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DUKE

A little about me & how I came to live with Daisy 
& my new parents

Duke's Story

Our Duke was almost 2 years old when he came to live with us. We got him in a roundabout way involving boxer rescue and the Internet. We had just filled out our application for a boxer through the boxer rescue in our area, when I read an e-mail that was posted on one of our boxer lists. A gal who was heavily involved with our area's boxer rescue and who also does a lot of fostering, was talking about a white boxer that she had just placed in a home. She was saying how much she was hoping that the placement would work out because he was such a sweetheart. I contacted her and told her that if the placement did NOT work out, that my husband and I would love to take him as we were looking for a male boxer to add to our household. She wrote back and told me that if it didn't work out, she was going to keep him herself. She then told me that she knew of another male boxer, a flashy fawn who was almost 2 years old and he needed a home. This was our Duke.

Poor Duke...........he was always kept as a yard dog. His original owners always kept him outside and when they decided to get a divorce, they just kept passing him and his sister (litter mate) to different friends. Anyone they knew who had a back yard was asked to keep the dogs until the owners could figure out what to do with them. Eventually the 2 were split up and poor Duke, he ended up having 6 homes in 5 months! I was shocked to find out that he didn't know how to play, never had a toy and didn't even know his own name! (He came with a horrible one which we changed to Duke.)

It was love at first sight for both of us. The minute his foster mom pulled into our driveway and I saw that beautiful boy sitting erect in the back seat of her car, I was speechless. I could not believe that he was the rescue that we were getting! What a gorgeous boy!!!!!!! (Except for a huge, nasty scar that sits on the top of his head.........he got this from repeatedly trying to escape from all of the back yards. Probably scraped it trying to squeeze under fences and such.) He got out of the car and looked me straight in the eye and that's all I needed. I was totally in love with him. The rest of the day, he kept coming up to me, pressing his forehead against mine and looking into my eyes. He has such soulful eyes!

When my husband came home from work that day, he also fell immediately in love with this wonderful boy. Duke bonded quickly with both of us and with our female boxer, Daisy. They were each other's shadows (until we had to put Daisy to sleep in Feb., 2003), and you'd never see one without the other. Daisy had taught him how to play and after a month or two he even relaxed about the food situation. I think he often went hungry in his old home and it took weeks before he realized that there would always be food available for him in this home. He also finally relaxed with the toys. At first, he was so excited about having toys to play with that he would always make sure there was one in the yard just in case we made him stay outside. I'd bring them in and he'd always grab one, take it out and spit it in the yard and come back in the house. Like having toy insurance, he HAD to make sure there'd be one outside for him to cuddle. He's been with us now since Feb., 2000 and he did this for a solid 6 months after we got him before he realized that he didn't have to leave one outside.

We're so lucky to have found this precious boy! He is a joy to have in our home and I will never add another boxer to our home who is not a rescue. The rescues are special..............they just seem to KNOW that you "saved" them. Everything you do is appreciated and they have a special bond with their owners.

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