Mark, your story so moved me that I wanted to paste the tribute to my “Duffer” I wote on my blog. MacDuff passed a little more than a year ago, but as I write this, I still have tears streaming down my face.

Thank you for the opportunity to once more pay tribute to my friend.

MacDuff
“The Duffer”
April 1, 1994 – September 12, 2006

I lost my friend today. His name was MacDuff, but he will always be The Duffer to those who knew him. He was as good a friend as one could want and probably a better friend than I deserved. He had no enemies, and had a way of endearing himself to those who met him. He loved everyone and everyone loved him.

Some would say “he was just a dog” but those of us who love them and welcome them into our family know that they are much more.

I was out of town when he breathed his last. My friend, The Duffer, who was always there for me, did not have the comfort of knowing I was there for him when he needed me the most. He was very sick and I simply did not want to prolong his suffering for one moment longer, while he awaited my return. He had already spent much of his life loyally awaiting the return of his humans as we went about our work and chores that took us out of the house. I tried to relieve him of that duty on this, his last day. I acted in his interest rather than my own, but I wish that I could have seen his adoring brown eyes just one more time and said goodbye. I wish that I could have kissed his forehead once more and let him know how much he meant to me.

He was suffering kidney failure and that, coupled with his age was simply more than he could overcome. As his humans, my wife and I made the heart-wrenching decision to send him to his appointed end, rather than allow him to suffer any more agony. I feel that he had probably been in pain for some time, but he would not allow us to see. They’re like that you know, they don’t want to trouble us with their pain. He received his shot from his vet, and his little loyal heart slowly stopped while he lay in my wife’s arms. Now, all we have is a gaping hole that The Duffer once occupied. I would like to think that the joy he gave us during his life far outweighs the current pain of his absence, but that’s hard to see right now through the veil of tears.

Godspeed my freind. Thank you for your love and loyalty, I’ll never forget you.

Dale from KY