISTER?--------THIS IS FUN!!--
------------------------------------------------------------ BUDDHA AND TYSON WRESTLE(WMV 2.0MB)---

07/21/2007---I mentioned the dogs Leila and Sophie below (7/15/2007). Leila had caught my attention some time ago, but I couldn't get a good picture showing why. I believe I did today.  Sophie lives in the same house with Leila, and is cute puppy of indeterminate pedigree. Whenever she sees Buddha for the first time, Sophie MUST run up to her and try to lick her face. Buddha usually growls at her, and wrestles Sophie down.  Buddha doesn't hurt Sophie, and I'm not sure I understand this reaction. After a while, Sophie gives up and runs off. But, if some time passes, it's like Sophie is seeing Buddha for the first time all over again.
Below are some pictures and a couple video clips of the three dogs together.
Buddha, Layla, and Sophie---Buddha, Layla and Sophie 2----Buddha and Sophie-Buddha and Layla-Buddha and Layla, closer-Look at their ears!
----------HI, BUDDA!- --------------- BUDDHA, SOPHIE, LEILA------------KISSES FOR BUDDHA!------ ----BUDDHA AND LEILA-------BUDDHA AND LEILA CLOSER----OPPOSITE FLOPPY EARS!
-------------------BUDDHA LEILA SOPHIE (WMV 2.2MB) ------- KISSES FOR BUDDHA(WMV 1.2MB)-

07/15/2007---It's about 6 months since Buddha came home with me. We still go out to the dog park almost every day.  With the summer here, rising temperatures seem to have driven Buddha's buddies-or their owners-off.  Her best buddy Autumn hardly ever comes out any more. From time to time, Buddha finds someone to play with. Recently, she's met a few more buddies. There's Leila and Sophie, and also the two here today. One, a black dog, is named Olive. The other, who may be an "American Dingo", is named Bella. (If either owner wants to correct me on any of this, please do so). On Sunday, the 15th, both dogs were at the park, and they all seemed to have a great time. Below are some pictures (and video clips) of some of their play. First, Buddha doesn't fear the water, but she doesn't swim willingly. She can swim, but has only done it when she's been bumped into deep water. In the first picture, she's going for a ball. She's almost totally submerged, and in fact will stand in the water on her front paws while her back legs float.  Then she found this odd disk thing, and I laughed as she investigated it by,dunking her head under the water, and apparently trying to sniff for it.
---------------Buddha and Olive
---SOME TRICK TO THIS? - --- SHE'S NOT SNIFFING, IS SHE?--NYAH! LOOK WHAT I'VE GOT!------ ----BELLA AND BUDDHA-   -----      -   COME ON, BUDDHA!
---------------------------------BUDDHA AND DISK (WMV 6.2MB) -- OLIVE HAS THE DISK(WMV 3.0MB)-- BELLA AND BUDDHA(WMV 1.2MB)-- OLIVE POKES(WMV 3.9MB)
As often happens in the park, some other dog got the disk, and it disappeared for a while. Not long after, Olive had the disk, and was taunting Buddha with it. Of course, Olive wanted to be chased. They ran around for a while, and then Bella appeared. There was more chasing.
Having the pool in the park is great. After the dogs start getting hot from running around, they will get into the pool and wade around for a while. Buddha, as I mentioned, doesn't swim. Olive does. It almost appeared that Buddha might follow Olive...but not this time. After a while, they'd cooled off enough, and started teasing each other again. In the next picture, Olive is instigating Buddha, and they started running again.
Finally, below, there's Olive ready to pounce on Buddha--a ploy Buddha often uses herself. Then as the light was beginning to wane, there's the three of them together. Buddha, Bella, and Olive played together quite a bit by the mud puddle, but between enjoying just watching them and the bad light, I didn't get much video of them together. There's a short clip, though.  This was one of the best days I've had in the dog park in quite a while. I love seeing Buddha running around like a maniac!
-------------------
---STALKING THE BUDDHA - -------------------------- THREE HAPPY DOGS
-- STALKING  BUDDHA(WMV 3.5MB)--------- BUDDHA, BELLA, OLIVE(WMV 2.4MB)


06/23/2007---This is just a video clip of Buddha running to me after I called her. She decided to become crazy dog for a few seconds.
                         BUDDHA RUNS TO ME(WMV 4.1MB)

04/21/2007---It's almost 3 months since Buddha came home with me. We still go out to the dog park almost every day.  On April 19, the mud puddle had returned. Somehow, tennis balls get trapped in the mud. Sometimes, Buddha likes to dig for them, a trick I blame on her friend Autumn. The two pictures below left show her after I called her and asked her what she was up to.
--------------------------------
-SOMETHING ON MY NOSE? --  THE NOSE,  CLOSER------                      ----BUDDHA GREETS AUTUMN-------         --------------BUDDHA AND RICK-   -----      -   A BIT OF PLAY
---------------------------------------------------------------------BUDDHA GREETS (WMV 5.5MB) -- BUDDHA GREETS SLOWA(WMV 13.2MB)--
Speaking of Autumn. On the same day, I shot this short video clip of Buddha and Autumn greeting each other.  They usually spot each other from quite far off, and one or the other will "stalk" the other. In the clip, Buddha does the "hide and pounce".  There's also a slow-motion clip.
Finally, the last images were taken on April 21, and just show Buddha and I at home. This is to honor my promise to Buddha's original owner and her foster folks to post updates on Buddha's condition. She's fine, and I'm happy with her. It's not easy snapping pictures of a dog while you're in the picture with her.

