MEET THE PUPS WHO CALL THE DEN HOME

  • Bailey

    Bailey was surrendered to the SPCA of Brevard in September 2024 in pretty rough shape. She was anemic, suffering from a severe UTI and ear infection, had significant hair loss, and, most concerning of all, was found to be in liver failure. At only seven years old, Bailey was placed in hospice care with a prognosis of approximately six months.

    We knew exactly where she needed to be.

    Bailey officially joined The Den in January of 2025, and somewhere along the way, this little hospice dog decided she had other plans. With medical care, proper nutrition, and a whole lot of love, her liver values improved and Bailey began to thrive. She also developed quite the fan club, becoming an unofficial mascot for both The Den and the SPCA of Brevard, where she was even crowned the 2025 Purr-rom Queen. 👑

    Bailey’s story has become a beautiful example of what can happen when animal rescues work together. The SPCA gave her the medical care and second chance she desperately needed, and The Den gave her a place to spend however much time she had left.

    That original six-month prognosis is now far behind us, and our Queen is still here.

    We know that liver failure means Bailey’s future will always be uncertain, so we don’t take any of our time with her for granted. Whether we have days, months, or much longer, Bailey will spend them exactly as she should: surrounded by her pack, ridiculously spoiled, and ruling The Den like the queen she knows she is.

  • Kendra

    When Kendra arrived at Duke Dog’s Den in February of 2026 at 11½ years old, we knew we were welcoming a very special senior girl. She had already lived a life filled with love, and our job was simply to make sure the next chapter included plenty of comfort, sunshine, belly rubs, snacks, and all the attention she could possibly want.

    Not long after Kendra joined us, we discovered a large mass in her abdomen. An ultrasound suggested that her liver might be involved, but determining exactly where the mass originated would have required more extensive diagnostic testing.

    After discussing our options with her veterinarian, we made the decision not to put Kendra through additional testing. At her age, knowing exactly what the mass was wouldn’t change what mattered most to us: keeping her comfortable and giving her the best quality of life possible for however much time she had.

    And for quite a while, Kendra felt good. Her blood work looked great, her lungs were clear, and she continued being the happy, playful, wonderfully silly girl we had fallen in love with.

    As the months have passed, however, the mass has continued to grow, and we know our time with Kendra is growing short. Her veterinarian now believes we may have weeks rather than months.

    But if you ask Kenny, she has no idea there’s a clock ticking. Her agenda is much more important: a little playtime, a lot of naps, plenty of belly rubs, and maybe a snack or two... or three.

    So that’s our agenda, too.

    We’ll keep her comfortable. We’ll keep her spoiled. We’ll watch closely for the moment when the hard days begin to outweigh the good ones. And until then, we’ll do what we always do at The Den: celebrate every single good day we get with our Golden Girls.

  • Sadie

    At 15 years old, Sadie is currently the oldest pup at The Den and, without question, one of the spunkiest.

    Sweet Sadie walks through life with an adorable head tilt, the lasting result of a past bout of vestibular disease, which is a bit like vertigo for dogs. She also has a grade four heart murmur. Neither has convinced Sadie that she should slow down. Apparently, no one consulted her about getting old.

    She still greets each day with enthusiasm, determination, and plenty to say about absolutely everything. Sadie is a talker, a snuggler, and a little old lady with some very strong opinions. If she thinks something requires discussion, rest assured, the entire household will be participating.

    Sadie is a wonderful reminder that a senior dog can have medical challenges and still have an enormous amount of life left to enjoy. She fills The Den with personality, laughter, noise, and so much love.

    We don’t know how long we’ll be lucky enough to have any of our Golden Girls, but we do know this: Sadie will spend her golden years exactly where she belongs, surrounded by friends, thoroughly spoiled, endlessly snuggled, and free to tell us all exactly how she feels about it.

  • Kloey

    At 10 years old, Kloey is our resident Beagle and comes fully equipped with all the classic Beagle features: convenient hearing, a stubborn streak a mile wide, an impressive commitment to finding anything remotely edible, and a need to be glued to her person’s hip as much as possible. We have absolutely no complaints about that last one.

    Since joining The Den, Kloey and Sadie have become the very best of friends. You can usually find them doing one of two things: searching every nook and cranny for the possibility of a forgotten treat or curled up side by side enjoying a well-earned nap after all that strenuous detective work.

    On paper, Kloey has a grade IV heart murmur, hip issues, and chronic ear infections. In reality? You’d never know it by the way she launches herself on and off the bed like she’s training for the Beagle Olympics.

