Duchess is the head and only present member of the security detail at The Nunnery. She is only 45 pounds but she is VERY strong and has dragged Number 2 son into the woods face first more than once. She is a Chow - Husky cross (a mutt for short) and her main duty involves securing the Nunnery, a task she performs with great enthusiasm. If you have any doubt about the intensity of her enthusiasm, check the scratch marks, the deep scratch marks, on the inside of the front door created when she tries to get through the door to get at visitors before she determines whether they are friend or foe.
"Free to a good home" the sign said. It was yard sale day in Constable, New York, May of 1995. She looked docile and was friendly and was 8 months old. We were a cat family and had never owned a dog but have a number 2 son who is immediately attached to any living creature as long as it has 4 legs so we decided "Why not?". So, we left her in the care of her owner for one week to get her US shots from Dr Tony and returned the next week to pick her up. And literally pick her up we did for the one and only time we had to carry her into the car. Now it is automatic - the car door opens and she jumps in.
We enjoyed her in New York for the weekend and wondered if she had a voice - not a sound for a couple of days - then we took her home where Dr Larry gave her a set of Canadian shots. At home, she met Georgie and Holly, two relatively dimunitive cats who enjoyed prior squatting rights. There were a few probes but Duchie soon learned that she was third in the house pecking order and for the most part she kept her distance. We enjoyed her at home for 3 weeks but Mother Superior started getting nervous about her increase in size. Then, on a Saturday night in New York just three weeks after we got our first dog, we had 8 dogs. Mother Superior was VERY unhappy. Sons 1 and 2 were ecstatic. Naturally, they both wanted to keep all the dogs. So, we smuggled the one day old pups across the border in the open in the back of the Jeep (the customs officer did not ask so we did not tell) and tenderly and caringly helped their mom raise them to the age of about 8 weeks. Mother Superior then placed an ad in the Ottawa Citizen offering pups free to a good home and they were all gone in 2 days.
Now, Georgie and Holly have moved on to a better life and Duchie has become unchallenged queen of the house. Her job title remains head of the security detail but she seems to spend a lot of time lolling about just looking beautiful.