03/15/2007---Today's pictures show the what happens when rain dumps a lot of water, and the ditch at the dog park fills.
On this particular day, we got to the end of the park, and the dogs started running, and Buddha the pup decided to run back and forth down the center of the ditch, for the entire length. I thought it was pretty funny, and she really seemed to enjoy it. Usually, she'll just run through it, or  try to jump over the ditch. The pictures below are mostly captures from the videos that are linked there. I make the slow motion clips because I love to watch the movement of the dogs--especially my own. I've had dogs most of my life, and I've never been able to see them run with such abandon, and in fenced-in safety.  In the first slow- motion clip, Buddha gives me a glance as she runs past (Yep, the Food Guy** is still there.).  The first two images are from a single still photo. Buddha's ears are straight back, her tail straightened, as she bounds forward. How wonderful is that?    (** "Food Guy" is a phrase I've read in novels by Christopher Moore when he talks about how dogs think of their masters.)

-----
-----MUDDY DOG GRIN ----- ----MUDDY DOG GRIN CLOSER-----------SPLOP!, SPLOP!...------------------WET CHASE--------------------DRAMATIC POSE-   ------   RUN SPLASH RUN SPLASH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------CLIP1(WMV 3MB)----CLIP1 SLOWA(WMV 2MB)--CLIP1 SLOW B (WMV2MB)--CLIP1 SLOWC(WMV 2MB)
Buddha usually finds at least one dog to chase around, and there are a few that she seems to like, and a few that seem to like her. It's interesting, but amidst the dogs running here and there, these few dogs will respond differently to one another, and seem to play really well together. I've mentioned Autumn, who seemed to hit it off with Buddha on their first meeting.  Buddha the pup recently met another dog that she also seemed to get along well with. Her name is Bianca. She's a bit smaller than Buddha, but pretty fiesty. The images below are from clips of Buddha and Bianca running together. The first slow-motion clip shows the quick back-and-forth interchange of pursuer and pursued.  In the second clip, other dogs have come by to play, but Buddha and Bianca are focused on each other. At the end, a few more dogs broke up their game--for a while.  The slow-motion shows how complicate their play can be, and all the different techniques they use. A common one is something I call a "butt check"--not really evident here--in which the pursued dog will thump the pursuer with its hindquarters. This sometimes will actually push the dog out of step, or even spin it.  It's amazing that our different species (humans and canines) have forged the relationship we share. It's easy to forget that canines are a separate species, with feelings and language separate from our own. At the dog park, I can watch them interact.

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------------------BIANCA AND BUDDHA.----------------------------------  ---------------- BUDDHA AND BIANCA--GO!
--------CLIP2(WMV 2MB)----CLIP1 SLOWA(WMV 3.5MB)--------------------CLIP3 (WMV2MB)--CLIP3 SLOWC(WMV 2MB)

03/03/2007---Even more hijinks at the dog park. This time I was able to catch Buddha the Pup with the other breed that she's supposed to be descended from; that is, a Shar-pei. Buddha is playing here with Bill the Shar-pei.  The first two images (NOSE TO NOSE AND, WRINKLE TO WRINKLE, below) are both from the same still photo. The other images below (BUDDHA AND BILL and FACEOFF BEFORE) are from a video clips of the two of them running. Click the links below the pictures to see the video clips, or the same clips in slow motion.  Buddha and Bill are very close in age, maybe a few months different.
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----------NOSE TO NOSE AND... -------.....WRINKLE TO WRINKLE----------------------BUDDHA AND BILL...GO!-----------------------FACEOFF BEFORE THE PLAY
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------VIDEO CLIP ( WMV 1.9MB)--------------------------VIDEO CLIP ( WMV .9MB)-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SLOW MO (NO SOUND WMV 7.3MB)------------SLOW MO (NO SOUND WMV 3.2MB)------------------
With these pictures, and the ones below (2/23) I can sort of compare Buddha's appearance with the two breeds of dogs that she's supposed to be related to. There seem to be some similarities, with the general appearance being the heavier compact body of the Shar-pei (and perhaps the wrinkly jowls) along with the smaller paws, and bigger (but not upstanding--mostly) ears from the Basenji.  But, that's just how it looks to me. It's just fun for me to see Buddha running and playing.

