Oh, the things one finds in boxes in the basement! My interest in genealogy was jump-started a decade ago when I realized how little my husband and his sister knew about their grandparents and great-grandparents. Their mother and father rarely talked about family history, and they wrote down even less. You can picture my surprise this morning when I found a stack of papers carefully paper-clipped together with old family scrapbooks: documents recording the heritage of the family dog! Sir Duke the Pride of Upton was a golden retriever, born 3 January 1959. His Sire: Tuck's Rusty of Stonegate, born 19 March 1954

• Father's Sire: Royal Tuck of Stonegate
• Father's Dam: Laddies Lassie

His Dam: Queen Caroline, born 14 November 1956

• Mother's Sire: Robin Hood
• Mother's Dam: Boot Lakes Ann

Sir Duke's American Kennel Club registration certificate along with records of his shots and vaccinations had been safely preserved for posterity. How do you spell I-R-O-N-Y?