Bear left Duke without a buddy. Duke is another lab mix, part rottweiler. We got him to be a companion to Bear when Bear was several months old. As it turned out, Bear was born on 1 November 2012 and Duke on 12 December 2012. Bear was the active dog, but Duke preferred to lay around and watch what Bear did. The only exception was Duke was the first off the deck if there was a squirrel in the yard.
Now, with Bear gone, Duke is starting to show the nature he hid. He demands attention and forces us to pet him. He also loves to hit me behind the knees when I am getting the leash. I have bruises from the brute!
We do miss Bear, but Duke’s new personality brings a smile often.
We dread and fear losing him also, though we know it will happen. Until then, we will enjoy our time with him.

Our dog would not let us off the hook with walks either. As he explained it, it wasn’t his fault we got in at 1AM. Out we’d go for ‘Just a short walk’, and come back having done the entire round, which he had memorized.

I just heard on the radio that people with dogs have a 24% risk reduction in mortality, particularly heart disease and stroke. Dogs really are the best.