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| Duchess 2012 |
She went on to explain that she was a Pug, as well as a rescue, and that the lady who had originally rescued her was sick and not doing well. She had many dogs, and they had simply become too much for her to handle. The Pug was one of many that she was looking to re-home, but it was her that my niece thought was meant for me.
To be honest, when I first mentioned it to Draco, he said no. He said he didn't want a Pug. I had personally never seen her, so I had no overwhelming reactions either way, but I did come home and start researching them online to find out what kind of needs and issues they were prone to have. I made plans to "go look at her" the next day with no real hope of bringing her home.
Research showed that Pugs are actually bred down from Bull Mastiffs. They are prone to breathing issues because of their squashed faces and don't deal with extreme temperatures at all.
Honestly, they were adorable, but seemed like a high maintenance breed.
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| Duchess late 2012 |
On the way over there, I honestly didn't think we'd come home with a dog that day, so when we got there, I sent Draco to look at her because I didn't want to want her and Draco say no.
When he came back carrying a small brown bundle and said, "I got my dog...where's your dog?" I have to admit, I was a little surprised.
The dog we brought home that day and the one currently posted in my lap, don't seem like the same dogs now. When we got her, she was very skittish and shy. Quiet and unsure of herself and her place in our lives. She didn't play and rarely made a sound.
The Duchess you would meet if you saw us today is rambunctious, noisy and loves to play. She "talks" when she wants something and even manages to make some sounds that suspiciously sound like "Mama" and "I love you". You will most often find her in my lap or at my heels as I move through the house.
She loves to ride in the car with us, is good on long trips, and loves to give kisses. When she gets excited, she wags her tail so hard that her whole back-end looks like it's gonna come off.
She never meets a stranger and loves attention from anyone she can convince to give it to her.
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| Duchess 2013 |
She is my faithful and constant companion and neither of us can bear to be separated for long. She's my Duchy, my love and my best friend and I can't imagine life without her although I know that one day she will make her journey across the Rainbow Bridge to wait for me.
In so many ways, she is like a child to me. I was suffering when I got her. Witchlet had left home and in a sense, I had left home again myself after two years of caring for my parents (or trying to anyway). My mother was dying and I knew it and Draco had just taken his old job back working out of town. She was my comfort in those long, lonely nights and in the weeks after Puppet Master died, it was her I held when I was wracked with grief that I couldn't express. It was into her ear that I whispered my pain and fears.
When I finally was able to let go and grieve, we were home alone and it was her that laid in the kitchen floor next to me as I cried out 6 months of pain and grief. It was her that licked the tears from my face and laid her head across my neck for hours, refusing to leave my side for anything.
Yes, Duchess is my heart and I love her dearly. She came to me at a time when I sorely needed a companion that could always be there and she has been that and much, much more.
As I type this, she is in her usual place, laying across my thigh snoring, content with her world, and because of her, I am content with mine.
Blessings,
