Duke is in Doggy Heaven.

Duke

Age 16, ~1996 - November 26, 2012

In loving memory of the best boy in the world. I will love and miss you forever.

Dukie was not just a dog to us he was our son, and we are morning his loss as any parent would. We rescued Duke about 15 years ago from a shelter, we were told as far as they knew he had never had a permanent home as of yet. He was skinny, fly bitten, he had a large sore at the tip of his tail ( from a home cropping job) and large sores around his neck from a spiked choker collar. I fell in love instantly :) we knew he needed us as much as we needed him. They told us he was anywhere from 11 months to 2 years old at that time. We had just bought our first home together and we were scheduled to move in 3 days after we adopted Duke, so he lived at my boyfriends parents house for a few days until our house was ready. Then the 3 of us moved in and started our adventurous life together as a family :). For the first 6 months or so he was crazy, he had so much energy and mischief wrapped up in that 80lb body of his. He was so much like the dog in "Marley and Me". Always getting into something, eating a couch, a chair, a wall (long story, I'll share at another time) he could be a handful at times, even exhausting, but when he looked at you with that big silly grin and beautiful brown eyes you could feel his love. He truly had heart of gold. A year and a half later we got married, Duke couldn't be at the church so we came home to take family pictures with him before the reception.
We lived in that house for 5 years with Duke then we seemed to out grow that house and we moved to a larger one on the other side of town. This house is on an acre of land and is fenced in so he had plenty of room to stretch his legs, and he did :) he raced around our yard like it was a race track. Over the years Duke enjoyed camping, car rides, golf cart rides and simply laying on your lap watching tv. At about 8 years old Duke seem to slow down considerably the energy that he once had was now very sporadic. Since we decided not to have children, we decided Duke needed a friend, so we adopted a year old beagle mix, who we named Sulley, they soon became best friends and Dukes youthfulness returned full force, he now had a little buddy to keep up with and show him the ropes. One of Dukes favorite things were the holidays he loved everyone and he was so happy when our families and friends came over. He loved to have a new person to lean against or a new lap to sit on. Even though at his largest he was close to 90 lbs he pictured himself as a 5 lb puppy.
The next 6 years passed far to quickly, with a few additions to our family, a 3 year old cat named Amber and a 2 year old stray cat named Dusty (he loved them both ). Other than turning a little white around the edges and a little thinner he was no worse for the wear. He started to slow down a little and maybe nap a little more during the day but he still kept up with his brother and even at times gave him a good run for his money. Last fall he gave us a scare, he was very dizzy and couldn't stand on his own. I was terrified,I had thought he had had a stroke. The vet diagnosed him with "Old Dog Vestibular Disease" which causes extreme dizziness , so they said to watch him for a few days and make sure he doesn't hurt himself and that he continues to eat. After about a week he was back to normal ( thank God). Since Sulley is getting up there in age we were talking about getting him a young friend to keep him on his toes. This last summer I had the strangest and saddest dream I have ever had, in the dream Duke spoke to me and he told me that it was ok for me to get another dog. He told me that he was sick and dying of cancer and told me Sulley need someone to keep him company when he was gone . ( I know this sounds strange but it was the most vivid dream I have ever had. The next month the opportunity arose and on vacation I found a 2 year old mini pin , chihuahua mix that need to be rescued, besides only being 7 lbs he reminded me of Duke and I almost instantly fell in love. July 16th I brought him home and we named him Gilley. Everyone got along great. ( well the cats aren't to happy, but they will get used to it.
In September I noticed Duke had blood in his urine so I rushed him to the vet where the diagnosed him with a UTI and gave him antibiotics for 2 weeks. After about the 3rd day he seemed better and there was no more visible blood. Then at almost exactly the 2 week point he fell in the kitchen on the way outside , when I went to help him up I noticed the huge puddle of dark red blood he was sitting in. So called my husband and he rushed home, we got Duke up and cleaned and got him to the vet. They did blood work and x-rays and she showed us the image of a huge mass that she diagnosed as cancer of the spleen. At first I wasn't shocked after all he is a 16 year old dog. It didn't really hit me until she said "take him home and make his last days good ones", Last Days!!!! WHAT!!! I was not ready for this, she said he will be lucky to get another week or two. I lost it! This is my baby she was talking about. We brought him home on October 12th and I didn't leave his side for days. Then his urine cleared, he was eating, drinking, playing and sleeping like normal. ( So I just prayed the the vet had made a mistake) . He made it to November 12th, 1 month later with no problems. We had a wonderful thanksgiving with our family, Duke even got a little pumpkin pie :) Then by Saturday night he took a turn for the worse and was not able to stand or walk on his own without the help of my husband or myself. He started turning away food ( which he has never done) and I had to force him to drink water. By Sunday he was no better and we knew we would have to make a decision . After a lot of thinking , talking, hugging and crying I found a local vet that makes house calls. So we made an appointment for him to come out on Monday afternoon. Dukes grandma, aunts and uncles came by to give support and hugs and kisses to their beloved grandson and nephew. That Sunday as every other night Duke and his brothers slept in our bed. My husband and I held him and hugged him all night and let home know how much we loved him. Monday was the hardest day of my life thus far, but we wanted Duke to pass with as much dignity as possible. So as I held on my lap and my husband hugged and kissed his beautiful face we told him how much we loved him and what a good boy he is. He passed quickly and peacefully on his favorite couch surrounded by the people that loved him most. Duke was buried in our backyard on his bed with his favorite blankets and toys. A piece of my heart broke that day, I am trying to fill it with all the wonderful, happy memories that he brought to my life. Our house will never be the same without him, be he will remain in our hearts forever. Dukie, mommy and daddy love you, you were the best boy in the whole world and my heart still aches for you and my tears still fall. Thank for the many years of happiness and joy that you brought us. You will be missed terribly and loved forever. Rest in Peace Baby Dukie, we love you! Xoxo

To everyone that reads this and to all that leave such beautiful messages, I may not get a chance to write you all back and thank you for your kind thoughts, but I want you all to know that from the bottom of my heart I truly appreciate your comforting words and heartfelt sympathy. This is the one place I have found that I feel people really understand the pain and the loss I am feeling. Thank you again, and I hope the memories of your beautiful furry babies bring peace and joy to your hearts. :)