Duke, the One Who Ruled the House

The house was weirdly quiet last night and this morning. For the first time in over 20 years, we do not have a dog in the house. We had to say goodbye to Duke Monday morning. We lost Abby suddenly in October to pneumonia, she was only 8 years old.

Duke was a stray, found at a post office in Austin, by Catherine. She tried to keep him, but after staying here while she was in post-season play, he was not happy back in Austin. So, Duke took up residence here with us and Abby, a little over 4 years ago, and promptly, quietly let us now who the boss in this house was.

The vet estimated that Duke was about 10 when he came to us, already a crusty old man who was missing at least 7 teeth. He was quirky and "bossy", but like most dogs, he loved us unconditionally. Duke loved laundry day, walking through the piles of dirty clothes taking in all the scents. He loved sitting out in the middle of the back yard in the morning, after he was done with morning business. At bedtime, he sat on the floor waiting to be picked up and put on the bed, where he hopped over to Gary to get his nightly petting. His bossy "arf arf" when it was breakfast, dinner, or Pupperoni time was sorely missing today.

Duke had a mass in his chest that was compromising his breathing. Sunday night it became very apparent that he was getting worse. So Monday morning, Chris and I took him to the vet's office. Both of us were with him to say goodbye.

So, today, while everyone else in the world was saying one more goodbye to Michael Jackson, the Osterman family was thinking of Duke, boss of the house! Happy trails Dukie! Hope you are having fun with Abby!