There was never a more noble soul born to this earth than Duke.
He was a gentle and loving giant.
Shortly after we built our house a split level was built behind us and slightly to the north but our property lines touched at the corner of our yard. When they built the house they poured a slab of concrete just to the north of the garage door into the back yard. It was about 10 feet wide and 15 feet deep out into the yard.
I wondered what that slab was going to be and then a huge dog house appeared on the slab. I was a little apprehensive as to what was going to live in that large house, because I think my husband and I could both have crawled in that house together.
Then a large Doberman was placed in the pen that had been erected around the slab of concrete. The first time I met the neighbor the Doberman had gotten loose from the pen and was in our yard taking care of his business. The owner apologized and said that he didn’t usually do that, that he always used his pen.
After that he never used our yard and I think he was just claiming our yard as part of his. He knew right away that we would have a special relationship. Most of the time they would just leave the gate open in the pen unless they were going to be gone or at night.
Duke used that pen like a security blanket, even with the gate open he would normally stay in it. He would stay out if the two girls (two and six years old) were in the yard. He thought it was his duty to baby-sit them while the parents worked in the house and yard. He would stay right with them and keep them in the back yard away from the street by blocking them when they tried to leave the back yard.
Before long Duke came to visit me whenever he got the chance and I could not have been happier. One day he was in the pen and the gate was closed. His owner was in the back yard and I asked him to turn him loose so he could come over.
As soon as the gate was opened he bolted out of the pen and ran toward our yard. I had no fear as I watched this big black mass of a dog loping towards me with ears flying and jaws flapping.
As he crossed the property line I crouched down, sitting on my heels and put my hands out in greeting. I was sure as he closed the last 10 feet that he would start to slow down and come to a halt in front of me in a sit position.
As the 100 lbs. of enthusiastic dog came closer and closer all I could see was black fur, a mouth of large white teeth and the pink tongue flopping in the breeze.
Duke never slowed down, he kept running and plowed into my chest. When his chest hit my chest my feet popped out from under me and I fell on my back and the black freight train ran right over the top of me. Amazingly he never put a paw on me; he jumped over me with one leap.
Once he was past me he put on the brakes and came loping back and with a look of embarrassment sat down by side. From then on when he was loose I would stand and plant my feet apart to give me the best balance and then call him. He never got stopped in front of you, but if you were standing he did not run into you, but would make a circle around you and then sit in front of you and wait for you to pet him.
Sometimes when I saw the cage open and I was in the house working, I would just open our patio door and wait for him to notice it. I would go about my chores and when I came back to the kitchen he would be sitting in front of the fridge patiently waiting. When I opened the fridge he would not stick his nose in but would wait. Once he received the hot dog he was happy and would return to his pen to eat it.
I started buying the large cow leg bones for him. Some of them were almost 2 ½ feet long, and must have weighed 15 lbs. One would last him a week. When they were new they were almost more than this gentle giant could carry. I tried to get it balanced in his mouth when I handed it to him but it would wobble back and forth, pulling his head side to side, as he carried his prize back to his pen.
Duke’s owner and my husband would go fishing sometimes. They would put Duke in the back of the little Chevy Luv pick up and he was so large that he almost filled the bed of the truck. Then they would drive to town and stop at the grocery store on 30th to get some bait. His owner would go into the store and my husband would wait in the truck with him.
Duke scared the shoppers to death as he leaned over the edge to see them, because they had no idea that he only wanted to be petted. They would put at least two cars between them and this gentle giant and never take their eyes off him as they scooted by. His owner could have left money lying on the seat of the truck and no one would have touched it.
When Duke got old he developed arthritis in his hips and the cold began to bother him a lot. I measured him and had a friend knit him a heavy sweater with a turtle neck. It had sleeves in the front but just lay across his hips and hung down on his back legs a little ways. He loved this sweater and didn’t want to take it off.
There was never a more noble soul than Duke. He was a gentle and loving giant. The name Duke fit him. To contact Sandy: [email protected]
