Duke, a beautiful blue tick hound, had been observed wandering near a busy intersection and was hanging out for several days at a convenience store. He was taken to the animal shelter by a concerned citizen.  

Duke arrived at Horse Creek November 9, 2007. He had severe congestion in his chest and his left eye.  From chest x-rays we discovered he had been shot with a large caliber gun and had long ago healed, but he had lots of scar tissue and infection. He was tested for heartworms and was positive. He had such severe congestion that we had to postpone treatment of his heartworms until he gained strength.

Duke’s eye was not healing as quickly as we had hoped, so that area was x-rayed. We discovered that he had also been shot in the face and his sinus cavities were badly scarred!! The fact that he is still alive is a miracle. 

Duke has undergone heartworm treatments and is over that hurdle. We place drops in his eye every day. This is something that must be done daily for him because his tear ducts were damaged and he is unable to produce tears to keep his eye clear.

Duke plays well with other dogs and loves affection from people. The fact that people could have done these things to him and he still trusts us is amazing! He has a wonderful temperament.

Duke is an old guy who requires a lot of maintenance.  He can’t exercise much, and he breathes heavily in warm air.  But he still loves his life and enjoys his treats and chew bones with great relish.  Only a very special home would work for Duke, one who would maintain Duke’s eye treatments and receive joy from helping him to enjoy his remaining years.  We picture him lying at someone’s feet on the front porch watching the sunset.  In the meantime, he gets all the love we can give him.