"Why did they leave me? What did I do wrong?" Duke seemed to be thinking, as he wandered aimlessly through the park. His eyes were keenly watching every passerby for a glimpse of his master. His little black nose sniffed religiously at every inkling of a smell even slightly close to his little master, Timothy. "Woof!Woof!" He barked weakly with the hope of being found by his family again.
It had been 2 months since Dukes family moved to South Florida. " Duke!" Timothy had cried as his father had dragged him to the car.
"He'll be fine honey! He has his other Dog friends over here. Why would he want to come with us? " Timothy's mother had said with a stern smile on her face. " Now get into the car or we'll be late for our flight."
Duke had watched with his nose stuck on the window , his sad eyes following the car until it finally disappeared out of sight. He had known something was wrong. He had known they were not coming back for him. Quickly getting out of the house through the 'doggy door' , he had chased the car down the lane till his little legs could carry him.
Since then, Duke had wandered this huge park with the hope that little timothy would one day come looking for him. A new family had moved into his house in just two days. Two dog catchers and one big stone later, Duke understood he was never wanted near the house again. Ever since Duke was a puppy, he came to this park everyday with timothy for their adventurous quests. He knew every nook and corner of this old abandoned park. The beautifully maintained planted grass in this park was replaced by bushes, shrubs and wild trees and had taken the form of a scary forest.
Duke's ears straightened up as he keenly tried to hear something moving admidst the wild grass. His nose sniffed vigorously to find out who the tiny ball of fur was . An excited Duke followed the squirrel as quickly as he could. he kept trying to trap the squirrel in between his paws but it proved too fast for him.
WHACK!
That was the last noice duke heard before he landed on a pile of leaves. He noticed timothy running towards him just before he completely blacked out.
Greg lay on his bed staring at the ceiling for which seemed a very long time. As he did ever morning, he was searching for a reason to wake up. He remembered how happy he used to be. How his 10 year old son used to run around the house trying to play tricks on him and his wife . And how he would laugh when they found that it was his doing. He remembered that fateful day two years ago. How he wished he hadn't taken John to the zoo that day. How he wished the car crash had killed him instead of his innocent little son. He thought about his wife who was never the same again, and how they rarely spoke now. If they did speak, it was usually because his wife had something to say about how useless he was, or how he could not even do one job properly. Eventually, They had forgotten how to smile.
He had turned to his brother for comfort and his brother saw this as an opportunity to squander him of his money. Greg had an appointment with his lawyer today, which made it a lot more difficult to get out of bed.
The only solace Greg found was during his evening walks in the old abandoned park. Not many people visited the park anymore and so he had a chance to hide away from the world, away from his wife. the straight path he took everyday had a beautiful view of the thick foliage on either side and somehow it calmed him, atleast for a while. As days went by , even the serenity of the green leaves didn't give him much peace.
This evening as Greg walked the path, his heart seemed to be racing faster than usual. He felt something bad was about to happen. He had heard rumors of frequent muggings in this part of the park but never was worried much about it until today. He sensed something or somebody move admidst the bushes. His legs froze. How he wished he had bought that gun. He looked around and found a log big enough to bring a man down.
'Hello!' he called out slowly. No answer. "HELLO!" he called out louder. no answer again.
He hurled the log with all his might. Immediately a whine was heard and then complete silence.
" Oh Man!! its a Dog!" He screeched out. He looked all around for his owners but there was no one in sight. "please dont die! please dont die!" He cried repeatedly and softly ran his hands over the Golden retriever . Before Greg could understand what happened next, the heap of fur just sprung to his feet and rushed away as fast as he could. Greg tried to follow the Dog to see if he was alright but he could no longer see any sign of life around him. A terrified Greg quickly ran back to his car and drove off home before some angry dog owners could come looking for him.
" Why could I see timothy when this man hit me?" Duke wondered as he raced deep into the park.
The next evening , Greg saw the Dog again. This time, the Dog was standing at the same spot he was hit the day before. It was as if he was waiting for Gregs return. His legs shivered as the Dog Watched him with his eyes fixated on Greg anywhere he moved. He decided it would be intelligent to just calmly walk by without threatening the Dog in anyway. As he could get to a safe distance , he turned around and saw that the dog was still sitting there and watching him. Glad he was not going to end up in the emergency room for a dogbite, he wandered of into the park for his peaceful retreat.
