Pet Retrieves Some Degree of His Dignity

Buster the dog pads down the halls of the Californian Convalescent Hospital, almost prancing in the knowledge that he is about to receive 470 pats and neck rubs in the next 90 minutes. Like a feather duster, his tail brushes the spokes of the occasional wheelchair wheel as he passes.

Or pauses, if the occupant looks as if he or she might be good for one of those pats. Buster is courteous, though, and bothers no one who doesn’t welcome the golden retriever’s slobbery presence.

Buster’s been here before, and he knows the drill: Rest your head on someone’s lap--get an average of 13 pats in return. Good gig. No pay, but perks are plentiful, especially for a dog that doesn’t dawdle.

With this, his fourth visit to amuse and encourage elderly residents of the nursing home, Buster has earned his bone fidos. He is now qualified to become a certified Pet Therapy dog with the national Love on a Leash program.

Around his neck, Buster wears a garland of pink hearts.

But pink hearts or not, Buster is no pussycat dog; this 91-pound furry cupid runs his own show.

“Buster’s back” . . . “Buster’s here . . .” The buzz goes around the lobby where residents sit or park their wheelchairs to pass the time and watch the action at the main entrance.

Buster has dozens of FOBs (Friends of Buster) at the Californian.

“Oh, yes, I love him,” says Mary Titcombe, a resident who is bedridden. “He’s visited me three times. You have to spell C-O-O-K-I-E in front of him,” she says, handing him a biscuit.

He has special dispensation from activities director Yvonne Wiegand to stand on his hind legs and lean on Titcombe’s bedrails so she can reach that special rubbing spot on the back of his neck.

One might say Buster is performing a community service to atone for the costly emergency life-saving surgery he underwent four months ago after chowing down two rolls of coins.

Turns out the zinc in pennies is deadly poisonous to dogs, so Buster underwent surgery to remove the 27 cents he had not coughed up.

Shortly thereafter, a “changed” Buster began studies toward a degree as a Pet Therapy Provider for the Oceanside-based Love on a Leash.

“He’s a good dog who wants to do good,” owner Beth Borozan of Ventura said.

He began his student teaching by cheering people up at the Californian, watched over, and finally vetted, by Wiegand.

Excessive licking and jumping are high on her list of bad-dog behavior. After all, most of the elderly residents weigh less than Buster’s cruising weight of 91 pounds. They would be pushovers for a too-peppy pooch.

But Buster neither licks nor leaps and he will soon begin social calls to a local hospice.

Buster’s Web site--yes, Web site--is https://members.aol.com/BTWD/index.html.