View source for Goodnight Buffy: Loving a Lakeland Terrier by Thomasina Price

{{infobox1
|title=Goodnight Buffy: Loving a Lakeland Terrier
|author=Thomasina Price
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Pets
|summary=The life of Buffy, who suffered more than should have happened to any one dog, but who gave so much and so unstintingly.  The writing is a labour of love.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=88
|publisher=Matador
|date=January 2013
|isbn=978-1780883724
|cover=Price_Buffy
|aznuk=1780883722
|aznus=1780883722
}}

Most dog owners will confess that even after a lifetime of ownership there is one dog who holds their heart.  Often the close bond has been forged because of the dog’s ill health, although it never seems to be completely one-sided: an interdependence develops and dog and human seem to exist as one.  The dog who stole my heart was a Rhodesian Ridgeback - for Thomasina Price it was Buffy the Lakeland Terrier.  She had a traumatic start to life, found hiding in a shop doorway in Blackpool she was taken in by a young woman, but she, in turn contracted ovarian cancer and at the age of two Buffy came to what was at least her third home when she was fostered by Thomasina Price’s sister.

Price began this book on what was to be Buffy’s last weekend, but it’s no eulogy looking only at the angelic side of Buffy’s life.  I loved the description of her as looking like a Steiff teddy bear, all brown and blue curls which brings her to life - just look at the book cover!  But a clip would reveal a square-jawed dog capable of low cunning and a level of genius when it came to pursuit of small animals.  Even recent surgery and an Elizabethan collar wasn’t sufficient to deter her - in fact you might be surprised to learn that the collar can be used as a tipper truck.  Buffy was a force to be reckoned with, a dog who learned all the obedience commands - and forgot them as soon as she left the training classes.

Buffy did have another side to her character.  When Price was diagnosed with an incurable degenerative disease Buffy would give comfort and a reason to want to get better.  But Buffy would soon develop her own problems: at the age of three she had a slipped disc and then a cancer which required immediate and extensive surgery.  Price is generous in her praise of the [http://www.aht.org.uk/ Animal Health Trust] and the staff who saved Buffy, but as with any animal who has a long-term disability it’s the dedication of the owner which make all the difference and it’s obvious that Price underplays all that needed to be done.  She describes writing the book as a labour of love and it’s easy to see that this was also what she gave to Buffy.

You will cry as Buffy nears her end, but Price has done justice to a brave and intelligent dog.  It’s also a book which will bring back memories for readers - of dogs they have known, of a particular bond which is rarely repeated.  It’s a quick read, but one which will touch your heart.  I’d like to thank the author for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Younger readers will appreciate a book about another rescue dog and the effect that it had on the owner’s life - [[Rescuing Gus by Melissa Wareham]].  Adults will enjoy [[The Puppy Diaries: Living with a Dog Named Scout by Jill Abramson]]The Puppy Diaries: Living with a Dog Named Scout by Jill Abramson

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