Bigfoot is actually my husband, Heath. He's 6'4", bearded, and has a legendary sense of humor. When his son was little, he used to run around the woods pretending to be Bigfoot. It became a hilarious family tradition—we laughed, bought Bigfoot gifts, and even scared some houseguests with a costume. To this day, the name makes us smile.

Buddy, on the other hand, changed our lives.

He was a stray dog we kept seeing during a brutally cold winter in Pickens County. One night, after dinner in Dawsonville, Heath had saved himself a pork chop—until we ran into Buddy. Weeks later, Heath saw him almost get hit by a car, and we knew we had to act.

Buddy had clearly been through trauma. He was terrified of men in hats and would shake and hide. Despite this, he made progress over time. He became my heart dog.

Last Christmas, we went to Jekyll Island. When we came back, Buddy wasn't quite himself. On Christmas night, he curled up between us, and the next day he began vomiting and hiding. We rushed him to the ER. He had chewed on a tiny piece of a handmade Christmas ornament and went into sepsis. The surgery was $8,000–$10,000 and uncertain. We had to make the impossible decision to let him go. Later, I reviewed security footage and saw that our dog sitter had brought a man into our home. We believe the stress of that moment may have triggered Buddy's destructive chewing, rooted in his trauma and fear. My heart still hasn't fully healed.

We do things differently. We know what it means to love a dog like family, and we know what it feels like to lose one. We also understand how scary it can be to leave your dog with someone else.

Here at Bigfoot & Buddy, we promise:

• Individualized, loving care
• A calm, safe, respectful environment
• Open, honest communication

We stay small on purpose—so we can offer specialized attention to every pup in our care. We treat them like family, because they are. And we do it all in honor of Buddy.

He never got to see the dream he helped create—but his spirit lives on in every tail wag, paw print, and safe place we provide.