My Heart Dog Duchess
Duchess went to heaven on Jan 3rd 2024 and I thought her birthday today might be an appropriate time to give her a proper TexAgs Outdoor forum post. She was rescued by my X on Nov. 14th 2009 and was about a year old at the time.
I am going to tell two stories about her: one her loose connection to Texas A&M which I will tell first and the second her life.
Duchess was my sidekick at work and she never missed a day. We've had ups and downs too many to count, but the first time we bonded was in 2012 when I lost a considerable amount of my money in about 48 hours. I trade commodities and it's not always an enjoyable experience to say the least. I was dog sitting Duchess as my X had moved to LA and asked me to watch her for a month or two. She was a wreck of a girl from her time on the streets, and during that experience I was a bit of a wreck so we had something in common and we became a little friendly with each other. She used to come to work with me when I had an office and later when I had a home office she was always by my side.
Around Dec 2020 I had decided that my run as a trader had run its course and I was going to hang up my cleats and I popped in to College Station for a couple days. I go by Jimbo's office and of course these people are always trying to raise money for something, and I said before I stop all together, I'll continue to work and I'll send some of money I make over to the 12th Man and that will be that once I am done. So this went on for several weeks and I made some small donations.
It's my birthday in early February so I am in Texas for a few days and I am trying to get back to Puerto Rico with Duchess on United on the 5th but the government changed the rules for support dogs and I was nervous about lying and taking her on the plane so I delayed my trip a few days until I could get proper paperwork and as it turns out my neighbor in Puerto Rico has his plane in San Antonio and offers us a ride on Monday Feb 10th 2020. This is great, I just have to drive over there and then not deal with the government hassle but I end up taking the day off work which turns out to possibly be either the best or worst decision of all time but it was a decision that was made because of Duchess my little pal who never left my side. I never take days off work, and had the government not changed it's rules I would have flown over the weekend.
We land and all hell has broken way in the markets with the weather showing Winter Storm Uri coming next week, but the markets are now closing and we get home and I check my positions and I have some legacy older trades on that will perform during the cold. I wasn't able to profit take on Monday, nor was I able to add more to the position. As it turns out doing nothing worked. Because my dog was my best pal that I never let leave my side - I have been blessed with the opportunity to help A&M in academics and athletics largely in part because I didn't change anything. For those of you that know my name, when you see me doing things for A&M I hope you think of the story above and that Duchess was the best employee I ever had and she some random luckiness that I will always remember her for.
During the storm and during every good and bad event I ever had I had my dog by my side, and it didn't matter if I was working all night or up pacing because something bad transpiring in markets she was always there and provided me comfort and I miss that all the time now.
Now about Duchess My X adopted her and was a fantastic dog mom. On my first date I had with her all I heard about was this adopted dog. I finally meet said dog, and good lord she's bolting around the apartment barking, growling, and hiding. I grew up with hunting dogs, so I was annoyed by this froufrou dog acting uncontrollably insane every time we saw each other. She moved into my place in the fall of 2011 and we sort of became acquaintances. I grew up on the farm with all pets being outside and here this dog is on my furniture all the time pissing me off. The dog and I didn't really become friendly until the story above in 12 when we were alone together, and I needed someone to talk to because frankly I was a little scared and she was the only person at my house so we became pals. In July of 12 my X and Duchess moved out to LA to become famous or something isn't that what everyone wants to do in Lalaland? I remember watching her leave my apartment to head to the airport and I walked back upstairs and **** I was just flat out lonely and I missed my friend.
I would go out to LA to visit her several times until we broke up, but through me missing her I started buying her day-care packages and treat delivery's as I was really grateful for her helping me get through June of 2012's mess I had at work and being by my side when I was nervous. We broke up around December and I didn't see Duchess again until June. X came back in to town and we went to dinner and she mentioned she was moving back to Houston in July which I was totally elated about having Duchess back around town again! So I told my X that I had planned on moving to Puerto Rico for business purposes and that hopefully when I come back to Houston I can dog sit Duchess again and see her all the time. Through conversation it comes out that we want to date again so now Duchess is suddenly moving to Puerto Rico with me and I hadn't been there before nor did I have any friends so this is pretty exciting for me. Each morning we would start off the day with her in my lap and I would pet her and tell her how pretty she is, how loved she is, and how everything is ok - I bet we did this for 15 minutes a day for two months until we broke up again and they both moved back to Houston. We connected and started to bond as she relaxed and became comfortable.
