Love Story (Canine Variety)


The

love story

between homo sapiens and canis lupus familiaris is ancient. Who doesn’t love their Dog? Who doesn’t think theirs is the Best Dog Ever? Elizabeth and I are the exception. We don’t think ours was the Best Dog Ever, we know it for a fact. Okay, maybe I’m a little over the top with that but if you’re a Dog person you know how we feel.

Excerpt from Chapter 19 Circumstances Beyond My Control

“Late in the spring of ‘81 I had a job … that required me to spend a weekend scouting locations on Long Island. Because it was a weekend I made a deal with the producer that, in lieu of double time, I would take Betsy [Elizabeth was still Betsy then] with me and we’d stay in first class hotels and eat in fine dining establishments. A couple of years earlier Betsy’s beloved Shetland Sheep Dog, Duffy had come to the end of his time on earth and we had begun seriously thinking about getting another dog. Betsy had always wanted a Collie and the Shelty had been a compromise because with her small apartment and actress schedule she needed a small dog. Within a two week period earlier in the spring we had, on separate occasions, met beautiful Collies both of which were from the same kennel in Smithtown, Long Island. Friday night we found ourselves at a motel in that same Smithtown.

“Before we went out scouting Saturday morning we drove to the kennel and introduced ourselves to the owners. They had a two week old litter but said that they never showed them that young. However we were in luck because it was feeding time and they came out to nurse since their mother was in the front room. Well I don’t have to tell you that there is nothing on earth as cute as a gang of tiny collie pups. It was a hot June day and one of them seemed more interested in the large water bowl than he was in breakfast and after a few pulls on the teat he flopped down with an elbow in the bowl and surveyed the room.

“Alas all these puppies were spoken for but they had another litter due soon and took our number. So we went on our way, disappointed. We’d both been drawn to the little guy with his elbow in the water bowl.

“In July we got a call from the Smithtown kennel. One of the male pups did not have an unbroken white ruff (collar) and was, therefore, not a show dog. If we wanted him we could have him. Overjoyed, we said we’d be there the next day.

“When we arrived they opened the door to the back room and this furry, four-legged bundle came bounding out as though he had been released from jail. ‘Good luck with this one.’ the owner said.

“His tail at full wag, he came right over to us – no shyness or fright evident in his behavior. As Betsy cuddled him I whipped out my checkbook prepared to write a check for five or six hundred and the lady said, ‘Two hundred dollars.’

“I almost blurted out, ‘Why so little?’ but I restrained myself. Later we realized that although he was a thoroughbred he was not a show dog ergo the small price.

“When first separated from their families most puppies whine and carry on in a heartrending manner. Not this guy. He was ready to travel. Our car, a ‘75 Olds had the bench seat now absent from sedans and he sat on his blanket between us alertly checking out the view. Almost simultaneously we knew his name. Earlier that year we had had the privilege (along with seven hundred other people) of spending a day with Buckminster Fuller. At eighty-four he had the energy and enthusiasm, as well as the curiosity, of a teen-ager. Betsy and I looked at each other and I said, ‘We should name him after Bucky Fuller.’ So R. Buckminster Collie was his name.

When we got him home and filled his water bowl he promptly laid down with his elbow in the water. Unfortunately I don’t have a pic of that.”

Love Story: Bucky Puppy

Bucky Puppy

Excerpt from Chapter 20 Circumstances Beyond My Control

“The last PMC shoot that I remember was for Honda. The main setup was huge. A Chapman Titan Crane, twenty-eight foot lens height, was parked in front of the Plaza Hotel on the Fifth Avenue side. We had about thirty extras. The group included Elizabeth and Bucky – who much to my chagrin, was originally listed on the call sheet under ‘Props’. I changed that listing and moved him to ‘Talent’. My proud, handsome beastie a prop? I don’t think so.”

R. Buckminster Portrait

R. Buckminster Portrait

Excerpt from Chapter 30 Waiting for Elizabeth

“And as if there was not enough trauma in our lives in the spring of ’95 our beloved collie, Bucky began to fade. He was fourteen and, mercifully the ending of his life was fairly swift but if you’ve ever had a dear, dear pet their passing is painful in the extreme. …”

I somewhat assuaged my grief by creating this tribute: Bucky Requiem Video

If you’d like to get Circumstances Beyond My Control and/or Waiting for Elizabeth click one of these links.

eMailWinnerSeal

Tags: ,

Comments & Responses

Comments are closed.