NATCHEZ — Sometimes, when you’re feeling a little under the weather, one of the best therapies out there is the company of a furry friend.

That’s how The Dart found June Brown on Eastwood Road Wednesday, recuperating from a recent illness with her constant four-legged companions, Buster the dachshund and Missy the cat.

“Buster goes everywhere with me,” Brown said. “He has a little car seat that meets around the headrest and back of the seat, and he loves it.”

Speaking for Buster, Brown said, “I don’t know I am a dog — I think I am a people.”

Though it’s now hard for Brown to imagine life without Buster, when she first met him as a puppy 10 years ago, it was hard to imagine life with him, she said.

“I had a friend who had a dog that had just said puppies, and she asked if I wanted one and I said, ‘No, no doggies, no puppies,’” Brown said.

“But she brought them over when they were delivered because she knew she was going to leave with one less puppy. I looked in the box, and Buster had the hiccoughs, and that did it.”

Even though it was love at first sight, Brown said she had her reservations at first.

“He ate everything, he tore up everything, he got into everything,” she said. “For the first six months of his life, I tried to find him a good home, and after eight months I did, but I couldn’t let him go.”

After finding a rhythm for their shared life together, Buster and June became the inseparable duo they are today. Along the way, they added Buster’s sister from another mother and another species, Missy, who belonged to Brown’s father before he died.

“I would take Buster out to the country where my father lived, and Buster and Missy would chase each other — they’re like brother and sister,” Brown said.

“My dad had a boxer (dog), and when the boxer would sleep, he would place one paw on Missy. I think she is half dog; she is very social — if someone comes in the door, she walks up to greet them.”

After getting a recent mild illness, Brown said the animals have periodically checked in on her during the day while she was at home.

“They take care of me,” she said.