In 1114, the Earl of Gadwater, after losing a game of cards
to Lord Cadbury, was converted to Catholicism as part of their wager. Upon his baptism, it is said that a bright light
entered the room, temporarily blinding all inside, except for the Earl of Gadwater, who swore he saw the Archangel Gideon.
It was Gideon, himself, who instructed Gadwater to travel to the Holy Land and rescue the Holy Grail itself, which was said
to be in the possession of Suleiman Ach-nam alla Hom. Within a month The Earl and a rag tag collection of knights
and mercenaries were on their way to Jerusalem.
Poorly
outfitted and undermanned, the Crusade was a shambles from the start. Choosing to go overland, they became
lost in Northern England. Unfortunately, they had decided to start in the winter. Half
frozen and out of supplies, they certainly would have all cherished had it not been for what Gadwater attested was yet another
miracle. In the middle of a blizzard, a dog appeared in their camp. Gadwater stated
that “the sight of the dog alone filled his men with with an unearthly will to go on....” Over
the next several days, they followed the dog as it led them to the safety of a cabin. Unfortunately, there
were no supplies in the cabin, so to keep from starving they ate the dog, which gave them the nourishment they needed to make
it to a nearby town when the storm finally abated. Indeed, only Gadwater was injured, losing a toe to frostbite,
which he said was God’s reminder of humility. Shortly thereafter, the wound became infected, and
Gadwater did not live to see his beloved Southern England ever again.
The Church, upon hearing the tale of Gadwater, was convinced it was nothing less than a miracle.
Therefore, a petition to canonize Gadwater was begun: St. Gadwater, the Patron Saint of Wool Stockings.
That is when Church politics took over. A faction in the Church opposed Gadwater’s canonization
on two major grounds. First of all, not only did his Crusade never make it to the Holy Land, they never
got out of England. And most importantly, Lord Cadbury, who Gadwater had been playing cards with, admitted
that he had cheated. Therefore, Gadwater was converted under false grounds, thereby nullifying the conversion.
Whereas the first condition has always been one of church debate in which intention is deemed to be as important, if
not more important, than the actual outcome, the second condition was a deal breaker.
However, by this time the canonization process had already become public knowledge.
Gadwater’s supporters, though small, represented a considerable amount of political strength, especially among
sheppards. In reality, they didn’t care who was canonized, just as long as their town could lay claim
to a local saint. They further argued that regardless of who was responsible for the miracle, there had
still been a miracle. So it was decided to canonize the dog. The dog, after all, was
the only other member of the Crusade who had died, and he had truly saved the Crusaders. He even sacrificed
his life for theirs. So became Saint Buddy, Patron Saint of Travelers Lost in the Snow.
Saint Buddy probably had the most popularity from the late 15th
to the early 17th centuries. His greatest popularity was in Southern Spain, where he become know as Señor
Perro, or simply, El Perro. Buddy’s popularity waned with the coming of modernization, and he was all but forgotten
until the middle of the 20th century, when an American dog food company adopted Saint Buddy as their mascot.
Outraged, the Church tried to get a court injunction, but failed. It was shortly thereafter that the Church re-evaluated
Buddy’s sainthood. In a controversial decision, the Church overruled Buddy’s sainthood altogether and reinstated
Lord Gadwater. Regardless, there are still those who consider Buddy to be a genuine saint. Currently the church
does not recognize any Patron Saint of Travelers Lost in the Snow. Unfortunately, there is no current Patron Saint of
Travelers, either, Saint Christopher having been refuted as well.
