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Best Friends: Jeff Ditzenberger
Get to know Jeff Ditzenberger and his compassionate companion
BF Jeff Ditzenberger
Jeff Ditzenberger and Luke - photo by Marissa Weiher

Jeff Ditzenberger, Argyle, talks about his best friend Luke, a 2-year-old shepherd-terrier mix. 

Ditzenberger started looking for dogs a while after he lost his previous dog at the age of 11. He stopped by the Green County Humane Society one day, not intending to adopt a dog. He saw Luke in a corner stall and took him for a walk. Ditzenberger called the next day to adopt him.

Best Friends is a weekly feature designed to highlight a local resident and their pets. To suggest someone for the series, contact Marissa Weiher, photographer, at photo@themonroetimes.com.

Describe Luke’s personality.

He likes to sleep a lot. He’s very in-tune with other people. If I’m having a bummer day he knows and he’ll lay on the hard floor with his head on my feet instead of lying on his Posturepedic bed. He’s very alert. I can’t let him off the leash because if he sees a critter he’ll be gone. Everybody loves him. He’s a very affectionate, loving dog. If more humans were like him, the world would be a better place. 


What do you and Luke like to do together?

He loves truck rides. He gets mad if I’m driving less than 30 miles an hour. He doesn’t get riled up much. We might play rough three times a week and then he’s done. He loves to go for walks. He’ll sit and watch Secret Life of Pets with me. It’s the only TV he’ll watch. We grill out together and cook together. In the fall, he rode in the combine with me quite a bit.

He also likes to stay nicely groomed and enjoys his trips to Heavenly Scent in Monroe to have his nails done and to be shampooed.

 

What has it been like having Luke in your life?

He’s been a godsend. I suffer from a lot of depression and anxiety and he knows when I’m having an off day. He helps me eat my cheese. He knows as soon as I open the cheese drawer. There’s that saying when you adopt a dog, it’s more like they adopt you and I think that’s true. He’s even got his own Facebook page: Adventures of Luke. If I’ve been gone all day, I can tell he’s mad at me and misses me because he’ll hide my socks and underwear if I leave my folded laundry out.