One year ago today, I saw a listing for a dog named Victor on petfinder. He was a scruffy little black dog that looked dirty and terrified and I fell in love. He was at Forsyth County Animal Control, which happens to be where my husband works. I called the shelter and make sure he was still available and got a little background. He'd been picked up as a stray. He was severely matted. And scared. I then dispatched my husband to go get pick him up and he came home with the ridiculous little terrified furball. We knew "Victor" wasn't going to work for a name for us, and after all, he'd only been Victor for a couple of days since he'd been at the shelter, so after much deliberation, we decided on "The Duke of Embry" a.k.a. Duke a.k.a. Dewey. From day 1, I was in love, but the elation was short lived when I took him to the vet and discovered that he had a urniary tract infection, intestional worms, and worst of all, heartworms. We began treatment and put Duke on "cage rest" which he was not happy about. He somehow Houdini'd his way out of his cage two days in a row (we still don't know how) and on the third day, we tried locking him in the downstairs powder room. I came home from work to discover a chewed up door frame and a shredded door bottom, so we decided to just let him stay out. After all, he didn't chew much, he didn't go to the potty inside and the stress of being locked up couldn't be good for his heart. Eventually, he recovered and became the happiest dog you will ever meet. His tail is in a constant state of motion. In the past year, I've lost at least three pairs of shoes, but for the most part, he's a good boy. My love for Duke led me to become involved in an animal rescue group (AARF) and in August I took in a foster dog, who also had heartworms. Together, these two dogs make me laugh every day. They have brought so much joy into my life that it is hard to remember what life was like without them. They have taught me to live in the moment and to love unconditionally. They are what gets me out of bed in the mornings and gets me outside and moving and keep me connected with the outside world, during this time when it would be so easy to slip into being a hermit.
Tonight, we are going to the dog park and going to have some treats to celebrate. Duke doesn't know it's his anniversary, but it doesn't matter, because he is happy just to have a home and people who love him. He appreciates every day.
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