Two days later, Greg found himself stopping at a Pet food shop. He didnt understand why he picked up the biscuits. He didnt like Dogs and never understood why people even did. They are smelly,messy and loud creatures with the potential of staying immature brats for the whole 12 years of their lives. He shuddered at the thought of their teeth and what would happen if he made one wrong move to upset them.
As he had expected the Dog was there again. He reached a safe spot and placed the biscuit as close to the Dog as possible. He saw that he had a collar with a name.
"Marmaduke" Greg read it out loudly. The Dog barked and quickly gobbled down the biscuits.
Greg began making regular visits to the Pet food shop before he went for his daily walk. As days went by Greg found that Duke began following him around the park . When he would reach his car, Duke would sit by the side of the road until he leaves. Greg understood that Duke began trusting him more and more each day. Duke would allow him to pet him and at times would role over on his back for a tummy tickle. Greg smiled when he did that for the first time. " You need a tummy rub do ya! " He laughed and ran his hands through his soft fur. Greg began looking forward to meeting his little friend everyday. He liked the fact that everytime Duke heard his car, he would rush over to the parking lot and run around like he was a crazy kid. He liked that when he got out of the car, Duke would just jump on him and tackle him to ground and would not release him until his face was dripping with his wet licks of love.
Some days Greg would be telling him stories about his son and how much fun they used to have together and Duke would just faithfully follow him with a face as if to be listening so intently. Some days he would bring a ball for Duke to play catch with or watch him explore little squirrels.
Other days, a naughty duke would be tearing apart Bags or books left around by passerbys. "Duke ! what are you doing!! HA! HA!" Greg would laugh.
"Hey leave my bag alone! get your dog of my bag!" they would hear someone screaming. "Come Duke! lets run!" he would say and they both would run as fast as the free wind that blew through their happy lungs. Greg would remember how it felt like to be a small boy again.
The days When Greg would bring a book to read, Duke would just sit by his side faithfully until it was time to go home again. Greg began noticing that everytime he got into his car to go home, Duke eyes would become sad. But somehow Greg understood that Duke would never leave the park to come home with him nor could he take Duke home . He knew that Victoria would never understand and hence he would drive home with a heavy heart.
Greg was at the park that day after a meeting with his lawyer. He remembered how he had screamed at his brother for betraying him and how his brother had sat there quietly, like he was looking at a crazy person. Greg sat quietly at the park bench with Duke beside him. Duke slowly came close to Greg, licked his face softly and placed his head on Gregs lap. Greg burst into tears and hugged Duke like he never wanted to let go. Duke let out a small whine like he was asking him to stop crying.
That night before Greg went home, he bought his wife a bunch of roses. " what is this for? she asked him. What can a bunch of flowers do? bring our old life back? she asked with tears in her eyes. She left the roses on the table and went to bed.
"I can see that you are a wanderer" Greg told Duke the next day. However the rainy season is coming up , and so I am going to build you a kennel." He said cheerfully.
After his wife threw away the roses he bought her this day as well, he quietly walked into his workshop for the first time in two years and began his work. Victoria watched him through the window, her eyes tearing up. She remembered the last thing he built was a tree house for little John.
Greg began regularly getting flowers and gifts for his wife and didn't mind how rude or hurtful she tried to be. He would follow her around the house , in and out of the kitchen until one day she couldn't help but smile at the desperate attempts of her husband to reconcile. The next day , Greg saw some roses placed in the flower vase near her bed.
"You can keep the money my brother. You have lost the most important thing in life. your family's trust. I couldn't punish you any other way." he said and walked out of the lawyers office. He felt a lot of relief that day as he walked towards his car.
Duke stood at the parking lot waiting for Greg, but there was no sign of him. Hours later, Duke walked back to his kennel distraught. the next three days , Duke would run over to the parking lot in the morning itself with the hope that Greg might want to catch up on his walking. But he never came. Duke would leave for his kennel only after it would become dark.
"Hey Duke! Catch! " Duke heard timothys voice calling after him. He was so excited to see the red ball and ran behind it to catch it for his master.
" Duke! sleeping near the parking lot today? Did you miss me? " Greg asked with surprise. He understood that Duke was waiting for him. " Where were you running to in your dream my friend? Which little squirrel were you chasing now?" Greg had noticed with a smile that Duke was moving his legs in his sleep.
Duke whined and began licking Gregs face vigorously. He then let out a growl as if to ask him angrily why he didn't come the last few days. " I am sorry little chap. Her name is influenza and i don't expect you to understand." He said giggling. " Now get up! we have a lot of catching up to do!"
