Monday 10 June 2013

Farewell Faithful Friend

Rest In Peace,  Zoey,  June 7, 2013  Loved and Loved
 
Zoey was a rescue, from The Catahoula Rescue.  Puppies are cute - but they are tons of work!  Rescue dogs usually have basic training, and are simply looking for their forever home.  Reasons vary, marriages split up and the dog is a burden, people get bored, financial situations change, people die - whatever the reason - there are lots of dogs that need homes.  Puppies are an easy sell - but dogs require you to open your mind and just LOVE them. 
 
Back to our Zoey...firstly, she was a pleasure to be around.  We all have our faults, and some of hers may have been more pronounced than ones in other friends (furry or otherwise) – but the reality is, she truly was a blessing in all the lives that she touched, sniffed and licked. 

Zoey was loud.  She snored, sneezed and barked loudly.  These habits, I am quite certain, had mischievous ulterior motives…to get us up and moving, to spend quality time with her, or reward her with some tasty treat.  She ate like a vacuum, and was excellent at keeping our floor clean of the crumbs that tend fall from the mouths of our babes!  She was also very effective at cleaning runny noses – a job which makes me cringe – so for that I was grateful (and, to be perfectly honest, grossed out).  She was always in a good mood, always ready to hang out, play, be a silent partner – or an active, vocal one.  She had energy to spare – and even put her kids to shame.  When I think of loyalty – I can say she exuded that valuable (and rare) trait.  She loved her friends – and her family more than we will ever know.  Zoey was patient, kind and kept us laughing.  She had enough naughty in her that time-outs occurred (just like a child!) – in which she was relegated to the outdoors, or an area of the house that kept her trouble-making ways contained.  She was a great accepter of hugs, kisses and funny poems – and took it all in stride - with just the right cocking of her head to make it seem like she could understand every word that was recited to her.  Her soulful eyes were always peaceful and warm.  It was impossible to be lonely when she was around.  And she was tough!  Even though she suffered from a disability – she was fiercely protective of the occupants of our house – whether it be human intruder or another sort – she kept us all safe.  She was our beacon of joy and safety.  Any kid that entered our house was family, and when she found them on the street again – she shepherded them in her little flock and kept them orderly, so as to not lose one. 

I despise that I am using the past tense, because, our four-legged-squirrel-chaser, passed away  on Friday night.  Funny how dogs fit so well into our lives, that you speak to them (and of them) like they are human. Zoey's death was sudden, and caused buckets of tears from our entire house, from our friends, and much sadness in our other rescue dog, Riley.  It happened so quickly, but as she was rescued and adopted into our house with love three years ago, when she left her furry, grey and black dappled body on Friday, she left it being loved all the more for what she brought to our little family.  We were lovingly petting her and whispering words of love as she passed, in her own home, in her own bed.  And when that lively spark fled those pretty brown eyes, we closed them for good so we could let her have eternal rest. 

She was a blessing – and I hope for any of you that may have  been blessed with a swat from a big paw, looking to be pet and loved – you oblige.  Because you never know when that exchange of love will be the last.  Thank you all for reading about our Zo-Zo…I believe a memory shared is a flower bloomed in a garden, somewhere.
 

I can't believe it but...we have lost a little piece of our heart...but I know we'll be okay.

Happy Memories,
 
Kathy Pettit

 

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