In a hay field ~ The Chronicles of Buck ~ Part Three

Feel free to catch up on part one and part two of Buck’s story.

As we drove away from my mom’s house the dust rolled off the dirt road and the tears rolled down my face. I couldn’t imagine leaving him. Buck just had a way to your heart. All my thoughts were on him and the times that we had already had together.

He was with us from nearly the beginning of our relationship. He went everywhere with Lineman and me and he was such a huge part of our life.

He was always there at feeding time, always riding in the truck. Always ready for play and hugs.

He graciously put up with me dressing him up. I even cut up an old pair of Wranglers, cut a hole for his tail, attached suspenders and, and, and…. and man I feel bad about that now! One last picture of the three of us. It was time to say good bye.

As if he knew, he sat back and waved goodbye to us. I think back to that day we said good bye to him. I wonder if he was sad? I wonder if he had any clue what was about to happen? I wonder if he thought his days of being dressed up were over. I wonder if he thought about his future. The rides. The hikes. The sticks, oh the sticks. The killdeer he would chase. The people he would meet. The eggs he would eat.

So, as I drove down that country road, the tears flowed down my cheek.

But looking back at it now, to see it more clearly, to see how great his future would be, to see how he would add joy to my mom’s life, to see he would have a life not many dogs have, I would have been crying, but it would have been tears of joy.

To be continued…

in a hayfield, Part Two

You can scroll down or click here to read Part One

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As Lineman approached the Canadian/US Border he wondered what would happen if he couldn't get the dog across into Montana. He had gone all the way to northern Canada specifically to get this dog. It was the only thing that mattered right then. What if they took the dog from him? He had to have a plan....

Shove the dog into the sleeper. Yes, that was his great plan.

He put the dog into the sleeper and closed the drapes that separated it from the cab of the semi. A nose poked through the bulky drapes. Lineman was quickly approaching the border, he gave another shove to the dog to keep him in the sleeper. Then he rolled the truck into the bay for semi's at the border. Out came that nose again and he pushed the dog back. But what if the dog barked? The dogs nose poked out again. He was so curios and wanted to see what was going on.

The Border Patrol Agent was walking over to the semi and the dogs head was now completely through the drapes. One final shove, a hope and a prayer that the dog would stay hidden.

The Border Patrol Agents are suppose to look around, make sure everything looks right and you're not bringing anything back to the states illegally. The agent looked at his logbook and then looked at Lineman.


Then he waved the truck on through.

As soon as they were two feet into Montana that dog leaped into the passenger seat of the truck!
Once a Canadian, now a Montanan and our life would never be the same.

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I was overjoyed when Lineman brought the dog to me. We named him Buck and he was such an incredible dog.

Buck went everywhere and did everything with us. However, he did run away once.

It was summer and he was an Australian Shepherd with a thick black coat to wear. We decided to shave him. Well, Lineman did. He shaved him but he left a mohawk on the dog. We went to town later that day, Buck riding in his favorite spot in the back of the truck. We went into the grocery store and came back out to find Buck gone. He had never jumped out of the truck before. But now he was missing.

We drove around town, called the radio station, talked to people.

No Buck.

Two days later the phone rang. It was someone calling about our dog. They found him and we could come and get him.

We were so overjoyed to have him back. We went straight home and shaved off his mohawk. We figured he ran away because he was either mad at us or embarassed. He never ran off again.

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It was a few years later when I would cry over Buck. We were headed back to school so my husband could go to Lineman School. We decided we would stay in a camper as a way to save money. We also decided it was no way for Buck to live. He was a dog that deserved wide open spaces.

My mom had plenty of wide open spaces at her Bed & Breakfast in the mountains of western Montana. We hoped she would say yes when we asked her to take him.

I have so many great memories and stories of Buck, but I think his best years were those spent with my mom.

I think it's where his true story begins.

...... to be continued........

in a hayfield

The year was 1993 and we were living in northeastern Montana. My soon to be husband was working for his uncle on his farm and ranch. One of his main jobs was hauling hay out of Canada to the states to resell. There were some interesting trips he made in the semi. Some trips took him way north into some very remote country. I would occasionally make a trip with him if I wasn't working. A lot of times we would drive all night and get to the farmers house in the middle of the night. This would ensure we could get loaded very first thing in the morning and head back to Montana.

There was one trip I made with him that I will never forget. I was just waking up in the trucks sleeper, the rumble of an old tractor approaching awoke me. I opened the sleeper door, it was cold and damp and dewy outside. The tractor wasted no time and began loading the semi trailer with large round bales of hay. Lineman was getting the tie downs ready and guiding the farmer on placement of the bales. After having one farmer drop a round bale on the sleeper he had to make sure they loaded him properly. I pulled on a coat, felt the cool air on my cheeks and jumped down to the ground.

As soon as my feet hit the ground there was a dog there to great me. He was the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. I looked down at him and he took off like a flash. He ran around and around and around that semi. I will never forget the way he had complete joy in every leap he took. He bounded effortlessly with incredible speed. He came back to me, looked at me with loving eyes and I gave him a scratch on his head. Then he took off again, running with pure joy. I fell in love right then and there with that dog.

We said goodbye to the farmer and I longingly looked back at that incredible dog as we left the hay field. Wishing I could take him home but knowing the farmer would not give up such a fabulous dog.

The next week Lineman went back up to to Canada to the same farmers hay field for more round bales. Little did I know what he had in mind. He did get that load of hay. But he had a great surprise in store for me.

The farmer had agreed that we could have this dog. Problem was, Lineman was all by himself and he had to find a way to get the dog across the border back to Montana. He worried about that all the way from the farmers house to the US Border. No records, certainly no shots, what else would they need for a pet to go across the border? What if he got there and the Border Patrol confiscated the dog. Lineman wanted so badly to get this dog to me. He would figure out a way at the border.....


..... to be continued......