Companion Corner: Buster at Berkshire Humane Society

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – There is a fun and loving boy who is ready to get a fresh start with a new family who will take care of him. 

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.   

Buster is a one-year-old Husky mix who has been at the shelter for about two months.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri introduced us to Buster. 

"He is very sweet and social. He loves people. He likes kids. It does take him a little while to warm up to new people and build some trust. And then once you do build that trust with him, he's very goofy, and he likes to play and jump on you and mouth playfully and gently, and he does get really excited with his people that he has a strong connection with."

Olivieri said Buster was an unclaimed stray who fell on hard times before going to the shelter. Olivieri said they assume he is approximately one, but his exact age is unknown. 

She said that they are unsure of his history, but he could have some kind of soft tissue damage. They conducted X-rays, but they came back inconclusive. There are no breaks in any of his bones, but he has some periodic lameness, and some further diagnostics would be something the shelter requires. 

Furthermore, he does occasionally lift up one paw, but he does not show that he is in any pain.

"He came in pretty emaciated. We've gotten some weight on him. He's a little bit hunched in his spine. And again, the X-rays didn't show anything, but there could be something else going on that, like MRI, ultrasound could detect."

She said he needs a home and family that would be willing to keep him current with a veterinarian and able to address anything that comes up health-wise. 

"He occasionally will show these symptoms, whether it was just from an old injury or something that possibly could still bother him. So right now he is on some restricted exercise. We're doing leash walks with him only," she said. "He can't really, at this point, run around freely because he could kind of further damage that leg if there's anything really really going on there, so he's a little bit of a puzzle. Like we said, we don't know exactly what happened to him in his past, and we are trying to keep him comfortable. He's not in any pain right now, but that lameness will crop up every once in a while with him." 

But Buster can go to a home with cats and kids eight and up.

"He can go to a home with cats, and while he does like other dogs, we're saying he will do best as the only dog, just because he's got a couple medical issues going on and roughhousing with other dogs probably isn't best for him at this point. While he could have some doggy friends and go for some walks and gentle playdates with other dogs." 

"He does like kids, but again, he is a little bit kind of sensitive to some body handling and being grabbed and that kind of thing. So we just want to keep him nice and comfortable with where he goes home," she said.

Buster loves to play and be pampered. He loves walks and being out in the woods and can be silly, especially with his picky eating.

"He does love to be touched and massaged and loved on. He gets really playful, so he does like it when you kind of chase him a little bit and use your hands for play. He likes to jump on you with some body contact. He also likes to be pampered a little bit. He likes to be hand-fed. He can be really really picky with his meals, but as soon as you sit with him in his kennel while he's laying down and start hand-feeding him, he will eat right away." 

He is also very observant and likes to stop on walks and stare out before continuing.

While he had a rough start at the shelter, needing lots of medical care before coming out to the adoption floor, Olivieri is happy to see how much Buster has grown into his personality.

"He's starting to feel so much better. He's a lot healthier. His personality is really shining through. His coat is looking better. His hair is growing in the back. He's really starting to fill out and to feel happy and healthy again," she said. "So it's been a rough go for him from the start, but we're just happy that he's doing better and feeling better and doing as well as he is doing."

The shelter wanted to remind people that the shelter is able to help those struggling to care for their animals, whether it's through their food bank or intervention is needed before it's too late.

"If for any reason you're not able to keep the animal for other reasons, or it's just too difficult to care for, we have all the staff here who can assist, and we also have a clinic and vets who will work closely with you and the dogs once they're signed over to us to make sure they get all of the vet care and all of the food that they need once they're here, and we act right away to make sure that they're on a good feeding protocol," she said. "They're getting the vet care they need, so that we can get them healthy and get them adopted out again."

You can visit Buster at the Berkshire Humane Society and read more about him on the website.

The Berkshire Humane Society is open Tuesday through Sunday. The adoption center is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.