Duke was sniffing around a pile of leaves nearby. Greg had gone hunting for some wild flowers to take back home and was no where in sight.
Dukes ears were suddenly alert. He turned around and raced as fast as he could.
"Give me all you money!" the man with the gun said.
" I dont have anything on me! you have to believe me!" Greg begged.
"you 'd better cooperate or else...." He began clicking his gun.
"GROWL!" Before the man could turn to see what it was, Duke pounced on him.
A couple nearby heard a shot being fired and quickly called 911.
Two hours later , Greg walked into the animal hospital with tears rolling down his face. " I am sorry Mr Montgomery, but i don't think your dog is going to survive the gun shot. We tried the best we could but he has lost a lot of blood. I really am sorry." the doctor said sadly." If you need to spend some time with him, he is in the room over there."
Gregs face was drenched in tears as he saw Duke on the table with tubes running to and from him.
" You were willing to give up you life for me! ", he cried out. " You're just an animal! you're not supposed to have such complex emotions!" He hurried over to the table as Duke wagged his tail feebly and licked him.
Greg slowly began whispering into his long brown ears "All my life I was looking for atleast one person I could purely love, without an ounce of doubt or any negative feeling. I just wanted a friend who i would want to stand by at all times and who would do the same for me. Duke, it is you. I will never forget you my friend. You taught me to love without expectations. You taught me to never give up. I know you never left the park because you were waiting for the wretched family that abandoned you. You taught me to be free. you taught me that I can find happiness in the most unlikely of places, in something as small and furry as you!"
"Is this the Dog that saved your life? asked Victoria as she walked in slowly.
"More than once. " Said Greg as Victoria placed her hand on Dukes head. As Duke slowly closed his eyes, Greg noticed his legs began moving like he was running towards someone.
"We shall name him Duke junior! " Greg announced two weeks later. Greg and Victoria looked on affectionately at the tiny new addition to their family. "Yelp ! Yelp!" voiced the golden retriever pup as he stumbled into the room. They burst into laughter as they watched the cute awkward little puppy with his little black nose twitching away. Victoria placed her head on Gregs shoulder, as he rested his chin on her head. " I am sorry I was never there for you when you needed me the most Vicky." He said sincerely.
" I understand Greg." she said as she laid a kiss on his heart.
THE END
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a
It had been 2 months since Dukes family moved to South Florida. " Duke!" Timothy had cried as his father had dragged him to the car.
"He'll be fine honey! He has his other Dog friends over here. Why would he want to come with us? " Timothy's mother had said with a stern smile on her face. " Now get into the car or we'll be late for our flight."
Duke had watched with his nose stuck on the window , his sad eyes following the car until it finally disappeared out of sight. He had known something was wrong. He had known they were not coming back for him. Quickly getting out of the house through the 'doggy door' , he had chased the car down the lane till his little legs could carry him.
Since then, Duke had wandered this huge park with the hope that little timothy would one day come looking for him. A new family had moved into his house in just two days. Two dog catchers and one big stone later, Duke understood he was never wanted near the house again. Ever since Duke was a puppy, he came to this park everyday with timothy for their adventurous quests. He knew every nook and corner of this old abandoned park. The beautifully maintained planted grass in this park was replaced by bushes, shrubs and wild trees and had taken the form of a scary forest.
Duke's ears straightened up as he keenly tried to hear something moving admidst the wild grass. His nose sniffed vigorously to find out who the tiny ball of fur was . An excited Duke followed the squirrel as quickly as he could. he kept trying to trap the squirrel in between his paws but it proved too fast for him.
WHACK!
That was the last noice duke heard before he landed on a pile of leaves. He noticed timothy running towards him just before he completely blacked out.
Greg lay on his bed staring at the ceiling for which seemed a very long time. As he did ever morning, he was searching for a reason to wake up. He remembered how happy he used to be. How his 10 year old son used to run around the house trying to play tricks on him and his wife . And how he would laugh when they found that it was his doing. He remembered that fateful day two years ago. How he wished he hadn't taken John to the zoo that day. How he wished the car crash had killed him instead of his innocent little son. He thought about his wife who was never the same again, and how they rarely spoke now. If they did speak, it was usually because his wife had something to say about how useless he was, or how he could not even do one job properly. Eventually, They had forgotten how to smile.
