Buddy Lorkovic

October 23, 2025

Our dearest Buddy crossed the Rainbow Bridge on October 23rd, 2025. We almost lost him in July. He had stopped eating for a few days, was moving awkwardly, then he fell over. We thought it may be some strange digestive issue, but my wife noticed that his gums were gray so we rushed him to MedVet. We never could have imagined that he actually had a cancerous tumor attached to his heart that burst. They drained the fluid from around his heart and saved his life, but the prognosis wasn’t good. We took him for an emergency cardiology visit at Blue Pearl and we were given the same prognosis. We were told that we wouldn’t be wrong if we put him down now, but one look at those big brown eyes and we knew that he wasn’t ready to go. Over the next 12 weeks we spoiled him. And so did everyone else. As soon as the folks in our neighborhood found out that Buddy was sick, there was a constant stream of visitors to see him. They came to spend time with him. One neighbor doggy-sat him while we had appointments so he wouldn’t be alone. They brought him toys for his birthday. They sent cards when he passed. One even came to cry with us at 5:30 AM the day he passed before she went to work. You see, Buddy was EVERYONE’s dog. All of our neighbors told us that they watched for him as they drove past our house to see if he was looking out the door or looking out the window, perched on the back of the loveseat. On walks, he would sit in front of peoples’ houses and wait…and if they saw him, they would come out and pet him. When the school buses drove by, the kids would yell his name out the window. Buddy was loved by everyone. He never snapped at another person or dog. He was pure love. But his pure and loving heart was no match for the cancer. It finally took him while he was home, with his family around him. It’s where he wanted to be. His life was cut short at just 9 years, but that little guy squeezed 20 years into those 9 years. He could count the number of fingers we were holding up or a number given verbally. He was funny and he loved the attention. He would get his rawhide and sit there with it in his mouth until everyone in the room clapped for him. Everything he did was cute and of course we took pictures of every one of those moments. He sat with me every time I was doing work around the house, probably for emotional support (which I greatly appreciated). He brought us more joy than he will ever know but I am sure that he knew how much he was loved. I could go on about how amazing he was but anyone who ever met him, knew. Losing Buddy broke me. He left a hole in my heart that will never close up, but the memories of all of the good times and joyful moments are starting to fill that hole. Thank you Buddy for all the love and joy you gave to all of us, including your extended neighborhood family. I will be looking for you at the Rainbow Bridge when it is my turn to cross over and the head scratches and belly rubs will resume and we will be together forever. Love you Pal.