I found Magnum at animal control in Sioux City, Iowa. When I went to pick him up, I was told that this was the second time he ended up there. His owner claimed him the first time, but this time the owner did not want him back. I found out that his real name is Buddy, he is 11 years old, not neutered and spent most of his life tied up outside. While this is extremely sad, we all know that dogs live in the moment, and at this very moment he is eating beef stew in our kitchen. The rest of Buddy's life is a mystery, but his behavior suggests that someone hit him. He is extremely anxious and cowers if I reach out to pet him. So I wait for him to come to me and he does. If I sit on the floor, he will sit next to me and lean in for pets. He is not housetrained, which is not surprising and he doesn't know what to do with dog toys. But what gives me hope is the joy in his eyes when we walk with the pack. He holds his head up high and prances!

I took Buddy to the vet and, despite his rough life, he is in good health. The only problem is that he is quite underweight; he weighs 52 lbs and he should be closer to 70 lbs. But we can fix that...he has a wonderful appetite and gets three meals a day. He will be neutered as soon as he gains a little more weight.

Buddy is a sweet, gentle dog who just needs to learn that now only good things come from humans. And he's off to a wonderful start!