I'm back for a week in Houston and I have her to my house and afterwards I drop her off at my X's apartment and her roommate said Duchess got so sad after I dropped her off and apparently, Duchess must really enjoy and miss me.
I'd go back to Houston again and Duchess comes over and stay and one day there she is sleeping on my bed which was an absolute no no at my house. And I look at her, and she just looked so at peace I left her be. That night I go to bed and sure as ****, she starts beeping and meeping at the end of the bed then poof she jumps on up and lays down like she owns the place and she slept like that until the end. I figured she had missed me as I missed her and I guess I could be flexible with my rules.
As I come and go to Houston she would come over every time and I would take her to the dog park over off Allen Parkway, to doggy day-care, and she had the best dog-walker. I bought a house in Montrose and we struck gold and two doors down we have a crazy cat lady house and damn did we give them the business every time we walked. Old Duchess at her end couldn't see any more but when we'd walk she would always head right toward the house and still stare at it for a bit before continuing to walk. At some point we get old and we let the enemies off the hook.
In 2018 my X moves to Austin and asks me to watch Duchess and I say yes, but I am going to Puerto Rico and so if I could keep her a month or two I could do it and she says yes. I'm really pumped about it. Duchess comes home with me to Puerto Rico and we had the best life. We chased iguanas every dang day whether on foot or in the golf cart and we barked at the tarpon in the little lake nearby. Every day was a new adventure ~ we'd go to the hotel for coffee and in Puerto Rico she finally hit the lotto and had what became her best friend make breakfast every day and she would strong arm him for a piece of bacon every morning.
We go back to Texas and a little while later I get a text from my X that she had been promoted at work and traveling all the time and Duchess has such a good life would I want to keep her full time and that was probably the happiest I ever was saying yes so she moved in in 2019 full time and we did everything together. And I quote my X "Duchess ain't no dummy she went from the streets of Houston to the Ritz and found the best life." Duchess worked next to me every day and was a source of calmness when I needed to talk to someone. We watched hunting TV shows every Saturday and I always told her to take notes because chasing the cats and iguanas wasn't ever going to get her an invite out to the duck blind.
And oh the places we went. She went with the boys on our hunting trips to Canada and North Dakota. She was a regular at Pintal out in Garwood when we'd all go. She went to St Barth's and even got to go all the way to France. She never missed anything in my life we did everything together. The running joke amongst our friends was always "Is Duchess eating lobster cob salads at the Ritz" and so many times I heard "I'd love to come back as Duchess."
She was a Texas A&M fan, a Cowboys fan, and a Cubbies fan. She never missed an opportunity to harass us when we'd have a BBQ and watch sports.
One of the funny things to me is that when I first met her she was broken and scared ****less of men. She loved women so much more than any man and it used to make me so jealous how she'd get 10 times more excited to see my X or her roommate than she would me even though ole dad was paying for everything and spoiling her. And in the end the last 5 years of her life the majority of her pals were men and she loved the **** out of them. She came full circle.
She had best rescue dog life of all time, and she had the best friends. She had the best Aunts, she had the best Uncle, she had the best housekeepers, dog walkers, dog watchers, and vets. If any of you read this, thank you for that from her and I.
Everyone loved her and on her 15th birthday we had a party and everyone came to visit. And even though she was now blind and having cognitive issues she somehow new everyone was there to celebrate her and stayed up late with us and enjoyed her birthday dog cakes and steak scraps. That dog had endless scraps in her life.
In the end she was my heart dog and little girl and the most spoiled dog ever known.
