It can be pretty easy to grow attached to a sweet pup. Even if it’s just a stray one you see from time to time. This is exactly what happened to one woman who came across a sweet stray. She took care of him for months. Then one day he stopped showing up. She immediately grew worried. The woman never expected to see him again, until one day, the unexpected happened.
20. Black Dog
Around two years, Laura Sissoko moved into a new woodworking shop in Atlanta, Georgia. When she first moved in, she quickly noticed an unexpected guest that would come over frequently. The guest was a stray black dog.
19. Few Visits
The black dog would never get too close, but he would visit often enough for Laura to recognize him. She decided to leave him out some food and the pup ate it up in pure delight! From that point on she nicknamed the dog “Buddy”.
18. Shy Pup
“I had my dog at the shop with me most days, so Buddy always kept his distance,” Sissoko told The Dodo. “He was shy, but curious. He’d watch us but not approach at all.”
17. Passing Away
Unfortunately, within the next year, Sissoko’s dog passed away. It was a hard adjustment for her as she and her dog had been so close. However, this also began to bring Buddy over more often…
16. Getting Closer
Without the other dog around, Buddy grew less fearful of approaching Laura. He also began trusting her more after she started leaving food out for him. He even got close enough for her to start petting him!
15. Opening Up
“He started opening up to me, knowing that my dog wasn’t around anymore,” Sissoko said. “Once I got close enough to really see him, I could tell he’d been a stray for a long time.” So how could she tell?
14. Matted Fur
“His fur was long and pretty matted, but he would barely let me touch him. My plan was as soon as I could get a leash on him, I was going to take him in.” However, the plan didn’t end up happening as the very next day, Buddy completely disappeared!
13. Nowhere
The next day Buddy didn’t show up to Laura’s shop, which was odd. However, she didn’t think much of it until a few days had gone by. Then she really started to worry about what could have happened to her pal.
12. Worried
“There are quite a few busy roads nearby, so I was really worried he might have been hit,” Sissoko said. Winter passed by and still there was no sign of Buddy anywhere. Laura began to mourn the loss of Buddy and would stay up at night thinking about him.
11. Few Weeks Ago
A few weeks ago, however, Laura had gotten on a phone call with one of her close friends. That phone call would change Laura’s life forever. “I talked about him constantly — so my friend knew exactly who he was and what he looked like,” Sissoko said.
10. Animal Shelter
“PAWS Atlanta had just posted on Instagram that he was there. I literally dropped everything. It was 6 o’clock and I didn’t want to deal with traffic so I just ran down the street to the shelter.”
9. Rushing Over
Laura immediately ran over to the shelter without thinking twice. There at the shelter was her long-lost friend, Buddy. The shelter staff were amazed at the emotional reunion shared between the two of them.
8. Reunited
Both Laura and Buddy were so happy to see each other again. Buddy could barely contain his excitement when he saw Laura walk through the animal shelter’s doors. It was obvious to the shelter staff that these two belonged together.
7. Happiest Day
“He ran right up to me and we both just started crying,” Sissoko said. “It was the happiest day ever.” Funny enough, the shelter had been trying for months to get Buddy leashed and into safety. Everyone knew him as the dog that was living full-time in front of a grocery store.
6. Wintertime
Back in December, Buddy finally stopped putting up a fight and allowed the shelter workers to put a leash on him. Then they brought him over to the shelter where he has been taken care of ever since. Sissoko promptly went to adopt Buddy and even got her fees covered by one generous woman.
5. Adoption Fees
One woman at the shelter covered the fees for the adoption in honor of her daughter that had passed away. “It turns out, her daughter used to call her dad ‘Buddy,’” Sissoko said. “It was like everything had come full circle.”
4. Going Home
Laura then promptly took Buddy home and it didn’t take him long to get settled in. “As soon as we got home, he ran and jumped right up onto my bed,” Sissoko said. Buddy now also has a full-time job!
3. A Job
Buddy now joins Laura at the woodworking shop every day. He is officially her helper and apprentice and Laura loves having him by her side. He has even found a useful talent that helps out at the shop!
2. Sniffing Out
Buddy has proven that his nose really knows the business. He has a full-time job sniffing out the best lumber for the jobs. Laura loves her sweet best friend!
1. Sweetest Thing
“When I’m working, he always has his head resting on my legs,” she added. “He’s just the sweetest thing ever.”