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| Buzzy and Bruno #7 |
When I bought Buzzy’s Country Store in 2007, I had my step-daughter Jennifer try and locate us a Bruno #8. Bruno #7 (left) had been hit by a car the previous year and Buzzy had decreed “I don’t want anymore dogs.” However, after taking over the Store’s operations I was soon amazed at the number of people who would come in and ask “You still got the dog?” (Buzzy commented once that if he had let it do so, it could have given him a complex in that folks would not ask how he was doing but instead say “Where’s Bruno?”)
From her research, Jen found a lady selling St. Bernard puppies in St. Louis. I contacted the lady who signed her emails with “Kathy, Living Among the Saints Today, Tomorrow and Forever.” I should have known from that descriptor of herself, just what kind of pet lover Kathy was.
Kathy’s email contained an attachment which was basically an interview. It asked several demographic and generic questions that I completed with no problem. However, when I got to the question that asked “What are your intentions with this dog?” I stopped filling it out and called Kathy on the phone. I asked her what kind of info she was looking for in that question. She replied,
“Saints are very social dogs who like to be around people. If you work at a 9 to 5 job and plan to leave the dog home alone in an apartment for several hours, then I can’t let you have one.” I told Kathy that it would not be a problem because a Buzzy Saint Bernard would be around all sorts of people – literally and figuratively.
Eventually, Jen was able to locate a Saint Bernard breeder right here in Hollywood and saved me from having to deal with Saints-Forever-Kathy in St. Louis.
All of this came to mind this past Sunday when several St. Mary’s College students stopped in the Store and met the current Bruno. Shown here left to right are Chelsea Cesaro, Heber Dias, Cristina Tono and Jonathan Fuentes. I may have to take Bruno up to St. Mary’s College and let her run around there some. That way, we can say that this Bruno has been to college. Hopefully, Kathy from St. Louis would approve.