Wednesday we said good bye to my parent’s dog, Duke, whom they have had for 11 years.
We got Duke for my dad’s birthday in 2000. I remember dad was sitting in his recliner with his back to us and we snuck up behind him carrying Duke, who was just a cute little puppy at the time. When dad saw the puppy he said, “What the h_ _ l is that because it’s not ours!?! We said, “That’s right, it’s not ours, it’s your new dog, dad!”
So we plopped him down on dad’s lap and within minutes they became best buds. They went fishing together, went to the mountains together, went out to the farm together. Duke loved the water, he loved the snow and he loved to run, so those three places were his favorites!
Over the years, Duke, started having health problems. It first started with his thyroid then went to cancer. He also had arthritis real bad. But he still LOVED to swim. Any chance he got to run into the water he did!
Duke also had the patience of a saint. Mom and dad thought that Dukie needed a friend so they brought home Louie two summers ago. Louie just wanted to play with Duke, but Duke just laid there and took the puppy abuse. When Louie passed away in an accident at home, Duke seemed to actually miss him. Not to long after that, Tank was introduced to Duke. Again, the new puppy just wanted to play with Duke, but Duke just didn’t have that kind of energy any more.
This week Duke was laid to rest but he got to go on one last boat ride and had one more trip to the farm to check the cow’s with my dad. He had a great life and will be really missed. He was such a good dog….
Oh Sara, such a sweet post. So sorry for the loss of Duke.