Oh how time flies!

     On Monday June 4th, 2012, a milestone was reached at our household when Duchess Shelby Lucky Girl turned ten years old.  If you've been lucky enough to know my baby girl than you understand how hard this is to believe as she still appears to have the energy of a puppy!  Duchess had been through more difficult times in her life by the age of three than most dogs do in an entire lifetime!  Roughly eight weeks after she was born I took a trip down from Conrad to Billings to hang out with my sister for the weekend.  I'd been thinking about getting a hunting dog but hadn't really gotten serious about it yet.  While reading the paper on Sunday morning we spotted an ad for black lab puppies and decided to go check them out.  I took my friend Josh with me as he had owned a couple labs as a kid and just in case I decided to get one I wanted his advice on which one to pick.  We got there and all six of Duchess's brothers and sisters were acting as eight week old puppies do, bouncing all over the place with more energy than their tiny little bodies could handle!  Duchess was sitting in the corner all by herself just looking at the others as if they were crazy, the moment I saw her I knew Josh's advice was not necessary, she was the one.

     All ears and tail and with a face that could melt even the sourest of hearts, she was coming home with me!  Duchess's tough road began almost immediately, while on the way out of town my pick up broke down and I had to leave it in Billings to get repaired.  I had to get back to Conrad for work so I borrowed Jill's Honda, which had an air conditioning issue so I had to make the whole trip in late July with windows down blowing in warm summer air!  Duchess didn't seem to mind, she was just happy to have a home!
     Her attitude towards life has always been one that I have admired.  I have put her through some situations that are barely imaginable and she just keeps trudging along.  For those who don't know our whole story I will spare you the details and just give you the highlights of Duchess's crazy life.  Watched her dad nearly die from a horrible addiction, moved from Conrad to Butte, Butte to California, California to Billings, Billings to California, California to Great Falls, met and fell in love with her mom, Great Falls to Whitefish, met and instantly bonded with her adopted sister, Whitefish to Great Falls, and finally Great Falls to Missoula!  Thats right, if you counted she's moved 8 times!  And each time she just grabs her tennis ball and heads down the road with no complaints.

      Any one who has been lucky enough to hunt with Duchess and i knows how passionate she is about life.  She simply will not give up on a bird, even if it's a goose thats moving down the Yellowstone faster than the ice chunks!  She has made my heart skip a beat more times than I can count!  I simply don't have enough time to tell you about all of the great times we have had together and with our family, all I can tell you is that it seems like it was just yesterday I was driving down the dusty road south of Laurel with my new baby girl in my lap.  I only hope that I have filled her heart with as much love as she has mine.  Heres to another ten years of bringing back geese and filling your dad's heart with pride!  

Remember, cherish each second you have with everyone who warms your heart!