And now I am crying as I write this part. She was there for me when I started my business, and I was scared ****less about it and she helped me through all my hard times always being there. When I moved to Puerto Rico and I was lonely away from my friends and family she was there for me. She helped me get through the boredom of the Covid lockdown nonsense and kept me sane for work. I look at all the additional things that happened because I got on a plane without Wi-Fi 5 days after I wanted to travel home but couldn't because of a random regulation change that happened a month before for pets on planes and know she was my best luck charm.
She was my best friend, and I miss her going everywhere with me. I miss her by my desk each day, and I miss having coffee with her. I often say to become a good trader you have to keep your emotions in check. You should never have highs and lows and controlling your emotions is key. Doing so means I can find the best times in my life are having a cup of coffee with my dog on a Saturday morning I don't need to be winning at trading or going on a fun trip. The highlight is spending time with my dog who loves me in peace and quiet.
Duchess, it took me such a long time to gain your trust - I was so happy for you at the end of your life because you weren't scared of humans any longer and you were loved by so many. It was worth every second I spent trying to be a good dad to win over your love when I finally did it felt so good. It is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. I never knew what a "heart dog" was or had never heard the term and when my SIL mentioned it to me it too the air out of me reading the definition because I know in my lifetime I am never going to experience starting my own business and moving somewhere lonely ever again so there's only going to be one time of each of those experiences and that you did your job getting me through them. You not only did it, you crushed it. And I am sad that I will never have a similar life experience with a dog and a bond like we did ever again. Realizing that has made me sad, so much so it took me months to write what I hope is a deserving tribute for you.
You are my little Doodle Bug and you certainly are the prettiest girl and best dog of all time in your dad's eyes. I miss you all the dang time. Duchess is under a nice shade tree at our hunting lodge where that city dog had so much fun getting to be outdoors. She was one of the guys out there and simply just loved it.
I suspect you are in heaven bragging to anyone that will listen about your life on earth and in due time we will be reunited and until then give those cats and iguanas hell. Thank you for anyone that took the time to read this long story about a friend.
Love you Duchess Hornsby
Duchess went to heaven on Jan 3rd 2024 and I thought her birthday today might be an appropriate time to give her a proper TexAgs Outdoor forum post. She was rescued by my X on Nov. 14th 2009 and was about a year old at the time.
I am going to tell two stories about her: one her loose connection to Texas A&M which I will tell first and the second her life.
Duchess was my sidekick at work and she never missed a day. We've had ups and downs too many to count, but the first time we bonded was in 2012 when I lost a considerable amount of my money in about 48 hours. I trade commodities and it's not always an enjoyable experience to say the least. I was dog sitting Duchess as my X had moved to LA and asked me to watch her for a month or two. She was a wreck of a girl from her time on the streets, and during that experience I was a bit of a wreck so we had something in common and we became a little friendly with each other. She used to come to work with me when I had an office and later when I had a home office she was always by my side.
Around Dec 2020 I had decided that my run as a trader had run its course and I was going to hang up my cleats and I popped in to College Station for a couple days. I go by Jimbo's office and of course these people are always trying to raise money for something, and I said before I stop all together, I'll continue to work and I'll send some of money I make over to the 12th Man and that will be that once I am done. So this went on for several weeks and I made some small donations.
It's my birthday in early February so I am in Texas for a few days and I am trying to get back to Puerto Rico with Duchess on United on the 5th but the government changed the rules for support dogs and I was nervous about lying and taking her on the plane so I delayed my trip a few days until I could get proper paperwork and as it turns out my neighbor in Puerto Rico has his plane in San Antonio and offers us a ride on Monday Feb 10th 2020. This is great, I just have to drive over there and then not deal with the government hassle but I end up taking the day off work which turns out to possibly be either the best or worst decision of all time but it was a decision that was made because of Duchess my little pal who never left my side. I never take days off work, and had the government not changed it's rules I would have flown over the weekend.
