How Duke Came to Our Home

Let me start by saying, I LOVE dogs. Jeff and I both grew up having dogs but because we started having kids before we owned a home, we were forced to be satisfied with our 20-pound orange tabby cat. We had planned on getting a dog when Lucas was out of diapers but once Claire came along, I was sure that a puppy was not in our near future.

So now we have a 3-year-old yellow lab named Duke and here is how he came to be part of our family...

A friend at my work lives near Sacramento and breeds dogs. She was in our office in October and we were talking about dogs. She told me that one of her labs might be getting returned. I didn't hear from her for a month and then I got this email:

We got that dog returned to us yesterday. He is a wonderful guy - named Duke. I don't know if you are interested, but here is what I know.

He was born April 30, 2005. He's about 100 lbs, but we think he needs to lose 15. He is definitely a big guy. The family he's been with has four children so he's been around tiny children since puppyhood. He doesn't bark; he's a lover and quite calm. He gets along great with other dogs and cats.

She went on to tell us about his epilepsy which had been under control with medication. She also indicated that she would like to keep him but that they already had 4 dogs which was the limit for their county.

When I told Jeff about the dog in October, he was not interested. He had always wanted a puppy and remembered the bond that was created with his own dog growing up. The day I got this email from my friend, Jeff happened to be in a video shoot all day so I wasn't able to talk to him. Meanwhile, I talked to everyone in my family to try to get them to take this dog. I had a lab/rottweiler mix growing up and had always wanted a lab. He seemed like the perfect fit since with four kids I didn't think I could handle a puppy. So at the end of the day I told her that we couldn't take Duke and to give him to the other family that was interested in him. Meanwhile, Jeff read the email above and fell in love with him (and realized he should have listened to his wife as usual). Since we had said no, my friend had begun talking to the other family that was interested in him. So here was Jeff's email back to them begging for them to reconsider.

This is Carli's husband Jeff. I can understand your husband's position here; I know you're in a tough spot and while I don't intend to make it worse, I do want to tell you how excited we would be to have Duke join our family. That is, if his name doesn't change - Carli tells me you don't care for it much. ;)

To be honest, last month when Carli initially approached me with the idea, I wasn't enthusiastic. When I was a teenager, we got my family's dog - a 120-pound Akita - as a puppy, and I've always thought that when Carli and I got a dog for our family that we would go the same route. That's why Carli told you no yesterday without even checking with me.

However, she did forward me your email describing Duke, and I was surprised at my reaction. All of the sudden I felt like we should say yes, that he should be our dog. Unfortunately, yesterday was a crazy day for me and I didn't get a chance to talk to Carli until I got home from work at 8:00 p.m., at which point she had already talked to you.

Just know that if you and your husband decide that our home is the best place for him, we'll be absolutely thrilled. Carli tells me that you generally require prospective owners to have someone home during the day with the dog - particularly in this case because of his condition - and that will definitely be the case with us. We all love dogs in our house - especially big ones. :) I know this sounds cliche, but as a dog person you know it's true - Duke would instantly become a part of our family. We're at peace with whatever you decide but I did want to let you know how I'm feeling. Thanks for your consideration.

After getting that email, she told us that he was ours. Jeff went to get him the next day. The kids didn't even know we were getting him until he walked in the door.

He is the greatest! We love him and he is the perfect addition to our home! His pedigree is better documented than my own with great lines (dad Orvis and mom Rachel).

I think he is happy in our home too!

This is a picture of Duke with the kids the night we got him!