Duke Faddis
The following is a rewrite of a story about the life and death of one of our family’s pets which I wrote a couple of days after he passed away: Our family’s beautiful, good, and kind dog, Duke, had to be put to sleep on June 1, 2010. His hips just gave out on him due to arthritis, in spite of the fact he was only about five years old. Duke was the best dog we could ever have asked for. He was friendly to all (except cats, squirrels and the cocky bulldog, Hank, who lived down the street). Duke patrolled his domain (our backyard), ever watching to protect us. Not even low-flying aircraft were safe from him. Police helicopters and airplanes fled his barking. Duke fully believed he was the protector of our family and was always eager to prove it (especially if he thought one of us was watching). He would run out to bark at enemies real or imagined. Duke greatly loved us and we loved him. He was a big, 100+ lb., slobbery red-nosed pit bull who thought he was a seven lb. lap dog. Some