Some time back, one of the Child Life Specialists at Children's had asked Ashley if she would like to be in the Dallas Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 6. Kevin even told Ashley that she could get on Buddy's back and pet him and hug him. Soon other children began to arrive, and they too got to play with Buddy and pet him and sit on his back and hug him. Buddy is a beautiful Golden Retriever, is excellent about letting kids love him and play with him, is extremely well trained and well-behaved, and is quite a talented athlete. Oh, and there is one other thing about Buddy that makes him especially remarkable.
Buddy has cancer.
Kevin said that Buddy never looked back, and never even seemed to miss his leg. Buddy has cancer too, but he is making the most of his life in spite of this horrible disease. What an incredibly inspiring story for kids who are also battling the cancer monster. After Buddy had finished performing, people were milling around the room, kids were playing with Buddy, and Kevin was answering questions and granting interviews with TV news reporters. One of the reporters asked Ashley if it would be OK to interview her.