02/23/2007---Just more hijinks at the dog park. The dog in the video clip way below (02/01/07) that makes the big leap is named Autumn. It seems to me that she and Buddha really enjoy playing together, and when they are at the park together, they will usually chase one another, although Autumn seems to instigate it most of the time.  I'm always happy when Autumn is at the park, because that usually means that Buddha gets to run a lot.  The first image below (LET'S PLAY) is from the video clip linked below. The next 5 images are from the single clip linked below them (and that one is broken into 3 seperate slow-motion clips).  There's some conjecture that Autumn is a Beagle/Basenji mix. Whatever her lineage, she's a pretty dog, and it's easy to see the joy she gets from running.
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-----------LET'S PLAY! -------------AUTUMN, BUDDHA THIS WAY----BUDDHA, AUTUMN THAT WAY---------DEJA VU--KIND OF--------BUDDHA, AUTUMN, CHANCE----------TAIL CHOMP!-
-------------VIDEO CLIP ( WMV 1MB)------------------------------------------------------------------------VIDEO CLIP ( WMV 1MB)------------------------------------------------------------------
-SLOW MO(NO SOUND WMV 4MB)--------------------SLOW MO (NO SOUND WMV 3.2MB)-SLOW MO (NO SOUND WMV 1.9MB)-SLOW MO (NO SOUND WMV 4.8MB)---

I'm sure that you've noticed the Basenji in the pictures. His name is Chance, and I don't see him as often as I'd like. Yes, of course, I'm reminded of Anubis (my last dog, on this page). I'll never forget him, and every time I see a Basenji--especially a red and white--there's a slight tug at my heart.  But, watching Chance run with my Buddha makes me happy.  I love watching the give and take with these dogs--at least the friendly stuff. They incite one another to play, and then run like crazy. Slowing the motion allows me to extend these seconds of happiness.  One other thing--watch Chance as he zeros in on Autumn's tail in the realtime clip, and in the third slow-motion clip.

02/13/2007---A friend of mine where I work--let's call her "Aunt Shell"--decided that Buddha the Pup might get cold, so she bought the pup a sweater. I don't agree about the cold thing, since Buddha runs around in mud puddles and dog ponds in cold weather (she did it last yesterday, and it was already getting cold), but I put the sweater on Buddha last night.
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------------------YOU TALKIN' TA ME? --------------------I'M SO GOOD LOOKING!-------------CAN I GET BACK TO MY BONES NOW?-

I have to admit, she cracked me up. She looks like a little weightlifter wearing a sweater. Well...except maybe for the tail...and the ears.  And the nose.
And the fur....
But anyway, here are some pictures for you people who like this kind of thing. I don't normally like dressing up animals, but just this once, I guess it was ok, especially since she was a perfect angel while was putting on and taking off her sweater.  Thanks to "Aunt Shell" for the sweater. But please, no more pup clothes.
After a while, Buddha did start chewing on it. For her, it's just another toy.

02/08/2007---I've been bringing Buddha out to the dog park every day I can. A few people have asked if the water in the video clip above is the "dog pond" at the park. NO, it isn't. Here are two more clips of Buddha, and the second one shows her at the actual dog pond.  She has a rather unique way of getting a ball out of the water. I believe this is a sign of her Basenji ancestry. Also, it cracks me up.  The first clip shows her chasing another dog off into the distance.
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--------------------------- YOU RUN. NO, YOU RUN! ---------------------------------------GET THAT BALL!-----------------------
------------------------------VIDEO CLIP ( WMV 2.5MB)----------------------------------VIDEO CLIP ( WMV 7MB)
 

02/01/2007---It's been raining for the last week or so. Today, the sun peeked out as I was leaving my job. So I got Buddha and we went to a dog park! I love watching her run with other dogs. I love watching ALL the dogs running and playing.  So, here she is at the park.
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--------STANDING TALL AND WET -------------THERE SHE GOES!------------------PITTER PATTER SPLASH!--------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------VIDEO CLIP ( WMV 1MB)
-----------------------------------------------------------------VIDEO CLIP SLOW MOTION (NO SOUND WMV 4MB)
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01/31/2007---After a wait of over two years, the dog I knew was out there has come to me. Her name is Buddha, and she was named by a very nice woman who was forced by circumstance to find a home for her.  Buddha lived for a few months with another friendly family, but she could not fit in with all the animals already there.  Lucky for me.  I answered an ad in our local Craig's List, and after this and that---here she is!  Two different vets (mine and the original owner's) believe that Buddha is part Basenji and part Shar-pei.  I'm calling her a Basenpei.  So---here is Buddha.  She's my baby girl now and she's a cutie.

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------------BUDDHA'S FIRST DAY------------------BUDDHA AND RICK--------------------LOVE THOSE EARS----------- ---RICK/BUDDHA WEBCAM----------------LOOK, BUDDHA!
----------------------------------------------------VIDEO CLIP(WMV 11MB) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------VIDEO CLIP (NO SOUND WMV 6MB)
 

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