Before Duke Roberts died, he lived. Again, and again, and again.
Millions of people have shared the story of Duke Roberts' last day on earth, which first appeared on Texan photographer Robyn Arouty's blog.
But what was Duke's story? In some ways, it's even more touching than what happened on that final day.
Robyn Arouty
Dog trainer Crystal Dunn of Leaps N'Hounds has written a blog describing the rest of his story, which Robyn has posted on her website.
She begins by writing: "Duke fell into the most unlucky group of homeless dogs out there. Big, black, and senior; statistically he was known as 'least likely to survive' in the shelter world. This is because there are more large, black, mature dogs killed in shelters every year than any other type of dog."
Robyn Arouty
She says that dogs like Duke are often overlooked by families who choose to adopt adorable puppies, whereupon they struggle to control their behaviour.
She writes: "Duke was beyond all that pesky puppy stuff. A calm and mannerly gentleman, he would never chew couches or jump on people. He didn’t need a kennel, he always eliminated outside, and he wouldn’t even think of stealing your underwear. He was the ideal dog for a family with children and other dogs, and the epitome of why dogs like him deserve a chance at life. He hadn’t done anything wrong. His first family divorced and abandoned him. He was cast out of the only family he had ever known."
Robyn Arouty
Jordan, Duke's owner, is Crystal's friend. She wrote to her after she'd broken down in tears watching Duke's adoption video. "It was meant to be," she said.
But things didn't go too smoothly upon Duke's arrival. Jordan already owned Brinks, "a Min Pin who harbored a serious Napoleon complex. No offense to Brinks, but he had gotten quite used to his life of luxury with their subservient Italian Greyhound, Nuni, as his faithful minion." Issues began to emerge, with Brinks and Duke fighting over food.
As Crystal writes: "Add to that Jordan’s soon-to-arrive daughter, Elliott, and there was plenty of reasons to proceed with caution [...] Duke warned Brinks by grabbing him with his mouth a few times, which scared the daylights out of everyone. Then Duke started guarding Jordan. He was very protective of the pregnant human that had shown him so much kindness. His bark was big, his size was intimidating, and no doubt he could destroy Brinks in one chomp if he wanted."
Robyn Arouty
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