Sadly, we laid our sweet Duke to rest on Monday, December 7th.
I was well aware that the day would come when we would have to say goodbye. It was just so much harder and more painful than I ever imagined. I grew up with many, many dogs. There are a few that stand out in my mind as "the greats", but none like my Dukesha.
Drew and I had been dating a few years when I told him we needed to get one of my mom's great dane puppies. We were living in Springfield, both in college. He was VERY against the idea. So much so, that little puppy Duke was sold and long gone, or so I thought. He ended up being returned. He had a "runny nose". He looked perfect to me. I convinced Drew that it was a sign, he was ours. And so we took him to the city.
Duke was my loyal and faithful companion. He was with me through my college years, showed me that Drew would make a great daddy, got me through years of living alone in Springfield after graduation, marriage, and (thankfully) was here to teach my little boys about loving and animal and being loved in return.
If you know me well, you knew Duke. I have many pictures of friends of ours and him over the years. If you've come around much, he has either smelled you incessantly, had his paws on your shoulders, pushed his head into your guts to have his ears rubbed, or flipped your arm up from the underside of your elbow.
For 10 years I have kissed him, said goodbye, and told him to watch the house when I left each morning. That's a hard habit to break. There are no happy greetings when we get home at night. I will miss the sound of his toenails on the hardwood as he walks, and his tags jingling. I will never forget how he smelled, and what it felt like to hug his neck or kiss his cheek. I would give anything to do it again.
The bittersweet thing is, he was wagging his tail and in good spirits on his last day. He just couldn't walk. His hips had been giving him trouble for months. I first noticed he wasn't standing normally. That progressed into being slow to get up or lay down. Then in late October, his back end started giving out on him. He could always dominate any dog he was playing with, and all of the sudden.....Cotton was knocking him down in the yard. The final straw was Monday morning when I woke up at 5am to the sound of him whining. He was laying on the living room floor next to the couch. I soon discovered he couldn't get up.
I messaged my friend, a vet, and she told me to have him there right when they opened. The news was as expected. He was about to be 10 years old and his condition had been deteriorating. We took X rays and explored every option. She knew the last thing we wanted to do was give up on him. However, the end result was the most difficult decision we've ever made. I know we did the right thing for his quality of life, I just selfishly wish he could have stayed with us longer.
So.......if I could say one more thing to Duke, it would be a million thank yous for all the love and joy he brought to my life.
Griffin and I were out playing on the swing set Sunday evening. Duke came over and sat in front of us, standing guard like he did. I just happened to snap some pics, not knowing they would be our last of him in the yard.
And our last morning together:
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