Buddy

Meet Buddy - our good pal from HIHS who found himself a resident of the shelter system nearly his entire life. We formed a good relationship with Buddy through our time cleaning kennels and taking field trips. He had a few foster-to-adopt opportunities but never found the right home. We believed the problem was that Buddy just needed a little extra time to decompress outside of the kennel environment before being placed into a home. So, at the request of HIHS, we took this guy on as our second foster dog. As you can tell from his photos, Buddy did a LOT of resting during his stay with us. Coupled with some healthy play with our pack, time to chew on bones, and short excursions into town, Buddy slowly started making adjustments to how he saw the world. His confidence grew, he was able to jump in and out of the car without any hesitation (surprisingly, this took an immense amount of time and work), and he even started approaching people he didn't know. With the help of our confident own dogs, our neighbors, our scent work group, and our foster friend Laurie, we brought Buddy to the next level of living where he started to understand love, patience, and comfort. Then, HIHS called to let us know that Buddy had some interest from potential adopters. Since we knew he had trouble before during his meet and greets and then also during his foster-to-adopt period, we made an intentional decision to make several trips to meet his potential new family before officially handing him off. So, Michelle, Chris, and Buddy spent nearly a week going up to his new family's homestead, slowly introducing Buddy to their pack, their property, and their home. We would spend maybe an hour or so each time, walking Buddy around their coffee orchard, sitting in the grass, and just giving him time to feel comfortable. Before we handed Buddy off for good to his new family, we took him to watch the sunset from Mauna Kea. He stared off into space as if in deep contemplation, watching the clouds change colors and the night settle in. We officially handed Buddy off to his new family on Valentine's Day 2025 where he's lived peacefully ever since. A few weeks later we actually ran into Buddy and his new dad in Hilo town. We chatted for a bit about Buddy's progress and hopes for his future. Buddy couldn't decide who he missed more, Michelle or Chris, so he went back and forth nestling in for big pets and giving us his best smile for the reunion shots.