Ode to Duke
Oh man Duke, where do I even start.
You are one-of-a-kind.
And by one-of-a-kind I mean completely bizarre and strange, sometimes seeming to not have a single thought in your head.
One-of-a-kind in that you came from Meadow, Utah, complete with built-in hernia and extra toe.
And no, I’m not making that up.
One-of-a-kind in that you’re full-grown and yet quite small for a Shih-Tzu; you’re about half the size of your brother-from-another-mother Biff.
But you don’t let your runt-like size hold you back. Oh, no.
Quite the contrary, Duke.
Size is a non-issue for you.
You’re fearless.
Ten feet tall and bullet-proof as Travis Tritt would sing.
You sit, perched upon the couch, your entire world out the two living room windows.
You give a low growl at the slightest of movements,
tilt your head at the slightest of noise,
and bug your eyes out incredulously at the things that dare come by your throne.
You go berserk when any kind of moving thing gets remotely close to the house.
You bark and bark, you bark with all your heart,
you bark with the intensity of everything you are.
And given the opportunity, nothing pleases you more than to be able to chase these things you see.
And as I’ve mentioned, you’re not afraid.
Be it birds, a friendly passer-by, big neighbor dogs, cattle, horses, four-wheelers, you take off at a speed we can only laugh at because you look SO cute when you run so fast, your legs kicking out to the side as you do.
But you seek no vengeance from these would-be predators;
all you really want is to give them a good sniffing-over.
Duke sometimes you don’t seem to be the smartest of dogs,
when you dig and dig and dig on the bed,
burrowing yourself as deep as you can inside its covers,
finally taking a break and letting out a big sigh,
we’re reminded that there’s not so much going on upstairs.
But oh are we wrong by thinking that because we’ve also seen the focus you have when it comes to procuring any extraneous food items.
From anywhere in the house, you can sense when someone enters the kitchen and immediately take off to stalk that person.
You hunt the dishwasher while it’s being loaded.
You sit below the table during dinner with your chin resting on the legs of the table, your eyes methodically scanning its circumference for any possible droppage.
If anyone anywhere in the house is eating a bowl of ice cream, you stare intently at each and every bite, tail wagging furiously all the while.
And speaking of chin resting, you sure have a heavy head Duke.
You seek out any and all opportunities to rest your head;
holding it up sometimes must seem so laborious.
But there’s a lot you do in the day, dear Duke.
You keep your dear brother Biff company.
You create Milk-Bone and Scooby Snack opportunities for yourself.
You’re the watchman of the house.
You have lots of barking to do,
lots of playing and running with Biff when he has the energy,
lots of circles to run round when you’re dying to go outside,
lots of naps to take with whoever you can find,
lots of digging on the beds to do.
And Duke you’re so good to us.
You don’t have a mean bone in your body.
We pick you up and hold you tight and you let us, even though it’s not your thing.
You roam in the house to wherever we are and that’s where you want to be.
Even if you’re just laying on the floor, you’re laying on the floor with us.
You’re definitely a ‘people person.’
You love the nights and the weekends when there’s usually more people around and more things going on.
You love to be part of the action.
Your stretches when you first wake up are among the cutest we’ve ever seen, Duke
and your welcome-homes to us make our whole days.
Thanks for treating us so good and bringing so much laughter and smiles to us.
When you’re doing your numbers and turn your head and look at us,
we can’t help but dissolve in laughter.
We love you like crazy.
Because you are, in fact, crazy.
You are one-of-a-kind.
And by one-of-a-kind I mean completely bizarre and strange, sometimes seeming to not have a single thought in your head.
One-of-a-kind in that you came from Meadow, Utah, complete with built-in hernia and extra toe.
And no, I’m not making that up.
One-of-a-kind in that you’re full-grown and yet quite small for a Shih-Tzu; you’re about half the size of your brother-from-another-mother Biff.
But you don’t let your runt-like size hold you back. Oh, no.
Quite the contrary, Duke.
Size is a non-issue for you.
You’re fearless.
Ten feet tall and bullet-proof as Travis Tritt would sing.
You sit, perched upon the couch, your entire world out the two living room windows.
You give a low growl at the slightest of movements,
tilt your head at the slightest of noise,
and bug your eyes out incredulously at the things that dare come by your throne.
You go berserk when any kind of moving thing gets remotely close to the house.
You bark and bark, you bark with all your heart,
you bark with the intensity of everything you are.
And given the opportunity, nothing pleases you more than to be able to chase these things you see.
And as I’ve mentioned, you’re not afraid.
Be it birds, a friendly passer-by, big neighbor dogs, cattle, horses, four-wheelers, you take off at a speed we can only laugh at because you look SO cute when you run so fast, your legs kicking out to the side as you do.
But you seek no vengeance from these would-be predators;
all you really want is to give them a good sniffing-over.
Duke sometimes you don’t seem to be the smartest of dogs,
when you dig and dig and dig on the bed,
burrowing yourself as deep as you can inside its covers,
finally taking a break and letting out a big sigh,
we’re reminded that there’s not so much going on upstairs.
But oh are we wrong by thinking that because we’ve also seen the focus you have when it comes to procuring any extraneous food items.
From anywhere in the house, you can sense when someone enters the kitchen and immediately take off to stalk that person.
You hunt the dishwasher while it’s being loaded.
You sit below the table during dinner with your chin resting on the legs of the table, your eyes methodically scanning its circumference for any possible droppage.
If anyone anywhere in the house is eating a bowl of ice cream, you stare intently at each and every bite, tail wagging furiously all the while.
And speaking of chin resting, you sure have a heavy head Duke.
You seek out any and all opportunities to rest your head;
holding it up sometimes must seem so laborious.
But there’s a lot you do in the day, dear Duke.
You keep your dear brother Biff company.
You create Milk-Bone and Scooby Snack opportunities for yourself.
You’re the watchman of the house.
You have lots of barking to do,
lots of playing and running with Biff when he has the energy,
lots of circles to run round when you’re dying to go outside,
lots of naps to take with whoever you can find,
lots of digging on the beds to do.
And Duke you’re so good to us.
You don’t have a mean bone in your body.
We pick you up and hold you tight and you let us, even though it’s not your thing.
You roam in the house to wherever we are and that’s where you want to be.
Even if you’re just laying on the floor, you’re laying on the floor with us.
You’re definitely a ‘people person.’
You love the nights and the weekends when there’s usually more people around and more things going on.
You love to be part of the action.
Your stretches when you first wake up are among the cutest we’ve ever seen, Duke
and your welcome-homes to us make our whole days.
Thanks for treating us so good and bringing so much laughter and smiles to us.
When you’re doing your numbers and turn your head and look at us,
we can’t help but dissolve in laughter.
We love you like crazy.
Because you are, in fact, crazy.
posted by Colleen at 11:29 AM
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