Heart of a dog and tragedy.

Velvet was a simple girl who loved life and lived everyday to the fullest. Then, tragedy struck as it usually does in this life. As her Mom lay in a hospital bed slipping peacefully from the world she so fiercely loved, Velvet knew her heart was about to have a very big void left in place of her Mom. A year had passed since her death and looking back, that year had been one of the hardest for Velvet. She had survived multiple suicide attemps, emergency room visits, painful nights that never seemed to end, and the broken heart of learning to live without her Mom. Two days after the one year anniversary of her Mother’s death, Velvet’s best friend was born. Trying to pass time and calm her anxious thinking, Velvet was searching puppies online, specifically German Shepherd puppies - her family has always loved the breed and she was raised with them. To her, this felt like getting part of her Mom back. So Velvet grabbed her friends and made the road trip to meet the last eight week old, male German Shepherd puppy for sale, not knowing at that moment how much this beautiful dog would come to save her life. 

    The moment they met, was nothing short of love at first sight. They were destined to find one another and save one another in this lifetime. Velvet came to decide on the name, Duke for her new furry companion. The next few months were all the fun and games that came along with raising a new puppy. Velvet’s entire family had fallen in love with Duke and a beautiful bond between Velvet and her beautiful boy had grown.

    Velvet and Duke embarked on a new journey together and moved away from their family home to live with her boyfriend. Velvet thought this was finally her “happily ever after” and she was overjoyed to have another person love Duke as much as she did. Duke struggled with the adjustment period for a short while but was always so happy to be with his fur mama. Together, they could do anything, they were truly the best of friends. A year later, tragedy struck again.

    As Velvet got thrown into the wall by her “loving boyfriend”night after night, she looked over to her companion for reassurance that everything would eventually be okay. Her companion had grown into a beautiful, seventy pound, black and tan German Shepherd with a fierce heart for his owner and an overly protective side to his personality. Velvet had found herself in an abusive relationship and needed the comfort of her four legged friend now more than ever. When all the violence would finally calm down and Violet’s abusive boyfriend would finally pass out from too much alcohol consumed, Velvet would lock herself in the bathroom with her best fur friend, Duke. No words were needed, as he read her body language better than any human being ever could. Duke knew Velvet needed comfort, so he would just lay next to her on the floor and let her tears make his fur wet to the touch. He would lay there next to her for as long as she needed, some nights they would end up spending the night together locked in the bathroom with Duke acting as her security blanket. She felt safe with Duke by her side, she knew he would never let anything exceptionally horrible happen to her. 

Eventually Velvet found herself strong enough to pack up her life into her SUV with her beloved dog and move back home. Everywhere she went after moving home, she took Duke with her. The breakup had proven to be exceptionally shattering and Velvet found herself being stalked by her ex-boyfriend. She felt unsafe to go anywhere without Duke, somehow he just calmed her nerves by simply existing. Looking into her best friend's big brown eyes and touching his soft fur, brought so much comfort. Strength and fight grew in Violet as they tackled her personal hell together. Duke and Velvet were unstoppable. Duke had given Velvet the strength to keep going and have the courage to move forward. Her life had taken many twists and turns over the next few years, some terribly painful and some overwhelmingly joyful. Duke was by her side through it all, whether it was sitting shotgun in her passenger seat, laying upside down in their bed - stealing all the pillows, or playing his favorite game of fetch with the biggest stick they could find… love and hope were sure to follow them wherever they went. Duke saved Velvet without even knowing it, for if this beautiful German Shepherd never entered Velvet's life.. she would have given up and gone to rest peacefully with her beloved Mother. 

In just three short years together, Duke and Velvet had shared so much love, made so many accomplishments in life and survived many hard times. Tragic events seemed to follow Velvet, as Duke was accidently poisoned one summer and Velvet was faced with losing her best friend. The nights Duke spent in the emergency vet hospital, were some very dark, lonely and sleepless nights for Velvet. It took her back to the night she lost her Mom and she felt that void growing in her heart once again. She spent the next week lying on the vet floor with a very weak and sad, Duke. Her heart was broken and it seemed Duke’s heart was equally as broken. A miracle happened overnight, and Duke fought to come home and make a full recovery. It was now Velvet's turn to love on Duke and save him. Afterall, he had done so much to save her and keep her alive throughout the hard nights. 

Duke had a personality that everybody referred to as: “like dog, like owner.” Duke had a huge heart that was full of love, stubborn, sweet, and sometimes anxious. He mirrored Velvet’s personality perfectly, maybe this was what made them such a good match for one another. 

There is something so special about a relationship between a dog and his owner. The relationship between Duke and Velvet was even more special, seeing as Duke was born two days after her Mother's one year death anniversary. It was like the world knew she would come to need this four legged friend very much. Sometimes a soulmate isn’t a person but instead whatever it is in this life that saves you and for Velvet, that was Duke.