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![Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey Lyn Lybeck of Baxter recently held her precious miniature poodle named Little Buddy. The dog is known as "The Sweetheart of Arbor Glen."](http://bra-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/10901909.jpg "Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey Lyn Lybeck of Baxter recently held her precious miniature poodle named Little Buddy. The dog is known as "The Sweetheart of Arbor Glen."")
![Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey Little Buddy, a miniature poodle owned by Lyn Lybeck of Baxter, is known as "The Sweetheart of Arbor Glen." Little Buddy enjoys socializing with the residents at the senior housing community apartments.](http://bra-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/10888381.jpg "Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey Little Buddy, a miniature poodle owned by Lyn Lybeck of Baxter, is known as "The Sweetheart of Arbor Glen." Little Buddy enjoys socializing with the residents at the senior housing community apartments.")
![Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey Little Buddy, a miniature poodle owned by Lyn Lybeck of Baxter, is known as "The Sweetheart of Arbor Glen."](http://bra-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/10901906.jpg "Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey Little Buddy, a miniature poodle owned by Lyn Lybeck of Baxter, is known as "The Sweetheart of Arbor Glen."")
BAXTER — They say good things come in small packages and that seems to be the case at Arbor Glen, a senior housing community in Baxter.
The small package is Little Buddy, a 10-year-old Miniature Poodle. Little Buddy, owned by Lyn Lybeck, has been given the nickname “The Sweetheart of Arbor Glen.”
“He’s my little social butterfly,” said Lybeck. “When I take him out for walks or get the mail I take him with and he always has to stop to meet people in the hallway. He has to say hi to everyone (who lives at Arbor Glen) and their visitors too.”
Lybeck said when people see Little Buddy it brings back memories of their pets and it also makes them feel better if they’ve had a bad day.
“People are always saying he is so cute,” said Lybeck. “And he is.”
Katie Badgerow, a resident at Arbor Glen, said if she is having a terrible day and sees Little Buddy it makes her day brighter.
“He always makes me smile,” said Badgerow. “He turns your life around. He is such a delight to have around.”
Lybeck said she has been living at Arbor Glen for six years with Little Buddy. She said the poodle was grandfathered in the apartment complex, as today the new rule is no pets allowed.
Lybeck said having Little Buddy in her life was by chance. A friend, Karen Struthers, the manager at Arbor Glen, asked Lybeck to go along with her to pick up a dog for her to own. Lybeck said there were three apricot female Miniature Poodles and then one buff male, Little Buddy.
“He was the littlest dog in the liter,” said Lybeck. “He had such a cute face. I told Karen she had to get him and she did.”
Struthers said Little Buddy was so tiny and when she brought him home to her family, she hid him in her sweatshirt pocket. Struthers said after owning the dog for six months, she asked Lybeck to take him because it was tough for her to take care of a dog as she was caring for her daughter and granddaughter.
Struthers said of Little Buddy, “He’s such a people dog. He brings a smile to most of the residents’ faces.”
Lybeck said she’s always been an avid animal lover.
“When I was little I had ducks, bunnies, dogs and cats,” said Lybeck. “I would have had an entire zoo if my dad would have let me. I grew up along Round Lake.”
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.
