Duchess: My Sweet Little Adopted Canine Sister

My family adopted Duchess in the spring of 1967 just a few months before we moved to Wheatley Heights, LI, NY. She was to become an integral part of my family.

When we moved to LI and landed at our new home, and Duchess got out of the car, she knew she was home and she circled around the house on our 1/3^rd of an acre, over and over again.

We never had to tell Duchess anything. I'd say she had "cosmic consciousness", she always knew everything that was going on all around the house and outside of the house around our property. If something was going on, Duchess would come up to you and she'd yank her head pointing you to where her leash was. She'd make you put the leash on her and then she'd take the leashes chain in her teeth and she'd lead you to where the

action was. She was a genius.

When my maternal grandfather Joseph Ross came over, he used to bring dog bones with him. They were actually butcher bones from calf's feet. Duchess always knew when my grandfather was coming over and she always started waiting for him at the base of the stairs a half-hour before he arrived. And if my grandfather was late, Duchess was late in looking for him.

When we went shopping Duchess would guard the packages in the car. She was a much-trusted family member and she earned her stripes because she never ate anything she wasn't supposed to take from us.

Every year we used to celebrate Duchess' birthday by getting Carvel cake for her. So, she wasn't the only one happy that she was born. It was always a great celebration.

By the way, we knew she was born somewhere around April of '67 a great day in my family's calendar.

One day, when Duchess was very young, she got her teeth caught in the crimped leg of a folding chair. My mother came to her rescue and then Duchess followed my Mom around the house to her last day on this earth. (She lived to be 16 and ½).

Duchess even had fur that was the same color as my mother's hair. We used to say they looked alike. (Zeus, by contrast, had black fur, which matched my father's black hair).

Duchess used to help my mother do the laundry. We had a front-loading dryer and this little adopted sister of mine used to push the clothing into the machine with her muzzle. She wasn't too successful at this, but her heart was in the right place and we all loved her for her golden heart. Dogs have such unconditional love.

One day, my mother saw Duchess lying down on her back wriggling around. My mother said to Duchess, "I see you're making like a snake." Next time Duchess was laying down on her back, my Mom told Duchess, "Make like a snake," and Duchess started to wriggle around again. "Make like a snake" was her seminal trick.

She was a great mouser too. One day we came home from a shopping trip and it looked like she messed up the carpeting. My father spotted the mess first and he couldn't understand how such a little dog could make such a mess. Upon further inspection it came out that what was on the floor were maimed and dead mice.

Duchess was as neat as a pin. She used to eat and leave no crumbs. We could let her out to walk and she wouldn't leave our property and go out on the sidewalk. She was a joy to take care of and it's hard to even think about her without being so sad that a dog's life is so short.

I used to tell my Dad that dogs have a messiah too, and when their redeemer comes, they'll be sitting at the table and we'll be begging scraps on the floor. I think my father thought I was being kind of crazy but I meant it with a spirit of humor.

During dinnertime, Duchess and Zeus used to walk around our circular kitchen table for a taste of human food. Over the years they must have logged a few hundred miles. They only got a little food but it added to the enjoyment they got from being part of our extended family.

In her old age, Duchess had rabbit friends. They used to stare at each for hours at a time. Duchess was one with nature. She really loved the family that adopted her too.

After I came back from Israel in October 1979, Duchess was about 12 years old. She used to always bark when I rang the bell but at this time she was silent. I came into the house and was greeted by her at the door. I asked her, "What's wrong? You don't bark anymore?" The next time I came to the door, she barked but she sounded terrible. It told her that she didn't need to bark anymore. She never barked again.

Around this time, my parents gave Duchess her own chair to sit in. I didn't know the chair was only for her and I sat in it. She jumped underneath me as I tried to park myself in the chair. I got a little PO'd. I told her, "What about all those dinners you grubbed off of me?" and I moved her over. I said, "Share and share alike." I was really unfair to her, I think, in retrospect.

My friends used to come over to the house and play with Duchess all the time. She was a really loving pet and she was much more than just an animal. She was practically human. Make that, she was better than human. Really, I mean it!

Duchess was the brains in her tag team with our German Shepherd Zeus. He was the muscle. They were a great duo.

When Zeus was put to sleep, she looked for him for months until she finally realized he was gone. I'm sure they're happy in Doggie heaven together. They really loved each other.

Duchess lived until the sad day of December 29^th, 1983. She's been gone longer than my family had her. She is sorely missed. My mother and I talk about her all of the time.

As I wrote in the piece about Princess, there's a ceremony in the Bide - A - Wee on LI every year the second Sunday in September every year. I go out to pay my respects every year. Unfortunately, there are no trains that run from my local station so I missed the last two years but I plan on being there this September.

And as mentioned in my piece about Princess, the date of the commemoration corresponds to roughly Princess' anniversary every year. I'm hoping to be in a new home this upcoming September where I'll get to a local train station. If so, I'll go out to the dog's ceremony. I hope to do so and both mourn their passing and celebrate the time my family and I had with them.