Sir Douglas

Sir Douglas the Duke of Topaz was brawny and tan, and watching him run was a beautiful sight because of the flex in his legs as they strode one in front of the other. One look into his huge brown eyes would flop your brain and your heart and next thing you know, you’re bending down to place a loving kiss on his hard working hands. His nose was long and straight and the pearly whites in his mouth put Jaws to shame.

Plus, he liked everyone more, even, than they liked him.

People called him Doug, mostly, unless it was early in the morning and a dawn greeting was in order. Then it came out as Dougie or Douglas, for endearment purposes. He looked the most endearing in the morning. Eyelids dropping a little, lips flopping over after a ginormous yawn big enough to hold a T-bone steak.

He loved to play with the kids outside. They would find a ball and throw it around the backyard. If there was a throw that contested the moon’s pull and almost soared into space, Doug would run faster than anyone else, leap into the atmosphere and snatch it out of the air effortlessly.

He was always serving.

Mom used to drop things all the time while brewing up her masterful and secretive recipes. We were all busy drooling over the prospect of the forthcoming treat, but none more than Doug. Strings of drool would drip down from his goofy grin, and though it was one of his less charming moments, it made everyone laugh. Doug was good at being funny that way. Despite the drool, he would scurry quickly over to the spatula or cheese wrapper and pick it up off the ground before the 3-second rule expired.

Doug dabbled in duties during dinner. Done? Then he would eat.

Otherwise, he sat patiently, looking intently from one person to the next at the table. He would just sit and breathe, but never act overbearing or obtrusive. He’d just watch, and when everyone was done, then he would swallow what remained in what seemed one huge gulp. But we know he liked it.

Most of all, he was a good friend.

Sir Douglas the Duke of Topaz was noble and pure, thinking only of others first and how best to serve the people around him. He was strong and athletic, funny and charming, smart and patient. Anybody would be the luckiest person in the world to have him greet them when they came home from school.

That’s why I was the luckiest girl in the world.

After a long day, books bearing burdensomely on my back and school slinking sluggishly in the shadows of my skull, there was nothing better than his floppy ears perking up when I opened the door. Watching him run on the wood floor warmed my heart as his padded paws lost traction and he would barely slip on over to me. One look at his uncontrollably wagging tail would flop my heart and my brain, and next thing I knew I was bending down to smother him in kisses while scratching his brawny and tan fur. His tongue, long and straight, would slobber a huge string of drool all over my face.

Sir Douglas the Duke of Topaz was the best dog in the world!