Buddy was a sled dog who was born in May 2015. Deaf since birth, it wasn’t his ears that ended his mushing career. Buddy was deemed too small to pull a sled so his musher sought a pet home for him. Phil Rhode adopted Buddy and they became BFFs! Then, in February 2018, Phil died after a battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (learn more and help find a cure here). Before he died, Phil asked his daughter, Maija, to teach Buddy to be a flyball dog. Phil said “I want Buddy to be on one of those cool flyball magnets you put on your car!” Maija, who is arguably ADGW’s loudest member, wondered how a dog who can’t hear could be trained to play flyball. But, with hand signals and high energy (in the form of yelling, which everyone but Buddy benefited from), they learned to work together to make Phil’s last wish come true. Read Buddy’s story in this AKC feature. Buddy was a real sweetie, and was famous for giving the best hugs. Tragically, he passed away on February 9, 2025.