Duke, his history

Duke arrived at Scooby very scared and trembling. Due to his attitude, we knew that his owners had mistreated him, for when you raised your hand, or made a brusque movement he was scared and would lower his head and run to a corner. We don’t know what they’ve done to him for him to react like that, but we can imagine.

We had Duke at an area that we call the quarantine, for when a dog arrives at the shelter the first thing we do is vaccinate him, put the microchip, de-worm him, sterilize him and control that he has no illnesses. That is why he was in that small cage set up for him. Every time I saw him my heart sank, him there, in that corner, so sad… I went home thinking about him. There are many dogs that arrive at the shelter and adapt very well. Those who adapt best are those who come from the country or those who’ve been wandering, abandoned for a long time, starving, thirsty and cold. For them this is like being in a luxurious hotel, but for the dogs who have been living in an apartment or in a house… they have a rotten time, get depressed and they don’t understand what they’ve done wrong to end up there, it’s very sad… unfortunately, Duke’s case was like that. Even if his owners mistreated him, they were his owners, and we all know how faithful a dog is, even when being mistreated. Everyday he was more sad, for he didn’t understand what he was doing there.

When I arrived at the shelter, anxious to see him, he would look at me with such a sad face, that the day arrived when I couldn’t resist anymore and I took him home. I already have two dogs, so I couldn’t keep him, much to my regret, and I acted as a foster home.

The arrival was very good. As soon as he arrived, he started smelling my other dogs, and they became friends very quickly. I put a blanket for him, so that he would be warm, and he understood from the beginning that it would be his new bed. He looked happy, though he would sometimes get scared when we wanted to touch him or when we would get up all of a sudden. As for life together, it was very good, he respected everything in the house and when he did something wrong, we just needed to say things once. Every time we went for a walk, he would love to stand on the grass and roll on it, he looked happy. Our best moment was when I got out of bed and he would come by my side and sit down with me to have breakfast. There was always a piece of cracker or muffin that would fall, and we did of that moment “our moment”.

I knew I couldn’t keep him, so I started promoting him either through the internet or putting posters in the animal shops. One thing I was sure of, was that Duke had to be adopted by a responsible and caring person who would understand him. I would personally take care of the follow through, for he is special, and for that reason he needed someone special.

The days went by, and no one asked for him, the people only wanted puppies. Duke is three years olds. He is not an old dog, he is in the prime of life, but not everyone thinks the same about it.

At the shelter we do many things to help our animals, and one of them is going to animal fairs, where we promote our products and defend adoptions, and what is more important, animal mistreatment, for nowadays, there are many people who don’t even know it exists.

We were invited to the Fuentepelayo Fair, a small town from Segovia, and we decided to take our shop, and of course our galgos and Duke, so that the people would see that all kind of dogs are abandoned ( no matter the race).

At first he was calm, for there weren’t many people, but then this changed, and everyone wanted to caress him, and he became a bit nervous. I took him for a walk so that he would calm down, he would follow me everywhere. When he was calmer, we went back to the stand, and I let him go to a corner to rest. No one would pay attention to him, they would only say: “poor thing, he must have suffered so much!!!! It is easy to say, but very few of us get these defenseless animals off the ground.

It was almost time to close the stand when all of a sudden came three people asking for Duke, for a friend of them had talked to them about him. I showed it to them and told them his story. The eyes of the person I was talking to showed tenderness, kindness and affection. Only looking at her you could see that she was suffering at what I was telling her about Duke, that is, the mistreatment and abandonment. She looked at him in a tender way, it was amazing, she fell in love with him. I didn’t doubt it for a second, it was Duke’s time, and I wasn’t going to get in his way, I had to let him go and give him the life that he deserves.

She couldn’t take him with her that day, for she had to prepare everything, his bed, leash, his collar… it was very hard for her to leave him there, but she knew he would be in good hand with me. We agreed for the following week, for our jobs didn’t allow us to meet. The week went by very fast to me, but for her it was endless, and she would call me constantly, very excited, telling me that she had bought plenty of things for him, and that she had told everyone that she had a beautiful dog. That was another hint that told me I was doing the right thing.

The expected day arrived for both of us. Elisa and Duke met on a Sunday morning. Both of them were very happy and as soon as she opened the door of the car, Duke got into it as if they’ve known each other for ages. I was very happy, though I was sad to say bye to him, even though I knew this day would arrive. I hugged him and kissed him, he leaked me, and I knew he was thanking me. He left with a new family. At home it looks as if something is missing, so I have decided to take in another dog, and give him the same chance. Each dog is special, and the most important thing is for them to find a family that will love them and pamper them.