He had turned to his brother for comfort and his brother saw this as an opportunity to squander him of his money. Greg had an appointment with his lawyer today, which made it a lot more difficult to get out of bed.
The only solace Greg found was during his evening walks in the old abandoned park. Not many people visited the park anymore and so he had a chance to hide away from the world, away from his wife. the straight path he took everyday had a beautiful view of the thick foliage on either side and somehow it calmed him, atleast for a while. As days went by , even the serenity of the green leaves didn't give him much peace.
This evening as Greg walked the path, his heart seemed to be racing faster than usual. He felt something bad was about to happen. He had heard rumors of frequent muggings in this part of the park but never was worried much about it until today. He sensed something or somebody move admidst the bushes. His legs froze. How he wished he had bought that gun. He looked around and found a log big enough to bring a man down.
'Hello!' he called out slowly. No answer. "HELLO!" he called out louder. no answer again.
He hurled the log with all his might. Immediately a whine was heard and then complete silence.
" Oh Man!! its a Dog!" He screeched out. He looked all around for his owners but there was no one in sight. "please dont die! please dont die!" He cried repeatedly and softly ran his hands over the Golden retriever . Before Greg could understand what happened next, the heap of fur just sprung to his feet and rushed away as fast as he could. Greg tried to follow the Dog to see if he was alright but he could no longer see any sign of life around him. A terrified Greg quickly ran back to his car and drove off home before some angry dog owners could come looking for him.
" Why could I see timothy when this man hit me?" Duke wondered as he raced deep into the park.
The next evening , Greg saw the Dog again. This time, the Dog was standing at the same spot he was hit the day before. It was as if he was waiting for Gregs return. His legs shivered as the Dog Watched him with his eyes fixated on Greg anywhere he moved. He decided it would be intelligent to just calmly walk by without threatening the Dog in anyway. As he could get to a safe distance , he turned around and saw that the dog was still sitting there and watching him. Glad he was not going to end up in the emergency room for a dogbite, he wandered of into the park for his peaceful retreat.
Two days later, Greg found himself stopping at a Pet food shop. He didnt understand why he picked up the biscuits. He didnt like Dogs and never understood why people even did. They are smelly,messy and loud creatures with the potential of staying immature brats for the whole 12 years of their lives. He shuddered at the thought of their teeth and what would happen if he made one wrong move to upset them.
As he had expected the Dog was there again. He reached a safe spot and placed the biscuit as close to the Dog as possible. He saw that he had a collar with a name.
"Marmaduke" Greg read it out loudly. The Dog barked and quickly gobbled down the biscuits.
Greg began making regular visits to the Pet food shop before he went for his daily walk. As days went by Greg found that Duke began following him around the park . When he would reach his car, Duke would sit by the side of the road until he leaves. Greg understood that Duke began trusting him more and more each day. Duke would allow him to pet him and at times would role over on his back for a tummy tickle. Greg smiled when he did that for the first time. " You need a tummy rub do ya! " He laughed and ran his hands through his soft fur. Greg began looking forward to meeting his little friend everyday. He liked the fact that everytime Duke heard his car, he would rush over to the parking lot and run around like he was a crazy kid. He liked that when he got out of the car, Duke would just jump on him and tackle him to ground and would not release him until his face was dripping with his wet licks of love.
Some days Greg would be telling him stories about his son and how much fun they used to have together and Duke would just faithfully follow him with a face as if to be listening so intently. Some days he would bring a ball for Duke to play catch with or watch him explore little squirrels.
Other days, a naughty duke would be tearing apart Bags or books left around by passerbys. "Duke ! what are you doing!! HA! HA!" Greg would laugh.
"Hey leave my bag alone! get your dog of my bag!" they would hear someone screaming. "Come Duke! lets run!" he would say and they both would run as fast as the free wind that blew through their happy lungs. Greg would remember how it felt like to be a small boy again.
The days When Greg would bring a book to read, Duke would just sit by his side faithfully until it was time to go home again. Greg began noticing that everytime he got into his car to go home, Duke eyes would become sad. But somehow Greg understood that Duke would never leave the park to come home with him nor could he take Duke home . He knew that Victoria would never understand and hence he would drive home with a heavy heart.
Greg was at the park that day after a meeting with his lawyer. He remembered how he had screamed at his brother for betraying him and how his brother had sat there quietly, like he was looking at a crazy person. Greg sat quietly at the park bench with Duke beside him. Duke slowly came close to Greg, licked his face softly and placed his head on Gregs lap. Greg burst into tears and hugged Duke like he never wanted to let go. Duke let out a small whine like he was asking him to stop crying.
