My Special Dog Was named Duke
By Elaine McCarthy, BraceBeagling author
January 25, 2004

I have many great memories about my dog Duke. I think every child needs to have that special dog. So often parents get a dog to teach their children responsibility; however, dogs teach more than responsibility, they give unconditional love.

I was about 14, and I guess I may have been a bit of a defiant teenager. I had been asking for a dog for about a year. Ok asking is a little bit of an understatement, I had been begging constantly. But in our house no meant no. I don’t remember why my dad didn’t want us to get a dog. My brother Elon was living in another state and didn’t really come home anymore. My other brother Leland did have hay fever so maybe my dad thought he would be bothered by the dog. Perhaps, he just didn’t want to get close to another animal because it is so hard when they do pass on. Well, I wanted a dog, and I wanted one bad.

Truthfully, I didn’t have many close friends so perhaps I was looking for a friendly tail wagging companion. I kept a watchful eye out on the ads in the local paper. Finally it happened there was a free to good home ad and this time the dog was still available. I tried to talk my brother Leland into driving me to get the dog but he wouldn’t take part in the plan. I think he realized he was over 18 and could be kicked out of the house. Somehow, I talked my best friend’s mom into driving so I could get the dog. It was love at first sight. His name was Dufus; he was part beagle and perhaps a little bit cocker spaniel. He had the most fun loving personality; ok he was a bit hyper. But I saw he had potential. He had the potential of maybe winning my dad over, because maybe, just maybe he could be a hunting dog. Not only was I a defiant but I was a smart defiant teenager.

So Dufus came home, well almost. I was so scarred, that I spent the night at my friend’s house to gather enough strength and guts to bring home the dog the next day. Saturday morning arrived and past then the afternoon came, I had to go home sometime. It was time, I put a leash on the dog and slowly walked home. I opened the front door and there was my dad sitting down. Thank goodness he was sitting down. “Hi dad” I said “this is my new dog, Dufus”. He looked at me in a funny like, you got to be kidding me look. Perhaps he thought he was on Candid Camera, he always like that show. I took a deep breath and said “really this is my dog, I think he would make a great hunting dog too”. Well, I will leave some of the next details out. Just try and imagine lots of yelling (from both of us). I’m not sure what all was said. I think it was teenage reasoning and lots of crocodile tears of why I should be able to keep the dog. We went round and round, and I refused to say where I got the dog so he would not be able to put it in the car and return it. I finally gave up mainly because he was running out of time because we were supposed to leave in a couple of hours to go smelt dipping. “I mean it” he said “first thing in the morning you are telling me where you got this dog and we are going to return him”. I shook my head in agreement, knowing that this was going to buy me some time.

We packed our hip boots and fishing nets in the car. I said good bye to my dog as he sat next to my mom on the couch. I can’t remember if we got any smelt, I think we did because I remember my dad being in a better mood. We pulled into the driveway around 4:00 AM in the morning. The house was dark except for the front porch light that was left on. My mom was still on the couch where we left her. She was sound asleep with the dog lying on the floor keeping guard. My brother Leland was the first to enter the house. Dufus had not met Leland, so when a strange man came walking in Dufus jumped up and began to bark and growl. His hair was standing on end, both the dog and my brothers. I slowly walked around my brother and told Dufus it was ok. He settled down and let my brother pass. My dad followed behind and Dufus walked up to him wagging his tale. I think he was saying “did I do ok, I was protecting your wife, I was supposed to guard her right?” My dad turned to me and said “ok, you can keep the dog but you have to change his name to Duke” He felt hunting dogs should only have one syllable so it is easier to call them when they are out hunting. Who was I to argue with such wise wisdom. Dufus was now named Duke.

I could go on and on how Duke changed our lives. I think he was the smartest dog I have ever had. I taught him how to play the piano, and he even knew the difference between a higher note and a lower note. He knew all the regular dog tricks such as lay down, sit, stand, etc. He knew them all. He knew how to fetch and the difference when I told him to get his slipper or a ball. One of his favorite games was hide and seek. I would tell him to stay and then I would hide somewhere in the house. He would run from room to room trying to find me. On the rare occasion when he couldn’t find me he would whine until I came out of hiding. He had such a human personality, if you told him to speak he would bark and if you told him to talk he actually tried to talk by doing this growl howl thing. Every night he slept with me, and by morning he had the whole pillow. I never complained. Duke was always there so I could tell him about my day, about the happy times and the sad times. He was there for me in the middle of the night when my mother would wake up crying or screaming from her mental disease.

Duke was there for all of us. He also became close to my mother when I went off to school during the day. I had visions of me graduating from school and later being on my own with Duke by my side. Sadly it was not meant to be. He ruptured 2 discs in his back. We’re not sure if he got hit by a car or if he did it by jumping from several steps down into our basement. But for several months Duke could barely walk. We would carry him outside to use the bathroom. He stopped eating and I would have to lift him into bed to sleep with me. He wined and whimpered every time he moved. The vet would give him injections but it did not help much. He was in immense pain. It finally got so bad that Duke looked into my eyes and asked me to stop lifting him into bed. It was the hardest decision I have ever made in my young life. I told my dad that if I came home and if Duke wasn’t there that it would be Ok. I couldn’t see him suffering anymore. I was 19 when my best friend went away.

Maybe I loved and appreciated Duke a little more when we had him because it took a lot of begging and tears to get him. One thing I do know is dogs are great for kids. Oh who am I kidding dogs are great for adults too, as my daughters little mixed yorkie, Kujo, sits here on my lap and our Lhasa Apso mix, Milo is at my feet.