ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, December 25, 1995              TAG: 9512260044
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-1  EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SERIES: a look back at 1995 - whatever happened to ...
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER 

CELEBRITY DOG IS BARELY LIKE HIS OLD SELF

DUKE, THE MOST FAMOUS stray dog in Roanoke, seems to be enjoying his new home.

Duke, the hotdog-eating dog on the lam, barely resembles his old self.

For two years, he roamed a small stretch of highway in Northeast Roanoke and eluded animal control officers. One of the only habits left from those days on U.S. 460 is the left-and-right glance he gives as he walks in and out of a room - "even when he's walking through the laundry room to get into the kitchen," owner Joanne Stern said.

"He goes through a few days of doing that and then goes for weeks without doing it."

It's as if he's crossing the street, she said.

At times, he's afraid to come into the house, and he occasionally doesn't come when called, Stern said.

Stern and her husband, Hal, adopted Duke from the Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in February. Duke had become a celebrity of sorts by then.

The Roanoke Times and several television stations chronicled the life of the black-and-white dog who had been spotted dodging traffic on U.S. 460.

Back then, Duke would cower when approached, and his cholesterol was elevated from a diet too heavy on hot dogs.

Turned out the dog had been a neighborhood fixture for two years. Employees at the East Coast Oil gas station and convenience store had adopted him, dubbed him "Duke" and set out twice-daily meals - mostly hot dogs - for him.

But Duke wouldn't let anyone get close. The gas station employees couldn't get within arm's reach of him. Animal control officers tried numerous times to trap him. In January, they finally lured him into a cage baited with food.

But now, "he's doing wonderfully," Joanne Stern said.

In August, he passed the Canine Good Citizenship Training Test with honors.

He keeps company with the Sterns and their two other dogs, Shadow and Leo. Aside from occasional fights, the three get along well.

"He's always with us, always on us," Joanne Stern said. "He's a wonderful pet."

LENGTH: Medium:   51 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  File/1995.  One of Duke's only habits left from his days
          on U.S. 460 is the left-and-right glance he gives as he walks in and
          out of a room.