By JAYSON JACOBY

Baker City Herald

Buster the bulldog has been playing football since he was a pug-nosed pup.

Well, not exactly.

Buster has not, for instance, ever scored a touchdown in an official game.

But his favorite toy is a little rubber football and if you toss it, Buster will go get it.

And you’d best sit still until he brings it back.

andquot;You don’t want to get between him and his football toy,andquot; says Buster’s owner, Forrest Keller.

andquot;He’ll run right over you.andquot;

Sort of like a middle linebacker going after a fumble.

Next Friday, however, Buster will be a spectator rather than a participant when a bunch of Bulldogs who really do play football run onto the field.

Buster’s coming to Homecoming.

Keller, who lives on Vashon Island near Seattle, intends to have Buster at Bulldog Memorial Stadium when Baker kicks off its Oct. 26 homecoming game, against arch-rival La Grande at 7 p.m.

BHS athletic director Mike Sullivan says that although Buster is not part of the official homecoming festivities he won’t be escorting princesses, at any rate it should be possible to have the stadium announcer acknowledge Buster’s presence.

andquot;We’re excited about Buster coming,andquot; Sullivan says. andquot;If he’s there, we’ll make an announcement.andquot;

andquot;Whatever they want to do is fine with me,andquot; Keller says. andquot;Buster’ll love it. I think he’d be a good mascot. He’s proven himself to be pretty tough.andquot;

Tough enough to survive a motorcycle wreck and 11 days lost in the woods, anyway.

Buster’s story although saga seems more apt started on the morning of May 27.

Keller, who works as an engineer for the Federal Aviation Administration, was riding his Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycle west on Highway 7 toward Sumpter.

Buster, as is his custom, was aboard.

Keller had rigged a harness designed to prevent Buster from tumbling off his perch atop the motorcycle’s gas tank.

But as Keller rounded a curve near McEwen, about 21 miles from Baker City, the Kawasaki’s rear tire blew out. The cycle skidded onto its side, spilling Keller onto the pavement.

Keller blacked out briefly and when he came to, Buster was gone.

Keller wasn’t seriously hurt. He spent the next five days searching Sumpter Valley for his beloved 5-year-old bulldog. Keller handed out hundreds of copies of a missing dog flier, e-mailed newspaper stories about Buster to media across the West and telephoned veterinarians in Oregon and Idaho.

He also vowed that if Buster were found, he’d bring the bulldog back for Baker’s homecoming football game.

Eventually, though, Keller had to return to Seattle, without Buster.

Then, about 9 a.m. on June 7, 11 days after Buster went missing, Keller’s cell phone rang while he was riding a ferry between Vashon Island and Seattle.

The caller was from the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.

Buster had been found.

Alive.

John and Mariland MacDonald, who live near Sumpter, were driving east on Highway 7 toward Baker City that morning. They were going grocery shopping.

About 8:10 a.m., near McEwen, Mariland MacDonald saw a bulldog standing in the westbound lane.

andquot;My wife hollered, ‘Hey, there’s Buster,’ andquot; John MacDonald says.

She was right.

The MacDonalds brought Buster to Baker City.

About 4:30 that afternoon, Keller was reunited with his somewhat malnourished, but otherwise healthy, bulldog.

Buster hasn’t put back on all the pounds he lost during his ordeal.

andquot;Before the accident he weighed about 65, and when I got him back he was right about 55,andquot; Keller says. andquot;Today he’s 60 or 62. That’s probably a better weight for him.andquot;

Nor did the crash dissipate Buster’s affinity for motorcycles.

andquot;He’s never shown any fear of riding on the motorcycle,andquot; Keller says. andquot;He’s probably got 1,000 more miles or so on him since the accident.andquot;

Keller has modified Buster’s harness, though. He’s confident the dog can’t wriggle out of the device now.

Keller plans to arrive in Baker City on Oct. 24, two days before the game. As long as the weather’s decent, he and Buster will travel, as usual, on two wheels.

It will be Keller’s third trip to Baker City since the accident.

He returned in early July, with Buster, to pick up his repaired motorcycle.

Buster didn’t tag along on the second trip, in August. That time Keller was on a paragliding trip with four friends.

Keller has not taken Buster airborne.

Yet.

andquot;I’ve thought about paragliding with him,andquot; Keller says. andquot;But I would have to buy a longer wing something with about 60 pounds more lift.andquot;

Too bad he doesn’t have one.

Imagine Buster not walking into homecoming, but landing at the 50-yard line.

Now that would be an entrance.