Duncan the dog entered our life earlier this year, as Grandma Linda's new best friend and companion. Grandma Linda had always wanted a "Lassie" dog and did a ton of research before eventually finding and adopting Duncan. She was as an adorable little 10 week old fuzzball complete with delectable puppy breath and sharp little teeth and claws. Extremely shy at first, her personality eventually broke through her thin shell and she became a permanent fixture on Grandma Linda's lap - even though she was a tad bit big to be a lap dog. She loved slippers and rawhides, and was especially fond of Gun-Gun as he was the messiest eater of the group and always had something to share. No one could completely correct Duncan because her chocolaty brown eyes always melted your heart and that regal face assured you that she could do no wrong.

If you haven't yet noticed, I'm writing in the past tense about Duncan. Due to an unfortunate accident today, Duncan was struck by a passing motorist, after she had briefly escaped out the front door. Grandma Linda and the motorist immediately scooped Duncan up and transported her to the nearest vet in Fortuna, only to find that it was closed for lunch. They moved on to another vet and also found that they were closed. Panicking and grief stricken, Grandma Linda realized that the lunch hour was nearing ending, so they went back to the original vet’s office only to find that the vet would not be in for two hours. However, the vet's office was able to provide Grandma Linda with the business card for an emergency vet in Eureka. She and the motorist then drove to Eureka and found that the card had an incorrect address and they were once again forced to drive to another office. This final jaunt was futile because they quickly learned that Duncan’s injuries were so severe that she would more than likely not survive. Grandma Linda made the difficult decision to end Duncan’s suffering and she held her while the vet administered final peace to her best friend.

Just to put this in perspective, for over an hour Duncan suffered through two compound fractures, two dislocated hips, and a spinal cord injury. Evidently, she didn't realize that getting hit during lunchtime is not the best idea. I'm not saying that should she have received medical attention any earlier, she would have survived because we know that’s not the case. But, having to drive your loved one to five different places (including two different towns) just to receive emergency treatment, is both frustrating and extremely sad. Yes, fate dealt us a nasty hand of cards today and maybe this accident could have been prevented, however, the aftermath of the accident was probably even more traumatic for Grandma Linda than the accident itself.

Rest in peace Duncan. We love you.