sir duke

Sir Duke...
or Dukey, or handsome, or any number of affectionate nicknames for this gentle, old fella.

A recent intake to the Victoria Bulldog Society (VBS), Sir Duke's health issues are extensive. But he is an otherwise happy dog, who just wants to snuggle up with people. After a recent vet visit, this is what was discovered:

"Sir Duke, unfortunately, has cancer he has a very large abdominal mass & fluid in his belly. With all the fluid in his belly, we aren’t sure what the mass is attached to, it could be a kidney, spleen or even liver. He also has a completely fused spine from spondylosis We are waiting for bloodwork to come back to hopefully give us a bit more info on his organs. Sir Duke also has cardiomyopathy an arrhythmia that can cause collapse, fainting or sudden death. We know from his past medical records he’s had this for a while & it was present on his exam today so we know it’s there.  My heart hurts this isn’t the news we wanted but are thankful Sir Duke is in care & is no longer going to suffer without pain management & we can plan a humane end of life when needed.
We will give Sir Duke everything we can to keep him comfortable & pain-free. We don’t know how long Sir Duke has at this point but we know it’s not long & no treatment can cure him."

With this in mind, the VBS created a bucket list of items to shoot for within Sir Duke's limited time -- one of which include a photo session, so I put my hand up to volunteer. Lately my VBS sessions have included spritely little frenchies, so this was going to be a departure. This session needed a special backdrop. One that had some warmth and required no interaction from Sir Duke. He could just sit or lay down and have some love literally hanging over him. A volunteer brought him over and my heart just broke when I saw him.
We managed to get a few photos in pretty quickly, but honestly, this fella just wanted loves and it's hard to photograph a dog when he's sitting next to you! But then he started acting like he needed out, so we got him outside and he wandered the yard and did what he needed to do. However, getting him back to the studio was difficult - he seemed confused (rightly so) and not sure what to do. So the volunteer lifted him up and brought him back in where we got a few more photos before it was time for him to head back to his foster home. 

It was an honour to meet Sir Duke - from his little button of a tail to his ears, ready to take flight. 
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Big thanks to his team for helping make this happen - it's very cool to see all the support Sir Duke has in his corner.
xo

p.s. if you'd like to learn more about VBS or donate to help any of the dogs in their care, please visit the Victoria Bulldog Society facebook page