Dude – November 2022

Dude, formerly known as Kona and Koda, was described by his foster mom as a “wild child” when we met him. He jumped on us when we came inside to meet him and then proceeded to jump from one piece of furniture to another. We were undeterred rookies and fell in love.

While he did abide, like the character he was named for, he had a wonderful mischievous streak. In the early days he counter surfed and stole food off the coffee table (not his fault, the sandwich was right there!). He removed the stuffing from plush toys, meticulously placing it in a pile, and pulled Kleenex out of garbage cans with surgical precision. He loved to torment his brother Clyde, forcing the big guy to make room for him on the couch, the bed and the stair landing so that Dude could lay beside him – not caring one iota that they often blocked the stairs so that none of us could use them. He learned to play tug from his sister Sugar and they stole toys from each other to initiate a great game of chase.

Dude was a superb snuggler, loved a good blanket and pillow, could find the perfect spot in the sun and, like all good Boxers, thought he was a lap dog. He did the best zoomies, saved us from countless surely dangerous delivery people, had a trot like a Lipizzaner and had to meet everyone we were even remotely close to when we walked, especially all the kids. Interestingly, he was never much of a butt wiggler or kisser, but he could lean against you with the best of them.

A couple of years ago we noticed that Dude was beginning to drag his rear feet and eventually concluded that he had DM (double positive genetically). Never deterred by his lack of mobility, he insisted on going outside to lie in the sun and watch the birds and bugs (one of his favorite pastimes) and we complied. When we could no longer bring him upstairs to sleep with us, we set up a bed downstairs so we could sleep together.

We are so grateful for every day of the last 10+ years with our Dude, for his unconditional love, for introducing us to Boxer rescue and for teaching us so much about what it means to love a dog. We know he is running free, doing zoomies, hogging the couch and enjoying peanut butter with Clyde and Sugar. Dogspeed, buddy. Thank you for everything. And thank you to all of the NCBR volunteers that made it possible for Dude to become part of our family.

Photos