Honorable Mention - Emily Muro
Age 12
Warrington, PA 

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My Dog Duchess
Dedicated to: Duchess Bell Muro, 1990-2004

My loyal companion, my pillow to lean on, my best friend was my dog Duchess. She was pregnant with a litter of puppies while my mom was pregnant with me. After Duchess' puppies were older and sold, she looked after me as if I was her puppy. On days when I was down she knew how to make me happy. I could tell her my secrets and she would never tell. Even if she could have talked I knew she would have never let my secrets slip. Every night she would lie at the foot of my bed and make sure I was safe. I fell asleep having no worries because I knew she would protect me from anything. I often read books about animal heroes. Although Duchess never had the chance to save me from any tragedies  she was my hero. Whenever something seemed unbearable Duchess was there. I envied that she didn't have to deal with problems. But she did deal with problems; she dealt with mine and made everything better.

But one day she developed her own problem. She had a problem I couldn't fix. The nerves in her spine were degenerating. In December we thought we were going to have to put her to sleep. One night I took some clay and pressed Duchess' paw into it. Then I took another piece of clay and pushed my hand into it. I then put the two pieces of clay back to back. I knew even after she was gone we would always be together. We took her to the vet a few days later and he said he had a medication that could help her. The medication kept her from suffering until about the beginning of April. Duchess was having trouble walking again. My mom and sister carried her upstairs at night, even though she was an 80-pound black lab, so she could sleep with us. One day she started biting at her foot. At first we told her not to, then we scolded her, then we realized. We realized she was in pain. We tried everything to help her, socks, an Ace bandage, even a splint but nothing helped. Her piercing teeth bit through everything. On a cool spring evening my mother and I took off the splint Duchess was wearing at the time. We wanted to see how bad Duchess had bitten her foot. Her foot was red with blood and a cream color puss surrounded her paw. It was definitely infected. Again we contemplated putting her down. This time we followed through with it.

In early May at the end of the school day my dad picked me up from school. I had known we were putting her to sleep that day so I had been depressed. My friends had tried to comfort me all day as tears slowly trickled down my already moist cheek. None of them succeeded. As my father and I drove home in silence I thought of all the good times. It hurt me to think that the good times with her were going to end today. When we reached the house my sisters and mom were already in the back yard with Duchess. I opened the creaky gate to our back yard and walked slowly toward her. The sun was shining on her sleek black fur. I went up to her and hugged her. Her fur was hot because the sun was on it, but I didn't care, I just hugged her wanting to never let go. Birds were chirping a happy tune somewhere in the neighbor's yard and I wondered what they were so happy about. My mom took pictures of Duchess. Although the camera could hold her image in that moment forever it could not capture the personality of the Duchess I loved so much.

Duchess left us on that sad, heartbreaking afternoon but her soul is more alive then ever in my heart and it always will be. We had Duchess cremated and her ashes are in my room along with her clay paw print and my clay handprint, pictures of Duchess, and a scrapbook I made of her. I refer to all these items, which sit on the bureau in my bedroom, as my Duchess memorial. Wherever I am, or wherever I go my best friend, my loyal companion is always watching over me.