Duke Dog's Den

09/02/2026

We are so grateful to Kim with For the Love of Animals Daycare and Healing who generously donated 10% of her August pet sitting fees to Duke Dog’s Den. Thank you, Kim 🫶🏻

WHEN A “COMPETITOR” BECOMES A FRIEND

We owe a HUGE thank you to our friend Kim at For the Love of Animals Daycare and Healing, who donated 10% of every pet-sitting fee she earned during the month of August to Duke Dog's Den! 💜

But this thank you goes well beyond one incredibly generous donation.

Kim is a fellow pet sitter and someone I’m grateful to be able to refer Wags to Whiskers clients to when I’m unavailable. Technically, I suppose that makes us “competitors.” Somewhere along the way, though, she became a friend, a colleague I trust, and one of The Den’s biggest cheerleaders.

She supports our Golden Girls again and again, whether she’s making a donation, sending goodies from their wishlists, sharing our posts, or simply helping more people learn about what we do.

There’s plenty of room in this community for good pet sitters to support one another, cheer each other on, and work together to make sure animals are cared for by people we trust. I’m incredibly grateful to have Kim in that circle.

Thank you, Kim, for supporting my little senior dog rescue, for trusting and supporting Wags to Whiskers, and most of all, for being such a good friend to me and to the girls. 🐾💜

We appreciate you more than you know!

09/01/2026

September seems to be the month of milestones at Duke Dog's Den. 💜

Our Miracle Mutt Bailey will turn nine years old on September 3! After a few scares lately, she seems to be back on track. That means she’s playing with her stuffies, eating all her noms, and woo-wooing like mad. 🥰

I hit a big milestone birthday this year on September 12. Typically, when I raise funds for one of the dogs’ birthdays, I ask for a donation in the amount of their age. I’m not doing that for me, but you’re welcome to donate $5 because there’s definitely a five in the age. 😂

September is also the month we honor two Den dogs who are living their best, pain-free lives across the Rainbow Bridge. 🌈
Lil’ Bit, the very first Den dog, passed away in September 2024, just six days before her 19th birthday on September 17. And last September, we said goodbye to our beautiful Dixie Bell after her battle with lymphoma. No two dogs could have been more different, and I miss grouchy old Lil’ Bit just as much as I miss sweet cuddle-bug Dixie.

So this birthday fundraiser will be in memory of my youth 😂, in memory of Dixie Bell and Lil’ Bit, and most importantly, in honor of our Queen (of Everything) Bailey, who continues to amaze me every single day. 👑

And, of course, it will support Duke Dog’s Den and the pups who call it home.

Thanks to our incredibly generous wish-list shoppers, the Golden Girls currently have a surplus of stuffies and treats. So the money raised this month will go toward the less exciting but much more important stuff: prescription food, monthly medications, and veterinary care.

Any amount is appreciated. Seriously! Donations can be made through this Facebook fundraiser (https://www.facebook.com/donate/28593074857046099/) or directly through the Support page on our website at https://www.dukesden.org/.

And if donating isn’t in the cards right now, sharing this fundraiser helps too. We always appreciate new eyes on the old gals. 💜

Thank you for continuing to support our little senior dog hospice and sanctuary. Because of you, we can give senior and medically fragile dogs the care, comfort, dignity, and ridiculous amount of love they deserve for however much time they have with us. 🐾

08/28/2026

🌈 So fitting that on Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, we received the beautiful prints we ordered from Ladybug Art.

At The Den, we embrace the passage of our pups over the bridge because it’s quite literally why we were founded: to make sure dogs don’t have to die alone. We know when we welcome these precious seniors into our family that our time together may be measured in years, months, weeks… or sometimes just days. But however much time we’re given, we make it count.

Jess’s work is all about the love and relationships we have with our animals, even after they’ve left this side of the bridge. Her art has always resonated with us because there’s something comforting in the reminder that death doesn’t erase a relationship. They’re still woven into our routines, our memories, our stories and our hearts.

There’s always a “last time” in everything we do. The last evening cuddle. The last walk around the block. The last car ride. The last snack slipped under the table. The last time you hear their little feet coming down the hallway. The last time you say, “Goodnight. I love you.”

The hard part is that we don’t always know it’s the last time while it’s happening.

Here at The Den, we have the bittersweet privilege of knowing that time is precious. So we try not to take any of it for granted. We celebrate the ordinary moments. We take too many pictures. We give the extra treat. We stop what we’re doing for the cuddle. We let them sniff a little longer. We say “I love you” about a thousand times a day.

And when their last day comes, we make that count, too. There is no fear. No loneliness. No wondering if anyone cares. There are familiar voices, gentle hands, favorite treats when possible, and someone holding them and telling them exactly what they have heard every day since becoming one of ours: You are safe. You are loved. You are not alone. ❤️

These beautiful prints will be another reminder in The Den to treasure the time we have with our girls and to remember all those who came before them.

Because there may always be a last time. But love doesn’t have one. 🌈🐾

08/28/2026

Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day 🌈

Today, we remember four very special girls who left their paw prints forever on The Den.

