We said farewell to our golden boy on July 7, 2011. Duffy came to us from Rescue a Golden in March 2005. As soon as Tom saw his picture on the website he fell in love. He could just tell that Duffy was a sweet, mellow guy – and he was so right. Duffy was the mellowest and most patient dog you could ever meet. Duffy was the king of his yard. He loved to sit for hours, surveying his kingdom. Whenever someone – person, dog, horse – wandered down the bridle path behind the house, Duffy would leap into action, running along the fence to say hello – never barking, but making his own unique Duffy sound. A neighbor dubbed him “The Talking Dog.” One of his special friends was Rosie, the Bouvier, who loved to run the fence with him. Inside the house, Duffy could often be found sprawled in the doorway or somewhere underfoot, and he wasn’t inclined to move, unless there was something on the kitchen counter to attract his attention. He had a particular fondness for butter and cheese. Duffy had valley fever, which gave him seizures, but in true dog fashion he never let that get him down. In fact, he was quite serious about taking his pills and would sit politely while I gave him his meds. While the drugs and seizures took their toll, in the end, it was cancer that took him from us. It’s hard to believe that just a week ago he was racing through the irrigated yard at 4:00 a.m., looking back at Tom, saying “You can’t catch me” as Tom sloshed through the water, chasing him. Good bye, Mr. Duffers. Now you can run all you want and never feel tired.