One late summer afternoon my wife Nikki came home from shopping, to find a small old black lab laying on the front porch. Our dog Napier was with her, and was very interested to see who had come to visit. Nikki took pity on this undernourished dog noticing lots of grey hairs on his gentle face, so she gave him food and water along with an old cushion to rest his weary body on. Fate was on his side. Usually I was at home and Nikki would be working in our antique shop. But that day was different. I am sure if I'd been there, I would have told him to leave, especially when I thought of the many times we had to commute to Europe on business. Boarding two dogs would be very costly. When I got home from work and saw the poor creature eating dinner, I knew it wasn't a good sign. I was naturally concerned for his well being but still strongly voiced my objections. However, all my logical reasons for not keeping this stray animal, fell on deaf ears. Nikki named him Bud and after a few misadventures he became a valued part of the family, with his laid back ways and sweet temperament. I slowly came around to my wife's point of view and was glad she had persevered. Nikki had somehow known that Bud was special. Bud went from roaming the Blue Ridge Mountains in the freezing winters, to playing on a warm barrier island in Southwest Florida on a dog friendly beach. A heart warming rags to riches dog story.