We land and all hell has broken way in the markets with the weather showing Winter Storm Uri coming next week, but the markets are now closing and we get home and I check my positions and I have some legacy older trades on that will perform during the cold. I wasn't able to profit take on Monday, nor was I able to add more to the position. As it turns out doing nothing worked. Because my dog was my best pal that I never let leave my side - I have been blessed with the opportunity to help A&M in academics and athletics largely in part because I didn't change anything. For those of you that know my name, when you see me doing things for A&M I hope you think of the story above and that Duchess was the best employee I ever had and she some random luckiness that I will always remember her for.
During the storm and during every good and bad event I ever had I had my dog by my side, and it didn't matter if I was working all night or up pacing because something bad transpiring in markets she was always there and provided me comfort and I miss that all the time now.
Now about Duchess My X adopted her and was a fantastic dog mom. On my first date I had with her all I heard about was this adopted dog. I finally meet said dog, and good lord she's bolting around the apartment barking, growling, and hiding. I grew up with hunting dogs, so I was annoyed by this froufrou dog acting uncontrollably insane every time we saw each other. She moved into my place in the fall of 2011 and we sort of became acquaintances. I grew up on the farm with all pets being outside and here this dog is on my furniture all the time pissing me off. The dog and I didn't really become friendly until the story above in 12 when we were alone together, and I needed someone to talk to because frankly I was a little scared and she was the only person at my house so we became pals. In July of 12 my X and Duchess moved out to LA to become famous or something isn't that what everyone wants to do in Lalaland? I remember watching her leave my apartment to head to the airport and I walked back upstairs and **** I was just flat out lonely and I missed my friend.
I would go out to LA to visit her several times until we broke up, but through me missing her I started buying her day-care packages and treat delivery's as I was really grateful for her helping me get through June of 2012's mess I had at work and being by my side when I was nervous. We broke up around December and I didn't see Duchess again until June. X came back in to town and we went to dinner and she mentioned she was moving back to Houston in July which I was totally elated about having Duchess back around town again! So I told my X that I had planned on moving to Puerto Rico for business purposes and that hopefully when I come back to Houston I can dog sit Duchess again and see her all the time. Through conversation it comes out that we want to date again so now Duchess is suddenly moving to Puerto Rico with me and I hadn't been there before nor did I have any friends so this is pretty exciting for me. Each morning we would start off the day with her in my lap and I would pet her and tell her how pretty she is, how loved she is, and how everything is ok - I bet we did this for 15 minutes a day for two months until we broke up again and they both moved back to Houston. We connected and started to bond as she relaxed and became comfortable.
I'm back for a week in Houston and I have her to my house and afterwards I drop her off at my X's apartment and her roommate said Duchess got so sad after I dropped her off and apparently, Duchess must really enjoy and miss me.
I'd go back to Houston again and Duchess comes over and stay and one day there she is sleeping on my bed which was an absolute no no at my house. And I look at her, and she just looked so at peace I left her be. That night I go to bed and sure as ****, she starts beeping and meeping at the end of the bed then poof she jumps on up and lays down like she owns the place and she slept like that until the end. I figured she had missed me as I missed her and I guess I could be flexible with my rules.
As I come and go to Houston she would come over every time and I would take her to the dog park over off Allen Parkway, to doggy day-care, and she had the best dog-walker. I bought a house in Montrose and we struck gold and two doors down we have a crazy cat lady house and damn did we give them the business every time we walked. Old Duchess at her end couldn't see any more but when we'd walk she would always head right toward the house and still stare at it for a bit before continuing to walk. At some point we get old and we let the enemies off the hook.
In 2018 my X moves to Austin and asks me to watch Duchess and I say yes, but I am going to Puerto Rico and so if I could keep her a month or two I could do it and she says yes. I'm really pumped about it. Duchess comes home with me to Puerto Rico and we had the best life. We chased iguanas every dang day whether on foot or in the golf cart and we barked at the tarpon in the little lake nearby. Every day was a new adventure ~ we'd go to the hotel for coffee and in Puerto Rico she finally hit the lotto and had what became her best friend make breakfast every day and she would strong arm him for a piece of bacon every morning.
