Dog Names Ending in ster

But because he was adopted by none other than Roy Hattersley, a British politician and former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Buster's luck got an unexpected upswing in 1995. All was fine and normal for a year, but in 1996, Buster's mischievous ways got Hattersley in trouble, and gained Buster some fame. One day while taking a walk in St. James's Park, Buster attacked and killed a goose. Hattersley was then stopped and questioned by the police, who promptly checked Buster's muzzle and found blood.

Turns out, because the goose was attacked and killed in a Royal Park, it was the property of The Queen. Between the Royal aspect of it all, and Hattersley's career path in politics, the media ate the story up. Hattersley was charged with contravening royal parks and gardens regulations, to which he pleaded guilty by letter, and was fined £25 for letting Buster off the leash. However, he kept saying that Buster had tugged and violently pulled himself free. Still, Hattersley was fined another £50 for letting Buster actually kill the goose.

But Hattersley wasn't going to go down without letting everyone know how the incident occurred. He wrote a piece for The Guardian, there were pieces in The Times, and the media covered all the details extensively. And in 1998, Hattersley published Buster's Diaries, which were the dog's own thoughts on his life and relationship with Hattersley. Although fictional, and entirely based on Hattersley's assumptions of what Buster really thought, the book did serve to characterize him as having acted in self-defense.

In an effort to market the book, Buster attended television appearances, before passing away in 2009. A memorial poem was written for him by E.J. Thribb, better known as Barry Fantoni, to honor him and absolve him of guilt over the Royal goose. It just goes to show that something seemingly normal, albeit violent and depressing, can make for a lifelong story worthy of news, media coverage, book sales, and poetry. The death of a poor goose made Buster famous, even if it was just a milked attempt at absolving him of all guilt. Whether the pulled himself out of Hattersley's grasp, or got set free by his owner, is up to you to decide.