Bud has had enough of being cold outside. For the first two years of his life, the Little King, as we call him,  lived outside in a pen with other small dogs. He was the only one who survived, the others died of exposure and neglect.

Bud spent months getting treatment for exposure, malnutrition, heartworms, and other ailments. He loves being outside in the yard with the other dogs but when it gets cold, he gravitates to his favorite spot in winter, the wood stove in the living room.

The stove was not working well for the past few weeks, we finally figured out that the cap at the top of the chimney was jammed with creosote. This morning Josh Harrington, a stove technician, climbed up on the road and cleaned it out.

Minutes after we lit up the stove, Bud was in his spot.

Just in time, too, a good-sized Nor’easter is heading North with a lot of wind and snow. If the power goes out which it often does in wind and snowstorms up here, our two stoves will keep us and Bud warm.

I confess I love spoiling Bud, he deserves it and appreciates it. He loves being warm.