Thankful Thursday- man's best friend

Yesterday marked a week since my Zoe passed away. She was such a sweet, cuddly, kid-friendly, lovable dog and her life was cut so short. Back in March she wasn't acting like herself  so I took her to the vet. For the next month we tried several different medications before moving to blood work and then a referral to a specialty vet who diagnosed her with lung cancer. By the time I took her to this doc, I had a feeling it was cancer, but that did not make the news any easier to swallow. Particularly because the news came with the prediction of a "couple weeks to a couple months" to live. She passed just over three weeks later. 

I don't want to focus too much on this because it's the hard part. I want to focus on the joy my sweet girl brought to our family. I remember when we first got her- only a few weeks after we married- and brought her home to our one-bedroom apartment. She did not like her crate at first and would whine so loud I was afraid we'd get kicked out. We forged ahead with the crate training but after a few nights I started laying by her crate until she calmed down. Funny thing is that's how I spent one of our last nights with her- uncomfortably curled on the floor next to her already dreading how much I would miss her. Anyway this did help her sleep initially and I gradually backed into the bedroom but she would eventually wake up and cry for a companion. Once we moved her into our room, all was well. She was not the best potty-trainer until she realized how to communicate her need to go outside then she wouldn't go in the house for nothing; Daniel and I even laughed as we told Will the story of how she took a #2 in the middle of our living room carpet before we officially owned the house. Things that tried our patience back then, but are sweet memories now. Funny how that works, isn't it?

when she was a puppy, it was not uncommon for her crawl
right on top of me and curl up next to my face

her last week

Zoe loved playing ball and was quite the retriever-- every once in awhile Keenan would get to it first and she would stay on his heels 'til he dropped it (b/c he always would) and bring it the rest of the way. She'd even place the ball in my hands if I asked her too. She could catch 'em mid-air and as a result tore a ligament in her right, rear leg when she was only one or two years old. She loved chewing on bones and any manner of treats, especially ones from the table, and quickly learned that Will was a great source for scraps once he got old enough and eyed his highchair like a hawk. ZoZo loved a good chew toy and would tear all the stuffing out just to get to that squeaker. She whined for like a week when we brought Will home from the hospital but was always very affectionate of him, letting him crawl all over her. She wagged her tail with such excitement that her whole butt shook- I loved that. ZoZo girl loved curling up with me on the couch and even got to share our bed on occasion, but sure thought she was the only "person" in it and dominated all the space. She was always searching out a "comf" spot-- I'm pretty sure Zoe thought she was a human princess. I don't think she- or Keenan for that matter- was a fan of being moved from her deluxe penthouse with nearness to mommy to the living room, but once we replaced the carpet, it had to be done.

not sure what to think of this new person in the house

taking all mommy & daddy's attention

yea, that's a chewed up ball between her paws :)

I will miss my Zoe ZoZo. I cried almost the entire time I wrote this post- I thought a week would be enough, but the tears came against my will. Yes, I do and will miss her but I am thankful for the years I had with her and the love and loyalty she brought to our family. She was my best good girl as I called her and I doubt another dog will touch my heart the way she did.