Dogster

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It's hard to be Duke

The park

I would say life is pretty good for me. Last year I finally found a family that treats me well. No more sleeping outside on the hard concrete, shivering in the cold and suffocating in the heat. No more being bullied by other dogs. I do miss my brother, but life is good. I have plenty of chewy toys, good food every day (though I wish they would give me more from that table sometimes) and plenty of walks. But best of all I have a little boy that loves me.

Well I knew when this new family brought me home that I had to do something really special so they wouldn't decide to dump me too. I didn't know what the expected of a house dog, I'd never been one before, but they seemed really fond of the tiniest family member, so I decided to make friends. Now it hasn't always been easy being friends with a "toddler" as the family calls him. He lays on top of me (not that I really mind, it's kind of cozy), pulls my tail, and he even bit me once. But there are a good many fringe benefits too. He isn't nearly as stingy with his food as the big people are, and he gives the best hugs. I have to admit there is really something special about him. I found myself wanting to make him happy, and take care of him.

I think I've been doing a good job. I follow him everywhere he goes, even if I don't really want to. And as a reward the new family has let me be a full time part of their life, I even get to share their bed. But I didn't realize just how much trouble such a little person could be until we went for our daily walk the other day.

We took our normal 1 mile walk and stopped at the park to let my little boy play. He's getting really big now and it is alot harder for me to follow him everywhere. I don't like climbing up on those "slides" he likes so well. So I stayed with mom and watched him from the other side of the playground. But something wasn't right. I could hear and smell another dog coming, and he didn't seem friendly. Mom didn't hear him right away but I knew he was there. Then Mom saw him, he was headed right for my little boy. I love Mom, but she isn't the fastest runner in the world (don't tell her I said that). Luckily as she sprinted towards the other end of the playground she forgot my leash. I felt the tension drop and I ran. That dog was going to hurt my baby and I couldn't let it happen.

I got there just in time. By dog he hit me hard. I think I suprised him because he bounced off my shoulder and rolled across the grass. I could hear Mom shouting behind us, I wanted to tell her to stay back, humans really need to learn to understand dog. The other dog got back up and made to come at us again so I warned him to get away from my family. He was big but he didn't have as much worth fighting for as I do. He ran off as Mom reached us. I thought about chasing him, but I had to check to make sure my little boy was ok. Silly kid didn't even realize how dangerous it all was. He just giggled when I sniffed him. My shoulder was really hurting. Then he hugged me and said "I love you Dukie".

Yeah, there is something special about that little guy.