On February 17th Bill Buckingham’s bulldog, Barney Fife, was shot while in Buckingham’s backyard in Dover Township, York County. The shooter has not been caught. Buckingham is hoping to help the investigation by offering $1,000 of his own money as a reward for information that leads to the arrest of the shooter.
When Buckingham’s father died of lung cancer it was hard for him, but a therapy dog was there with his dad at the end and that helped. “I decided if I could ever do that for someone else, I would like to do that” said Buckingham. That’s why he got Barney and for the last few years he’s been taking him to the Memorial White Rose Hospice in York.
“Barney’s an amazing young man. I’ve seen Barney so many times make someone smile on the last day they were with their family” said Buckingham. Barney is getting better. He’s still got the bullet lodged in his body because Buckingham said an operation would be too dangerous. Every day Barney get’s stronger. “He’s barney again. there’s no two ways about it. He has turned a corner” said Buckingham.
Barney’s diet is back to normal and so is his energy, but it will still be a few weeks before Barney gets back to his role as a therapy dog. Professional dog trainer Wendy Jordan, who owns Dog Sense Learning Center, said it’s a highly specialized skill that makes Barney valuable.
“The training can be very intensive. Cause you want to get those dogs out and about in public and accustomed to people and the sights and sounds that they’re going to see” said Jordan. Barney is a certified therapy dog that helps others as well as his owner. “He’s like one of my children. He’s my partner. He’s with me all the time” said Buckingham.
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT WHO SHOT BARNEY FIFE CONTACT BILL BUCKINGHAM DIRECTLY AT (717) 814-2233