That night before Greg went home, he bought his wife a bunch of roses. " what is this for? she asked him. What can a bunch of flowers do? bring our old life back? she asked with tears in her eyes. She left the roses on the table and went to bed.
"I can see that you are a wanderer" Greg told Duke the next day. However the rainy season is coming up , and so I am going to build you a kennel." He said cheerfully.
After his wife threw away the roses he bought her this day as well, he quietly walked into his workshop for the first time in two years and began his work. Victoria watched him through the window, her eyes tearing up. She remembered the last thing he built was a tree house for little John.
Greg began regularly getting flowers and gifts for his wife and didn't mind how rude or hurtful she tried to be. He would follow her around the house , in and out of the kitchen until one day she couldn't help but smile at the desperate attempts of her husband to reconcile. The next day , Greg saw some roses placed in the flower vase near her bed.
"You can keep the money my brother. You have lost the most important thing in life. your family's trust. I couldn't punish you any other way." he said and walked out of the lawyers office. He felt a lot of relief that day as he walked towards his car.
Duke stood at the parking lot waiting for Greg, but there was no sign of him. Hours later, Duke walked back to his kennel distraught. the next three days , Duke would run over to the parking lot in the morning itself with the hope that Greg might want to catch up on his walking. But he never came. Duke would leave for his kennel only after it would become dark.
"Hey Duke! Catch! " Duke heard timothys voice calling after him. He was so excited to see the red ball and ran behind it to catch it for his master.
" Duke! sleeping near the parking lot today? Did you miss me? " Greg asked with surprise. He understood that Duke was waiting for him. " Where were you running to in your dream my friend? Which little squirrel were you chasing now?" Greg had noticed with a smile that Duke was moving his legs in his sleep.
Duke whined and began licking Gregs face vigorously. He then let out a growl as if to ask him angrily why he didn't come the last few days. " I am sorry little chap. Her name is influenza and i don't expect you to understand." He said giggling. " Now get up! we have a lot of catching up to do!"
Duke was sniffing around a pile of leaves nearby. Greg had gone hunting for some wild flowers to take back home and was no where in sight.
Dukes ears were suddenly alert. He turned around and raced as fast as he could.
"Give me all you money!" the man with the gun said.
" I dont have anything on me! you have to believe me!" Greg begged.
"you 'd better cooperate or else...." He began clicking his gun.
"GROWL!" Before the man could turn to see what it was, Duke pounced on him.
A couple nearby heard a shot being fired and quickly called 911.
Two hours later , Greg walked into the animal hospital with tears rolling down his face. " I am sorry Mr Montgomery, but i don't think your dog is going to survive the gun shot. We tried the best we could but he has lost a lot of blood. I really am sorry." the doctor said sadly." If you need to spend some time with him, he is in the room over there."
Gregs face was drenched in tears as he saw Duke on the table with tubes running to and from him.
" You were willing to give up you life for me! ", he cried out. " You're just an animal! you're not supposed to have such complex emotions!" He hurried over to the table as Duke wagged his tail feebly and licked him.
Greg slowly began whispering into his long brown ears "All my life I was looking for atleast one person I could purely love, without an ounce of doubt or any negative feeling. I just wanted a friend who i would want to stand by at all times and who would do the same for me. Duke, it is you. I will never forget you my friend. You taught me to love without expectations. You taught me to never give up. I know you never left the park because you were waiting for the wretched family that abandoned you. You taught me to be free. you taught me that I can find happiness in the most unlikely of places, in something as small and furry as you!"
"Is this the Dog that saved your life? asked Victoria as she walked in slowly.
"More than once. " Said Greg as Victoria placed her hand on Dukes head. As Duke slowly closed his eyes, Greg noticed his legs began moving like he was running towards someone.
"We shall name him Duke junior! " Greg announced two weeks later. Greg and Victoria looked on affectionately at the tiny new addition to their family. "Yelp ! Yelp!" voiced the golden retriever pup as he stumbled into the room. They burst into laughter as they watched the cute awkward little puppy with his little black nose twitching away. Victoria placed her head on Gregs shoulder, as he rested his chin on her head. " I am sorry I was never there for you when you needed me the most Vicky." He said sincerely.
" I understand Greg." she said as she laid a kiss on his heart.
THE END
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a