We go back to Texas and a little while later I get a text from my X that she had been promoted at work and traveling all the time and Duchess has such a good life would I want to keep her full time and that was probably the happiest I ever was saying yes so she moved in in 2019 full time and we did everything together. And I quote my X "Duchess ain't no dummy she went from the streets of Houston to the Ritz and found the best life." Duchess worked next to me every day and was a source of calmness when I needed to talk to someone. We watched hunting TV shows every Saturday and I always told her to take notes because chasing the cats and iguanas wasn't ever going to get her an invite out to the duck blind.
And oh the places we went. She went with the boys on our hunting trips to Canada and North Dakota. She was a regular at Pintal out in Garwood when we'd all go. She went to St Barth's and even got to go all the way to France. She never missed anything in my life we did everything together. The running joke amongst our friends was always "Is Duchess eating lobster cob salads at the Ritz" and so many times I heard "I'd love to come back as Duchess."
She was a Texas A&M fan, a Cowboys fan, and a Cubbies fan. She never missed an opportunity to harass us when we'd have a BBQ and watch sports.
One of the funny things to me is that when I first met her she was broken and scared ****less of men. She loved women so much more than any man and it used to make me so jealous how she'd get 10 times more excited to see my X or her roommate than she would me even though ole dad was paying for everything and spoiling her. And in the end the last 5 years of her life the majority of her pals were men and she loved the **** out of them. She came full circle.
She had best rescue dog life of all time, and she had the best friends. She had the best Aunts, she had the best Uncle, she had the best housekeepers, dog walkers, dog watchers, and vets. If any of you read this, thank you for that from her and I.
Everyone loved her and on her 15th birthday we had a party and everyone came to visit. And even though she was now blind and having cognitive issues she somehow new everyone was there to celebrate her and stayed up late with us and enjoyed her birthday dog cakes and steak scraps. That dog had endless scraps in her life.
In the end she was my heart dog and little girl and the most spoiled dog ever known.
And now I am crying as I write this part. She was there for me when I started my business, and I was scared ****less about it and she helped me through all my hard times always being there. When I moved to Puerto Rico and I was lonely away from my friends and family she was there for me. She helped me get through the boredom of the Covid lockdown nonsense and kept me sane for work. I look at all the additional things that happened because I got on a plane without Wi-Fi 5 days after I wanted to travel home but couldn't because of a random regulation change that happened a month before for pets on planes and know she was my best luck charm.
She was my best friend, and I miss her going everywhere with me. I miss her by my desk each day, and I miss having coffee with her. I often say to become a good trader you have to keep your emotions in check. You should never have highs and lows and controlling your emotions is key. Doing so means I can find the best times in my life are having a cup of coffee with my dog on a Saturday morning I don't need to be winning at trading or going on a fun trip. The highlight is spending time with my dog who loves me in peace and quiet.
Duchess, it took me such a long time to gain your trust - I was so happy for you at the end of your life because you weren't scared of humans any longer and you were loved by so many. It was worth every second I spent trying to be a good dad to win over your love when I finally did it felt so good. It is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. I never knew what a "heart dog" was or had never heard the term and when my SIL mentioned it to me it too the air out of me reading the definition because I know in my lifetime I am never going to experience starting my own business and moving somewhere lonely ever again so there's only going to be one time of each of those experiences and that you did your job getting me through them. You not only did it, you crushed it. And I am sad that I will never have a similar life experience with a dog and a bond like we did ever again. Realizing that has made me sad, so much so it took me months to write what I hope is a deserving tribute for you.
You are my little Doodle Bug and you certainly are the prettiest girl and best dog of all time in your dad's eyes. I miss you all the dang time. Duchess is under a nice shade tree at our hunting lodge where that city dog had so much fun getting to be outdoors. She was one of the guys out there and simply just loved it.
I suspect you are in heaven bragging to anyone that will listen about your life on earth and in due time we will be reunited and until then give those cats and iguanas hell. Thank you for anyone that took the time to read this long story about a friend.
Love you Duchess Hornsby
