Comedian Sarah Silverman writes a heartfelt tribute to deceased dog, Duck.

Laughter turned to tears for the comedian when her dog of 14 years passed away.

‘I held him close and thanked him for giving me such happiness.’ 

Sarah Silverman is never without a smile, but her jokes turned to tears when her dog, Duck, died.

In a heartfelt tribute to her canine love, Silverman took pen to paper and wrote about their 14-year relationship.

“Duck ‘Doug’ Silverman came into my life about 14 years ago,” she wrote on Wednesday. “He was picked up by the State running through South Central with no collar, tags or chip. Nobody claimed or adopted him so a no-kill shelter took him in.”

It was there that the comedic actress met and adopted her little furry new friend who would change her life for the better.

He was ‘my only experience of maternal love’

“Since then we have slept most every night together (and many lazy afternoons),” she continued. “When we first met, the vet approximated his age at 5½ so I’d say he was about 19 as of yesterday, September 3, 2013.”

Silverman described Duck as a dog who “loved love.” But over the years, age got the best of him, and he became “blind, deaf, and arthritic.” Giving the kind of unconditional love that he gave her, Silverman became his “seeing-eye person” before things took a turn for the worse.

Duck grew progressively worse.

“Recently, however, he stopped eating or drinking,” she recalled. “He was skin and bones and so weak. I couldn’t figure out this hunger strike. Duck had never been political before. And then, over the weekend, I knew. It was time to let him go.”

Supported by her boyfriend, Kyle, and sister, Laura, the 42-year-old comedian was faced with the hard decision of letting Duck go to the Rainbow Bridge aka Dog Heaven.

“The doctor came … I held him close and told him how loved he was, and thanked him for giving me such happiness and for his unwavering companionship and love,” she said.

The vet administered euthanized her beloved “Duck” and let him enter eternal sleep. Silverman, who wrote a comical song for her pooch, held the dog she loved for over a decade in her arms as he took his last breath.

“Then finally, when his body lost its heat, and I could sense the doctor thinking about the imminent rush hour traffic, I handed him over,” she wrote. 

14 years.
My longest relationship.
My only experience of maternal love.
My constant companion.
My best friend.
Duck.”

Source: Nancy Burban

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