Buster came into our lives in the late ’90s—thanks to a routine trip to the food court at White Marsh Mall.

After eating, I’d walk to the pet store on the upper level to play with the puppies.

That afternoon, I met a German Shepherd puppy—my favorite breed—and he was impossible to ignore. I played with him for a few minutes. When it was time to return to work, I gave him back and left.

He stayed on my mind all afternoon.

When I came home, I told my family there was a German Shepherd puppy at the pet store—and I could be persuaded to buy him. The kids jumped up and down with excitement. A few hours later, Buster was ours.

The next day, Buster and I had a chat. I told him we would love him, care for him and give him a good home. In return, I wanted him to watch over our family and keep them safe. He just stared back at me—one ear standing up, the other flopped over.

When I came home, he was at the door to greet me—tail wagging, licking and yelping with happiness.

Mr. Excitement

I always thought German Shepherds were quiet, controlled, brave, and austere. Buster shattered that illusion. He wore his emotions on his sleeve.

When he was excited, he was uncontrollably excited. Riding in the car with him was excruciating. He paced and howled and yelped all the way to wherever we were going. No amount of yelling or discipline got through to him. He simply couldn’t control his excitement.

Once when my parents were visiting, we decided to visit the dog park about three miles away. I drove the kids. Buster rode in my father’s car. About halfway there, my father pulled over, got out of the car and walked back to mine.

“You have to take him,” he said in frustration. I could hear Buster howling uncontrollably in the background.

I loved watching Buster run and play. Seeing him cover the length of a field to chase down a ball was incredible. He was graceful and powerful. Mostly, he was full of joy. He loved to play ball. He loved to hike. He loved to swim. And I loved to watch him have fun. It was worth the howling in the car.

A Great Adventure

Buster loved adventures. One of my favorites was a trip to Rocks State Park with Buster, Alex and Jake.

We stopped alongside Deer Creek and Buster plowed into the water as soon as he was off the leash.

It was a warm summer day. Alex and Jake wanted to go in the water with him.

No one was around, so I told them to strip down to their underwear and get in.

Then Alex said she had to go. I don’t know if she really did, or just didn’t want to be left out.

“Go ahead,” I said.

After that, we played some more. Then I packed a wet, muddy dog and two wet, muddy kids into the car to drive home.

I was sure the kids would run in the house and tell my wife what a great time they had. And they did.

“Mom,” they exclaimed, “Guess what? We got to pee outside!”

That was their takeaway.

I shrugged and took Buster around back to clean him up. By the time I got to the back yard, there were both my kids standing in the flower bed with their pants around their ankles peeing on a tree.

Ball is Life

Buster was never big on toys except for one thing—balls. He was obsessed with balls. If there was a ball to be played with, he had to have it. Tennis balls were his favorite, but he would also go after soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, baseballs and softballs. If he saw it, it was his.

At the dog park, I would throw his ball as far as I could. Sometimes 10 or 15 dogs would take off after the ball. Buster would always return with it. Most of the time, he outran the other dogs. But if someone beat him to it, he would follow that dog until it dropped the ball and he would pounce. He always ended up with the ball.

Always.

I used Buster’s ball to entice him to learn one of his other favorite activities—swimming. At first, he wanted nothing to do with the water. Then, I threw his ball in—just a couple feet at first. Buster gingerly waded in.

Then, I threw the ball a little further into the water. By the end of the day, I was throwing the ball as far as I could into the lake and he was charging in and swimming out to retrieve it.

His breathing while he was swimming sounded like a steam engine. He would swim out to get the ball and chug back with it in his mouth.

From that day forward, Buster loved to swim. If we took him near water, he was in it—even if he wasn’t supposed to be.

If Buster lost track of the ball, he wouldn’t come back until he found it. I learned to keep a supply of rocks nearby so, if he couldn’t find the ball, I could direct him to it by throwing the rocks and making them splash near the ball.

Buster used to walk with my wife and play with the kids. But after the move, he wouldn’t leave the house if I was home. Over time, he wouldn’t leave the house if I wasn’t home either—he was waiting for me to return.

This frustrated my wife, who wanted a dog she could actually take for a walk. Buster flat out refused to go with her. He sat down. She pulled with all of her might. He wouldn’t budge.

So one day when I was out of town, she took the kids to a farm and came home with a Golden Retriever puppy named Roxy.

Roxy was a ball of energy from day one. She loved Buster, but the feeling wasn’t always mutual. Most of their interactions ended up with him growling and snapping at her to get out of his face—nothing mean, just establishing his space.

He didn’t like it when she darted about, lost control and ran into him.

But when I took them to the dog park, Buster changed. If a dog gave Roxy trouble or paid her too much attention, Buster got between them. Turns out he liked her after all. She was part of his family, his pack.

That’s how The Great Dog Pack began. One stubborn German Shepherd taking in one rambunctious Golden Retriever, starting a pattern that continued for more than 25 years.

I thought I was choosing a dog. I didn’t realize how much he would shape our lives.

Or how much of what came after would start with him.

If you’ve ever had a dog like Buster—full of personality and impossible to ignore—I’d love to hear about them. Share your story in the comments.

To read more about The Great Dog Pack, click here.