Duke Freeman-Hoesman
July 13, 1997 – June 17, 2009
Duke came to foster with us in August of 2000. He was a big red boy, 3 years
old, coming to us from the San Antonio Golden Retriever Rescue which was in
the process of shutting its doors. GRR agreed to take several of their dogs
and Duke was one of them. Prior to his time in foster care with the San
Antonio rescue, Duke was part of a military family with 3 young boys. The
family had to relocate and they were not able to bring Duke with them so he
was surrendered to rescue. Thus was the beginning of Duke’s journey to our
home in Austin.
Duke was always loved and never neglected! He was however the biggest and
goofiest golden we’d ever met. With the exception of our cat Caesar, Duke
loved to chase cats. He was adopted once but chased the cats so he came back
to us. Several months later he was matched to another family with a cat savvy
dog. After I drove him to meet the family cat he decided that he wanted to
give chase so once again Duke came back to our home. Honestly, I think it was
my fault he chased that cat because I told him that if he didn’t want to leave
us all he had to do was chase the cat and I’d bring him home. By January of
2001 there was another possible home for him but by that time we’d fallen in
love with the crazy boy and decided he had to stay with us forever. And so he
did.
Duke would never come inside when we called him. He’d stand at the back door
and look at us then if we walked toward him he would bolt off the deck and
prance around the yard like a pony. In his young days he liked to counter
surf. There was the time he ate a 9 X 13 inch pan of brownies while I was in
the shower. In a panic I called Margo and asked what I should do. She promptly
told me to give him hydrogen peroxide and make him throw up. I did and along
with a lot of brownie barf came a golf ball! He had not been around a golf
ball in the year we’d had him, so who knows how long that ball had been in his
tummy. There was the other time that he ate a loaf of pumpkin bread but there
was no danger in the pumpkin bread making him sick so we just laughed it off.
And of course there were numerous other dishes that quietly disappeared off
the kitchen counter if left unattended for too long.
Duke loved children, people of all ages and other dogs, large or small. He
loved our cat Caesar but forget about any other cats because he had no
patience for them. He could bark for hours at a bunny or a squirrel. He would
put his paw on you when he needed extra attention. He liked to sleep late and
he enjoyed a good snuggle. He would shred stuffed toys, rip out the “squeak”
of a squeaky toy, carry his leash in his mouth, open the crate and allow the
foster dog(s) to be free in the house, or sit for hours with his chin resting
on the window sill watching the world go by. Oh yes, he was also a dancer
performing at the GRR picnic one year along with my Cougar Dancer dance team.
The most important things about Duke were that he was always happy, he always
greeted you with a smile, he always lifted your spirits if you were feeling
down and he had the softest ears of any dog in the world.
In 2004, our son was born. When Dillon was a baby, I’d prop him up on Duke or
lay him next to Duke on the floor while I was making calls for GRR matching
dogs to potential forever families. Duke’s nose was always next to Dillon and
often times I’d notice Dillon’s small hand on top of Duke’s muzzle; Duke being
ever so still as not to wake the sleeping baby. As Dillon grew so did his
relationship with Duke. Our dog that would never come in allowed our toddler
to walk outside grab onto his collar and walk him into the house. Dillon loved
Duke and Duke loved Dillon, they completely trusted each other and for the
past three years Duke fell asleep each night in Dillon’s room…right up until
his last night with us.
Duke gave us so many laughs, so much love and so many wonderful memories. We
thought we were going to lose him in May of 2006. At that time, he was
diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, a blood born cancer in his spleen. He had
surgery, his spleen was removed and he underwent chemo. His prognosis was not
good but we hoped for at least six more months with him. May 3, 2009 was the
third anniversary of his surgery. For three years he beat the odds; each night
I would whisper in his ear “Duke, don’t you die on me.” And he didn’t; he
lived with joy, having a wonderful life. On the 9th of June I noticed blood in
his urine; after a visit with the vet we scheduled an ultrasound for the
following week. On June 16, we learned that Duke was suffering from a long
list of problems but the one that was going to take his life quickly was lung
cancer. Not just a few tumors, but a lot of tumors. He could have lasted for
several more weeks but in the end he would have been suffering. We brought
Duke home from the vet that night and made a family decision that we would let
him go the next day so that he could pass away peacefully and not end his life
in pain. On his last night with us he ate pot roast and potatoes for dinner,
he played “bitey head” with Sheriff Roscoe, we took pictures with him and as
he was falling asleep in Dillon’s room Dillon said to me “Mommy I want to
video tape Dukes footsteps tomorrow morning, then I want you to make me a DVD
so that I can hear Dukes footsteps and watch him walking around our house
anytime I want.” And so on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Clark said goodbye to Duke
before he left for work. Dillon and Grandma said goodbye before Duke and I
left for the vet’s office. I sat with Duke petting his soft, silky ears and
said goodbye as he took his last breath.
And yes we did video tape Duke’s “footsteps.” But as of today, one week after
Duke crossed over the bridge I have yet to make that DVD for Dillon, but I
will, and when I do I will join my little boy as we watch and listen to Duke
walking around our house anytime we want.
My Best Friend
I lean on you
You absorb my weight and I am safe
I trust you
You will never betray me
I tell you my dreams
You listen and believe in me
When you are old
You will lean on me
I will absorb your weight and you will be safe
And together we will watch the setting sun
