Bud is teaching me that ugly can be beautiful.
As many have testified, prejudice is subtle and ubiquitous. I’ve always had an image in my mind of what beauty is in a dog. Red is beautiful to me. Fate is beautiful, full of grace and style. Lenore was beautiful to me, so was Rose.
But is not a dog I ever considered beautiful, and I never considered getting one. I saw all of these Big Men In Trucks riding around with small dogs they loved dearly, and I wondered what the attraction was.
Looking at Bud’s flat face and bug-eyes and squat legs and body, I just never saw Boston Terriers as beautiful. When they run, their legs fly out in all directions, and they are as or more active as border collies.
Yet there is, I see, a beauty in Gus, and it is not about proportion, it is about character. Bud has a lot of character. He is independent, affectionate (when there is no food around), he loves everyone in his family, shows loyalty and connection. He has a fearlessness about him that has helped him overcome brutish hardship and cruelty.
He is forgiving, he loves to play and he makes us laugh quite often. When I nap or rest, he lies or naps with me, an act of trust and intimacy for both of us. He wants to please, even though he just can’t much of the time.
He has a regal bearing, he is King Bud, the ruler of all he surveys. So he has become somewhat beautiful to me, in the way dogs have of becoming beautiful to the people they live with.
Mostly, I still think Bud is pretty ugly. Look at that squished-in face.
But he is also beautiful.
I think Bud IS beautiful! Especially this photo Jon. He looks intelligent, bright, ready for anything and everything, and just plain BEAUTIFUL! Love his ears, too! All your animals are beautiful in their own way. Red is a natural beauty, Fate is, well, just Fate with her heterochromia iridis (pirate eye), a little scary looking even though she’s not! đŸ™‚ Then there are the lovely donkeys, sheep and cats, all beautiful and much loved which is quite evident in all your photos!
I’ve loved Boston Terriers for so long, other dogs now look “too pointy” to me! I love my snorty, squishy faced, farting dog!
For shame on you !!!!! Bud is Super Bud !!!!! Budding…all over with the beauty of being A Bud !!!!!
Super Bud and ugly as a fence pole..but no less loveable for it..
I think Bud is beautiful, I’ve had Airedales and they are high-spirited, just like Bud, and I love that about the terrier breeds!
Only a man who truly loves a dog like Bud can see the beauty in him. You extoll his virtues and his shortcomings, his courage, intelligence, character and even his sense of humor (if dogs do have such) and all of the other things that make him beautiful. Those are the traits that make him beautiful to you and through your eyes, we are able to see the beauty in him too. Beauty is more than skin deep. You teach us that everyday in all of the things that you do. You are able to share with us the beauty that lies within your “peaceable kingdom.”
Nice post, Jane, Bud is not yet Peaceable but is getting there..he is teaching me to take the long view in loving and training dogs….he has a lot of character..
Bud is a handsome devil and you just don’t appreciate that smushy face boy trust me it will grow on you trust me.
Yes, thanks, it already has…
My parents, and now I, have had many Bostons and love the breed dearly. Once you own one, you can understand how precious they are. They are very beautiful to me. Every time I see one, I have to ask about him or her and try to get a chance to pet them. My parents always said they had a face “only a mother could love”. They sure are a great breed for you to study and to understand small dogs, like you wanted to. Their smushed faces have great expression and the head tilt is charming. Very smart dogs who love their humans. Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder- Bud is beautiful, or should I say, handsome. I can see your mutual love for each other.