Email this page
Print this page
del.icio.us
digg
CommentsPet Tales
(page 10 of 21)
Joe and Christine Daues, co-anchors for KSPR evening news, with DUey
“Do you have one of those friends who’s 6’5” and 300 pounds, and he just wants to give you a big ol’ hug?” Joe Daues says. “DUey is kinda like that. He doesn’t realize his size. He’s just a good old boy.”DUey, the 105-pound purebred chocolate lab of KSPR co-anchors Joe and Christine Daues, is known to get up on the couch and lay across both of his
owners’ laps, seemingly unaware of his enormity.
It was a bit of luck and coincidence that he joined the family in February 2003 when the Daues attended an auction in Ozark for the hunting organization Duck’s Unlimited. The couple entered a raffle for either $20 or $30. Their name was drawn, which allowed them to pick any item before it entered the auction.
Joe had his eye on a collectors edition shot gun. Christine had hers on an itty-bitty 8-week-old puppy. “The decision was pretty much made for me,” Joe says. “People had $300 and $400 out in tickets trying to win this raffle, and we just bought the one ticket. It was really kind of cool.”
The puppy was the pick of the litter from Langdon Labs, a breeder in Conway, Missouri, and he was a hot-ticket item. By the end of the night, a gentleman had offered $1,500 cash. “Luckily, we said no,” Joe says. “He’s a genuine part of our family.” They named him DUey after the DU abbreviation for Ducks Unlimited.
Joe half jokes that DUey was a good precursor to having their first child. “The transition when we got him was not easy,” Joe says. “All puppies take a lot of care. He was a great trainer for us.” Their son, Joey, just turned 1 year old. “He’s more inquisitive than anything,” Joe says of Joey’s response to DUey. “That child knows where that dog is 24/7. For now, they are co-existing in peace.”
With the raffle win, the Daues also received free lessons from a trainer of grand champion hunting dogs. DUey recognizes hand signals and will retrieve the birds when Joe goes duck and pheasant hunting about two to five times a year.
“He’s very smart,” Joe says. “He comes from really good stock. He’s a descendent of some very well-trained dogs that have a lot of awards for training and hunting. We think he’s the best dog in the world.”
