A dog person, I never thought of myself as one; mainly because I didn’t grew up with one. We had one for a short time when I was in middle school, a German Shepard named Crack. We had him since he was a puppy; but our house was so small for him to live with us, that we only saw him after school at our family business every afternoon. That only lasted months before my parents decided to give him up, without letting us know. After that, I didn’t think we will have a dog again.
Then 2016 came around and Buba came into our lives, to change every single member of our family forever. He arrived home as a two-month black labrador, a birthday gift to my sister from his best friend. He was purposely picked by my sister’s friend for being black and the shiest of his litter. We know now that there is a sad phenomenon in pet shelters, black dogs aren’t easy to rehome. Prospective owners often pass them by, regardless of temperament, in favor of the brighter colored pups on offer. For us Buba was the cutest puppy from the beginning, 3-4 pounds of pure joy.
That’s how I became a dog person. The thing about it, is that once you become one there’s no going back. Speaking for myself, having a Buba around for the last 5 years has been a life changing experience. An experience that as much as I try to explain you can only understand if you have live it yourself. The bond between human and a dog continuous to amaze me, mainly because it’s built upon a word-less communication, which makes that connection stronger.
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened
Anatole France
Today, for his 5th birthday I wanted to put together a collection of pictures and memories. A black and white gallery, not only to honor Buba’s color, but because because it’s said that without the use of color, viewers are likely to focus more on the subject matter and its emotional state, making them pause to look closer and longer. As Elliott Erwitt said, “color is descriptive, black and white is interpretative”.
Love at first sight. The first time I ever walk him, he was a teeny tiny puppy exploring his new world (aka the park next home) 
Getting settled in his brand-new bed. After outgrowing his first bed, we got him this new, orthopedic, size-appropriate bed. Needless to say, to this day he still prefers his old round bed. I guess we all get attached to our firsts 
Playing in the patio, eyes fixed on the ball my sister is about to throw. He doesn’t enjoy sharing his toys, which is why we usually go out with 2 or 3 toys at a time, to keep one in hand while he is out chasing after the other 
A puppy laying in the grass. I’m continuously amazed by Buba’s endless curiosity and for his ability to find happiness in the simplest and insignificant things such as a toy, ball, plastic bottle or a cardboard box 
Exhausted after a morning walk. He gets too excited and his energy/strength takes some effort to handle. We usually walk him with a leash for the first minutes, then we take out the leash and let him run free and then we make a stop for water drinking and pictures (keep swiping!) 
Patiently waiting for his humans to come home. Before the pandemic, he would spend all morning by himself, waiting for my mom to come home from work. This is how he waits for her, and all of us. A mix of patience, hope, and trust 
Tirelessly waiting by the window. No one gets more exhilarated than Buba whenever we get home. He learned to identify the noise of my parent´s cars, and our faintest voices, so he peeks at the window to see who arrived 
Enjoying Saturday morning walks. Over the last 5 years he has had the energy to run with me on my ‘fit periods’ and he has been patient to walk with me on my ‘not-so-fit’ periods. Also, we have experienced all sort of things on walks, from dog attacks to falls! 
Coming back from a walk in my sister’s car. He has always gotten nervous when riding cars; when he was a puppy, he threw up all over my car on our way to the woods. So, we’ve been trying to get him used to it! 
Watching TV with Denisse and letting her hug me (which is uncommon!) He was missing my youngest sister who was living in another state doing her residency and I was going through some rough times. We needed each other to survive! 
Spotted sleeping over my pillow, I had just wakened up, gone to the bathroom, and come back to the room to find this scene. I don’t mind it, my dad does! 
Napping with his teddy bear, one of his favorite toys. He has always loved stuffed animals, almost as much as he loves fetching balls. This dirty, mangled, and stitched-up bear is proof of a dog´s unconditional love 
Meet Bowie, one of his first friends. Buba has always been incredibly noble and kind, but he is energetic and playful. Having friends of a similar build and age has been a blessing. He has missed his friends during this confinement 
Taking a nap in the middle of the day. It took a lot of persuasion to get my dad to accept Buba to live within the house; his only condition was ‘no dog in the beds’, a rule we slowly bended. Sleeping with him next to you or him laying on you is like having a warm pillow! 