Lil’ Bit. Dixie Bell. Meagan. Trixie. ❤️

Each came to us with a different story. Each had different needs. And each stayed with us for a different amount of time. But they all received the same promise.

For however many days they had left, they would be safe. They would be comfortable. They would be spoiled. They would know the warmth of a soft bed, the joy of a good meal, the comfort of a gentle hand, and the security of knowing they belonged. Most importantly, when their bodies told us it was time, they would not leave this world alone.

One of the hardest and most sacred parts of what we do at Duke Dog’s Den is helping our girls pass peacefully when their time comes. We can't always give them more days. But we can make the days they have good days. And when those good days are gone, we can give them one final gift: a gentle goodbye, surrounded by the people who love them.

Lil’ Bit, Dixie Bell, Meagan and Trixie may no longer be curled up in the beds around The Den, but they are still very much a part of its story. Every senior dog we welcome is loved in their honor, and every goodbye reminds us why this little sanctuary exists.

No dog should leave this world wondering if they were loved. Ours never will. 🌈🐾❤️

You can learn more about Lil’ Bit, Dixie Bell, Meagan and Trixie, as well as meet the girls currently calling The Den home, here:
https://www.dukesden.org/meet-our-pups

Today we remember our four beautiful girls. We loved you for the rest of your lives. We'll remember you for the rest of ours. 🌈

08/27/2026

THE GOLDEN GIRLS ARE HITTING THE STREETS! 🚕

If you happen to hop into a Cab 54 car around town, keep your eyes peeled. You might spot Bailey, Kendra, Sadie & Kloey riding along with you!

A HUGE thank you to Cab 54 for putting Duke Dog’s Den flyers in their cars and helping us introduce The Den to even more people in our community. And big thanks to our amazing supporters, Sandy Lynn and Mike, for making this happen. For a tiny senior dog sanctuary, this kind of support means more than you know.

If you see one of our flyers while you're out and about, snap a picture and tag us. We’d LOVE to see where our Golden Girls turn up!

Cab 54, thank you for giving our old ladies a ride around town. We promise they’re excellent passengers. Well, Kloey and Sadie will demand snacks, Bailey will probably judge your driving, and Kendra is just happy to be included. Thank you for supporting Duke Dog’s Den and helping more people learn about the very special seniors who call The Den home. 💙

08/26/2026

A WISH COME TRUE WEDNESDAY

Last week, our Wish List Wednesday had just one wish: we asked you to invite your friends to follow Duke Dog’s Den. And you definitely did. 💜 Thanks to all of you clicking that little invite button, 55 new people joined our Den family! FIFTY-FIVE!

So, this week, we’re not wishing for a darn thing. Our ladies are happy, (relatively) healthy for where they are in their journeys, and most importantly, loved. Not just by us, but by all of you...our pack!

Instead, we just want to say THANK YOU. Thank you to everyone who invited friends, shared our page, and helped introduce 55 new people to our Golden Girls and the work we do.

And thank you to everyone who has been shopping our Amazon, Chewy, and Walmart wish lists. As you can see, Bailey and Sadie have personally inspected the latest haul and find your generosity acceptable.

Every bag of food, treat, cleaning supply, and doggy necessity you send means one less thing The Den has to purchase and more of our funds can go toward the girls’ veterinary care, medications, and other needs that can’t be found online.

So, today’s Wish List Wednesday comes with no links, no asks, and no shopping assignment.

Just one very big, very heartfelt THANK YOU. 💜

You take awfully good care of our little Den, and we hope you know how much we appreciate it. 🐾

08/26/2026

Happy from the Golden Girls of Duke Dog’s Den! Around here, every day is dog day, but we’re always happy to have an official excuse to celebrate our sweet senior ladies. They may have creaky joints, selective hearing, and very strong opinions about snack distribution, but they also have more love, personality, and sass packed into them than should legally be allowed. Here’s to the Golden Girls, and to every dog who makes life infinitely better just by being in it. 💕

08/19/2026

WISH LIST WEDNESDAY! But this week, it won’t cost you a thing. 😊 There’s only ONE item on The Den’s wish list today. Not our Amazon or Walmart wish lists. Our metaphorical wish list.

We WISH you would invite your Facebook friends to like and follow Duke Dog’s Den!

That’s it. No shopping. No donating. No credit card required. Just a few clicks! Growing our little corner of Facebook helps more than you might think. Every new follower means:

- More people learning about The Den and our Golden Girls
- More eyes on our fundraisers and events
- More potential supporters, donors, and friends
- More people to laugh at our ridiculousness and fall hopelessly in love with a bunch of senior dogs

And the best part? It costs absolutely nothing. So, for this Wish List Wednesday, can you help us cross one BIG WISH off our list? Invite your friends to follow Duke Dog’s Den! Even if just a handful accept, imagine what could happen if everyone here invited a few people. Our little Den pack could get a whole lot bigger.

Thank you for helping us spread the word, one click at a time. 🐾 💜