ONE YEAR AGO . . .

I hesitated about writing this post, but I felt compelled to do so: one year ago, our doxie Duke was in the UGA Veterinary Hospital with an autoimmune disease ~ his body had stopped making blood platelets and he was slowly bleeding to death internally. Many of you followed my posts about his situation, many prayed for us, and many of you offered condolences when we had to have him put down because the meds weren't working. We chose to put him out of his misery on July 28, a terrible day I will never forget.

God has brought us through, and the pain over his passing has diminished, but it's not totally gone. I can still tear up when I look at his pictures--so full of life, so full of love, so full of wonderful companionship. He made me laugh every single day of his ten years he was with us, until he got sick. I couldn't laugh then--I was too afraid of losing him. But we made that decision to alleviate his suffering, perhaps one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make. He was so swollen by then, he was barely recognizable, but he still knew us when we visited him at the vet school on July 27. The meds to help his body produce platelets weren't working, and he was on oxygen. He looked at us, weakly wagging his tail as he lay there. Now that I look back, his eyes were telling us to let him go. But it was a miserable time.

Today, we've moved on with our lives. We're getting older, and we've chosen not to get another pet. This choice is not out of selfishness on our part, but because we just aren't up to the task any longer. I've had pets over the years, but none of them EVER meant as much to me as Duke did. As I stated in blog posts last year, I spent more time with Duke than any human. Clark did substitute teaching nearly every day (we're both retired teachers), our two daughters are married, so Duke and I were home by ourselves as I worked on my books. He went to each room I went to; he listened to me read some portions of my manuscripts, never passing judgment! He was my soul pet, much like a human is a soul mate.

I do enjoy our doxie granddawg Sunny, because she helps fulfill my doxie longing--even Bruno, our boxer granddawg, is so loving. But to be honest, no dog even comes close to what Duke was for me. I

go about my daily life, which is amazing and fulfilling, because I have such a wonderful husband and family, but a part of my heart is still missing, and I suppose it always will be. Duke made me a better human because he was such a wonderful, loving dog. If you've never experienced the unconditional love of a dog, you have missed something in this life. Some of you get that in a cat, a rabbit, whatever. Animals are wonderful creations of our Father. He put them here for our benefit, and dogs love us, no matter what. At times, Duke simply put up with me, lol. At times he'd look at Clark or me like we were just plain stupid, too. I think he understood far more than we ever gave him credit for.

So. Here I am, a year later. I am doing all right. God loves me, my family and friends love me, and I am so thankful for my many blessings, far more than I deserve. I reach out more to other pet owners who have lost their beloved pets, because I now know how much it means to them. It helps tremendously to know that others have trod along the same path. You can't take away their pain, but you can let them know you care.

But I still listen for those little paws along the floor, the long ears flopping when he shook his head (doxie parents, you know what I'm talking about!), and yes, even his very loud bark.

Dogs get under our skins and I don't know of a way to remove that. Nor do I ever want to.

ONE WEEK OUT: DUKE'S DOING BETTER

Duke had his back surgery one week ago, and he's making great progress. Whereas he had 0% function in his back legs prior to surgery, he now has about 50% function! He would like to do a lot more than we are allowing, but his back has to heal properly so he can stay mobile. 

Part of the vertebra that was pressing against his spine was removed, leaving an opening there. I asked the vets at UGA how would that work, with no bone in that area. They told us that scar tissue will form in place of the bone, and it's pretty sturdy, once he's healed. Our job is to use due diligence to keep him from jumping up and down on furniture. He's even been trying to jump out of his

playpen now! Of course, he can't do it because his legs aren't strong enough, but I can foresee that we'll need to get him one of those metal cages to stay in when we go out to dinner, church, etc., to keep him from injuring himself. He thinks he's fine!

As he's started feeling better, he's also been more demanding about wanting to get out of "prison." I do hold him on my lap now and then, but it's best for him to stay in the playpen to support his back without any danger of his jumping down from something.

