Buster

BUSTER BOEHM, 15, STEADYING FORCE BEHIND A CHAMPION’S RISE, DIES

Buster Boehm, a dog of unwavering loyalty, understated wisdom, and selective indoor discipline, died in late September. He was 15. The cause was suspected intestinal cancer.

Born on Valentine’s Day in 2011 and named after the famously resilient crash test dummy on MythBusters, Buster spent a decade and a half serving as the primary anchor, chief teacher, and best friend to Kevin Boehm. When Buster first arrived, Boehm was working as a vehicle dynamics engineer. Over the next 15 years, Buster oversaw a period of momentous transition, as Boehm built his own race cars, entered competitive road racing, and ultimately claimed seven national and professional championships.

To the motorsports world, those years were defined by data analytics, setup tweaks, and titles. To Buster, they were defined by consistency. Win or lose, he remained entirely unimpressed by podiums, holding Boehm to a far more rigorous schedule: greeting him at the door, offering full-throated beagle howls, demanding walks, playing fetch, and enforcing strict couch-snuggle hours. In doing so, he quietly taught responsibility, patience, and kindness.

His public record was overwhelmingly positive, though not without minor infractions. Buster left his mark everywhere he went—mostly beloved, even if he occasionally asserted himself by peeing on something he shouldn’t have. His influence also extended to key domestic alliances: Boehm’s wife famously maintained that she only entered the marriage to secure a relationship with Buster.

He is survived by a family that views knowing a dog of his caliber as an extraordinary stroke of luck—and who, if offered the choice, would rate his 15-year tenure a 100 out of 10 and do it all over again.