Dog's memory lives on in fund to help seniors and pets

A dog may be man’s best friend, but Budkis, was more like family to Chuck and Mij Charbonneau.

The Charbonneaus first welcomed the English bulldog to their home in 1990, as a means to fill the void of being empty nesters. Budkis was six months old when he first entered the residence, but it didn’t take long for him to be one of the Charbonneaus.

Throughout the years, Budkis’ laid-back personality and natural charm had earned him few spots in commercials and as a beloved minor celebrity figure in Renton.

“A lot of people hadn’t seen a bulldog like him. He was very social with people,” said Chuck. “Everyone knew Budkis.”

Chuck and Mij threw Budkis a birthday party each year, which quickly grew into something of an annual community event.

“We would have a birthday party for him and the parties grew and grew until we had about 80 to 100 people coming,” said Mij. “And he kept getting these squeaky gifts and what have you, and he was pretty spoiled.”

That was when the Charbonneaus decided that perhaps these parties could amount to something more meaningful. So on Budkis’ eighth birthday celebration, guests were encouraged to make a small donation for senior citizens for pet care in lieu of gifts.

Thus began the Budkis Fund, a fund that provides emergency pet care for low-income senior citizens through tax deductible donations.

That first year, they were able to make $200 and each year since, they’ve collected more.

When Budkis died in 2001 at the age of 11, the Charbonneaus knew they “either had to step it up a notch to put the fund front and center or give it up.”

They went with first option and joined the Renton Community Fund Foundation and began hosting fundraisers. Since then, they have been raising thousands of dollars to assist seniors with emergency pet care.

In the last fiscal year alone, the fund paid $18,354.76 in veterinary bills. Nearly 98 percent of donations go directly to help their beneficiaries.

The fund operates in the Puget Sound area, from Lynnwood and Redmond in the north to Tacoma in the south.

“At some point we recognized how blessed we were that we were able to take care of [Budkis],” said Mij. “And you realize how important pets are, particularly to seniors. Even more particularly to seniors who are alone. Because those pets are their family; it gives them a reason to get up in the morning. But so many of our seniors live on very little income.”

The fund’s website includes a “testimonial” section, hightlighting exactly what the fund has meant to senior citizens and their pets. One thanks the fund for paying for a cat’s life-saving surgery and reuniting her with her owner, who was also very ill.

“The potential loss of his cat nearly cost him his life,” it reads.

Another thanks them for covering the vet bills for a dog that keeps a widow company after the death of her husband.

“My husband and I were married for 56 years and Sammy has given me much comfort and consolation since my husband’s death,” it says.

Yet another thanks the fund for paying for an operation on a dog belonging to another widow, one who works part time.

“To come home to someone who thinks I am the greatest thing alive and my heart is filled with joy and my lonely home is lonely no more and my lonely heart is lonely no more,” she wrote.

And while successful stories and testimonies pour in and reminding the Charbonneaus why they work so tirelessly after retirement, they have never lost sight of why they began the fund in the first place.

As Mij and Chuck took turns sharing stories of how Budkis failed obedience school twice, how they’d find him sitting on his wagon (that he picked out himself at Toys R Us) when it was time for an evening walk, or how his laid-back, unexcitable character had his fans laughing for hours, it’s evident that there’s still a bulldog-shaped hole missing in their hearts.