We'll keep posting on his progress over the next three weeks. His staples will be taken out in another week, then two weeks after that, we return to UGA for a follow-up appointment. At that time, if he's healed sufficiently, he will be released from his prison with guarded exercise times.

Thank you for your prayers and concern!

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.

DUKE: ILLNESS AND SURGERY

"Hey, what's going on over there?"

Our doxie Duke is currently residing at the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Athens, GA. We took him there last night at the recommendation of his vet because Duke had somehow injured his back and had lost the use of his back legs.

It came on suddenly; one day he was fine, the next day he was lethargic, wouldn't get up much, and then by yesterday, he couldn't use his back legs. We were alarmed, to say the least.

At this writing, we are awaiting the results of an MRI later today, as well as the day and time of his back surgery to repair the discs that are hardened (a common occurrence in dachshunds because of their long backs). In a phone call this morning, one of the vets taking care of him assured us that Duke still has function and feeling in his legs, and can feel his toes, an excellent sign. I was quite upset all day yesterday because I felt so sorry for my sweet pup and could not do anything to help him. Today, we know he is in good hands. UGA Vet Hospital is considered the best in the state of Georgia, and I must say, from what we have seen and heard personally, they "have it together."

After his surgery, which will be in the next couple of days, he'll stay in the hospital until they are certain he's recovering well and we feel comfortable in caring for him. His prognosis is good at this point: he'll be good as new after he heals and recovers. For those who follow such things, Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund had this same surgery last year, and he's fine.

It is so quiet around here. No wagging tail, no happy bark, no toy being dropped at my feet, challenging me to a game of tug-of-war. No cold nose, no doggie kisses, no warm snuggles from my fur baby. Duke is not the kind of dog one can ignore! If he feels HE is being ignored, well, he asks for attention in no uncertain terms, LOL. He is a part of this family and he's gonna get his due.

Bear with me--this doggie mama misses her fur baby. Here are some of my favorite pictures of Duke:

With Daddy

"What are you eating?"

"What's Mama doing in the kitchen?"

His precocious self 

Our first picture of him at the breeder's
before we took him home that day

Tough little pup

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em, especially when they are helpless and ill.

DUKE THE DOXIE

Clark took some cute photos of Duke on Saturday, so I am sharing them with you today:

"Why are you taking my picture AGAIN??"

"Now where did that squirrel go?"

"What is that you're eating?  Can I have some?"

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em!

AHHH, THAT DUKE

I haven't posted lately because the grandchildren are here  this week to attend our church's Vacation Bible School each morning.  They are having a blast, and so is Duke!  In the photo above, he's commenting on Annika's bike riding skills.  Wonder what he's saying?

Here are a few other photos from this week:

DUKE THE DOXIE SPEAKS

Hello doxie lovers,


This is Duke, Mavis Duke Hinton's dachshund.

If you have read I AM DACHSHUND, I am introduced in that book, the second one of THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES series.

I am writing on her behalf to let you know that she is still recuperating from her second knee replacement surgery--but she asked me to tell you that she'll be back soon, blogging away!

From my observation (and doxies are master observers, you know), she is getting along so much better than she did with her first knee surgery.  Why, she was able to do things for herself when she first came home, unlike the first time, when my human daddy Clark had to help her up from her recliner, etc.  And this time, her leg is hardly swollen at all!  Oh, if I forget and jump up on her lap on the right side, she lets me know right away to move away from her sore leg.  But I caught on pretty fast and don't do that anymore.

I like to stay close by her, though.  I want to do everything I can to help her get well so she will feel like playing with me again!  Daddy does sometimes, but all humans know that there's just nobody like mama, be they human or canine.

She got her 51 staples out on Monday, and I heard her tell Daddy that they did hurt somewhat, but she was glad to have them gone because they pulled sometimes.

She asked me to tell everyone that she'll be back soon, and to please check this blog for updates.  Don't forget to stop by now and then!

Until then, just remember that she is making good progress and is able to walk very well, but not very far yet, because she gets too tired.  She has already started outpatient therapy three days a week, and that will help her build up her stamina.

Thanks for reading this from me, and she'll be back soon!

Duke