    And that’s one of the things we love most about Kloey’s story.

    Senior dogs are so much more than their ages, diagnoses, and medical charts. Kloey is stubborn and silly, affectionate and determined, occasionally hard of hearing when it suits her, and very serious about both snacks and snuggles.

    She’s enjoying the good life at The Den now, surrounded by her people, her best friend Sadie, and plenty of opportunities to remind us that getting older doesn’t mean you have to stop having fun.

  • Lil' Bit

    Lil’ Bit became the very first official Den Dog in March 2024 after her mom passed away and her family was unable to continue caring for her. She was 18 years old when she arrived and, although she was living with canine dementia, she was otherwise relatively healthy for a little old lady of such an impressive age.

    For the next 193 days, Lil’ Bit showed us exactly what life with a very senior dog can look like: lots of sleepless nights, plenty of potty cleanups, and a whole lot of love. Caring for her wasn’t always easy, but we would gladly do every bit of it all over again if it meant having her back.

    Lil’ Bit earned her angel wings in September 2024, just six days shy of her 19th birthday.

    She may have only been with us for 193 days, but Lil’ Bit will always hold a special place in our story. She was the little old lady who officially started The Den and helped define what we would become: a place where the oldest and most vulnerable dogs are worth the sleepless nights, the messes, the work, and every single moment we’re lucky enough to have with them.

  • Dixie Bell

    Dixie Bell joined The Den in July 2024 when housing difficulties left her family unable to continue caring for her. At approximately 12 years old, she arrived with significant arthritis and chronic UTIs, but was otherwise a happy, healthy senior girl.

    In January 2025, Dixie was diagnosed with lymphoma and began chemotherapy. Through months of treatments, vet visits, and everything that came with them, she remained her usual sweet, happy, and fun-loving self. Cancer may have been part of her story, but Dixie never let it become her whole story.

    For eight months after her diagnosis, Dixie continued enjoying life surrounded by her Den family. In September 2025, her lymphoma progressed and we knew it was time to say goodbye.

    Dixie Bell spent more than a year with us, and in that time she became an unforgettable part of The Den. She faced some very difficult days, but far more importantly, she had so many good ones. She was safe, comfortable, spoiled, and deeply loved right through the very end.

  • Meagan

    Sweet Meagan came to The Den in November 2025 after her loving mom entered hospice care. At 18 years old, her whole world had suddenly changed, and while we could never replace the person she had loved for so many years, we could make sure she felt safe, cherished, and deeply loved for every day she spent with us.

    Meagan had severe arthritis, and although her spirit was still bright, her body needed a little extra help getting around. Our supporters immediately rallied around her, and within days, a big dog stroller arrived at The Den. We lovingly named it “Meagan’s Chariot,” and it gave our little old lady a way to get out and enjoy the world without asking too much of her tired body.

    Sadly, just two weeks after joining our pack, Meagan began having multiple seizures. A trip to the veterinarian revealed what we hadn't known when she came to us: our sweet girl had a brain tumor. After she suffered another seizure at the vet’s office that day, we knew the kindest thing we could do was let her go.

    Meagan had been deeply loved for 18 years before she ever came through our doors, and we will always be grateful that we were trusted to continue that love through the final days of her life. When her world changed, she was never left to face it alone. Meagan was only a Den Dog for two weeks, but those two weeks mattered. And so did she.

    That is why The Den exists: to give senior and medically fragile dogs a soft place to land when they need one, whether we are lucky enough to love them for years, months, weeks, or only a handful of days.

    However long we have them, they are family. And when their time comes, they leave this world knowing they were loved right up to their very last moment.

  • Trixie (Monkey)

    Trixie joined The Den in April 2025 after her family learned she was diabetic and could no longer afford the insulin she needed. Unfortunately, her diabetes had gone untreated for some time, and she developed diabetic cataracts that left her vision impaired. She also arrived with a mass on her face that would later be diagnosed as bone cancer.

    Despite everything she had been through, Trixie was a happy, active, and incredibly loving 13-year-old girl. She quickly settled into life at The Den, spending her days hanging out with her “big” sisters and eagerly awaiting her favorite part of every day: mealtime.

    As her cancer progressed, our focus became keeping Trixie comfortable and surrounding her with all the love she deserved. In January 2026, we knew it was time to say goodbye.

    Trixie may have come to us because she needed medical care, but she became part of our family because that’s simply what happens at The Den. For nine months, she was safe, spoiled, loved, and home.