Visiting him a week after he was run over. The fact that he survived was a miracle that I’m grateful for until this day. He got multiples scratches that lasted for months. 
Jumping into the car thinking we were going out for a walk. We’ve just loaded up the car with luggage pieces, but when he saw the blanket that we use to cover the car seats when we take him out, he just assumed! 
Giving a hard time on the way to the vet. Taking him has always been a challenge, but this day I made the mistaken decision of wearing shorts while holding him in the backseat. The scratches turned into bruised that lasted weeks! 
Being a bad dog and getting a scold for it. That day he had pulled from the kitchen counter the box of pastes that we had bought for R’s family on the first time he visited my hometown 
Wearing his brand-new sweater for the first time. He has never been too much into wearing clothes, but it was winter, and I had run into it on a visit to Petco. Visits to Petco usually start with a specific purpose and end with a bunch of things we didn’t know we needed! 
On his best behavior asking for a treat. There isn’t a more compliant dog than Buba when you are holding a treat. He will do anything that you ask, sometimes even without asking. It is almost like he will play his entire repertoire of tricks until he gets it 
Playing dress up or better said, letting us play dress up with him. This is one of many outfits he has put up with. Last Christmas eve we all agree to dress up for dinner (after having lived in loungewear for months) and Buba couldn’t be left out 
Watching out of the corner of his eye, trying to spot if you are eating something. He’s the finest hearing and smelling abilities when it comes to food and an out-of-this-world capacity to convince you to spread a little of it. He’s mouth would literally water from watching you eat! 
Enjoying the best dog life. He is the happiest dog whenever we get home. His tail wiggling back and forth, his nose desperately tracking a toy to bring as tribute, and his legs jumping up and down begging for some love. It all ends the same way, a belly scratch 
Sitting by my side after he had watched me cry for hours that 2018-summer afternoon when I literally felt broken. He’s the pure expression of companionship, being there in the highs and lows of life! 
Getting cured after hurting himself, which happens often. Getting him to keep his bandage in place is a challenge. He’s been improving thou! 
Waking up on a Saturday morning. I don’t know if dogs have a sense of time, but he can clearly differentiate walking days vs non-waking days (Sunday’s for us). So, on Saturdays mornings, he comes to bed and starts whining until he sees us put sport clothes, which means: Walk time! 
Unwrapping Christmas presents. I still don’t understand how he knows that something is for him, whether that’s a present, a package of food or a bag of treats. Once, he ran out of the house with a pair of bowls in his mouth the minute he saw them coming out of my luggage 
Doing mischiefs. We were all painting the second floor of the house when he came up announced getting stained with fresh paint 
No paparazzi please. Taking a picture with is always hard when there are no treats involved, but this morning he was rude. I was pulling closer to him when he scooched over! 
My favorite, Buba in its purest expression, ears up, alert, and ready 
Starving. His favorite food brand had been out of stock in the local Sam’ Club and we had been getting him generic individual kilos until we found his bag, which was causing him an upset stomach. So, when we finally found his bag, he ate up a full bowl in seconds 
Embracing bath time like a champ. Bath time is not his favorite; sometimes we have to chase him, but once he is out in the patio he usually cooperates. It’s common for him to go after the less wet person and shake himself. Brushing his hair after the bath is a pure adventure 
Enjoying his first beef bone treat. Leaving his puppy training class, we got distracted for a second and he stole this gigantic bone. He couldn’t even hold his head straight while carrying it. We of course paid for it!
Thank you for the unconditional and endless loyalty. For the good, the bad and everything in between. For coming into our lives, but most importantly for staying. Happy birthday Buba!
Unapologetic Thoughts 