Day 26

A picture of something that means a lot to me.



I have never been a big animal person.  Every year at the DU banquet in Nacogdoches they always have a white lab up for auction.  The cutest little puppy ever!  My first year to go with Cody I was able to hold that puppy and cuddle him and kiss him up before he was auctioned off and found a home.  That year I think that puppy went for about 1900 dollars!  I was a little in shock.  The next year they had another one and I wanted him SO bad!  I was hooked! Of course, I didn't want to pay 2,000 dollars for a puppy so I waited, and waited and waited some more.  One day we passed a sign that read lab puppies for sale and off we went to find the house!  They had 2 left.  I fell instantly in love with one and Cody chose the other one.....the smaller one....the runt the owner called  him.  She gave us a deal on the runt and we took him home.  I was madly in love by that night.

We named him Duke....he looked like a Duke...King Duke!

He would sit in my lap while I drove.  Go spotlighting with me and Cody, ride the 4-wheeler with us, the tractor and sit between us in Cody's truck.  He was a great puppy.....a little hyper..... and an even better dog!  He now weighs in at 95 pounds...he is huge, not fat.....just huge!  Not sure why the lady called him the runt!

A year later Marley and Me came out and I had to go see it.  The book was by far better than the movie.  It had more stories and told more about the couple who bought him.  We could relate to about 75% of them all.  I cried my little eyes out at the movies and will cry my little eyes out when we lose our big ole' tub of love.  The funniest part of the whole movie is Marley was supposedly the runt too and they called him their little "clearance" puppy!

We eventually got Duke a playmate, we love him too, but........he isn't Duke!

I can't wait for Jones to be old enough to enjoy him as much as we have enjoyed him.