It has been a tough week. My good friend, and protector, and big member of this family, is with us no longer. It was hard to say goodbye already to him, as we only had him for 5 years to begin with. I still remember the day we went to go pick him up.
I was so excited! I was getting another training partner! We had to say goodbye to Buddy 6 months prior to this, and I was not sure I was ready for another dog! I was really attached to Buddy, and did not know if I could care for another dog like that again. They become part of the family, and they are like another one of my kids. But it was time to decide. and Zeus was a great choice.
Zeus was changing fast, and growing big, fast! But he was always ready to go for a run or a walk.
I now had 2 great training partners, always ready to go!
When Zeus had to have a ligament in his leg surgically fixed, he could no longer run. We were able to keep walking though, and he loved that more! We always got to spend time together. Many times he would go in the morning with Sarah, and the evening with me. But no matter what, he was always ready to go! Zeus was always a great protector, and I never had to worry about Sarah out for a walk as long as he was with her. Maybe he was even a little too protective…nobody was coming near us when we went. He would have nothing to do with it. At night, he would be by our bedroom door, or the front door to sleep, and would make his rounds during the night checking the house, making sure everything was safe. He was always on the alert.
Of course, we would always have those time where we would just sit, and relax. I would talk about the day, and he would just listen. He was always there for me/us.
Zeus and I would watch the Vikings together. Of course, when they played crappy, like last week, it was a good time to take a nap. We just hung out and relaxed. Like I said, it was like hanging out with one of my kids. When the kids were gone from the house, he was one of the kids! It got tough this last week. He had been limping for 2 weeks, and it gradually kept getting worse. Earlier this week he no longer wanted to walk. Even when we would take him outside to go to the bathroom, he would just lay down in the driveway, and not move. I had come home over the noon hour on Wednesday this past week because I did not feel good. I went to go lay down, and we managed to go into the bedroom with me, so I moved his bed by the window.
He was still going to protect me, even though he felt much worse than I did. We took him to the vet Thursday morning, and got the news we did not want to get. He had spondylolysis…severe, and it was compressing on his spinal cord. It was only going to progress. There was nothing we could do anymore. Even though the decision was hard to have to put him down, it was easy knowing we were doing the right thing. For as much as we cared for him, and loved him, and wanted to have him with us yet, we could not stand watching him hurt anymore. We said our goodbyes…and that was it. He was gone. He was not coming home with us. We were not going to see him again. Gone physically, but forever in our hearts. Zeus had a unique personality like no other dog we have had. We had 5 years. 5 good years! I would not trade any of it. He was a member of this family. I found out I could care for another dog again. Each one has been different, but all important regardless. So we made another decision again, with our other kids.
Meet Dakota! This is our new family member. An 8 week old female Golden Retriever! This was much faster than when we got Zeus. We are a dog family. They are important members of our family, and always have been. It did not take long for her to capture our heart already! I have another training partner…and child at home!
There is absolutely no way Dakota is going to replace Zeus. Zeus was Zeus, just like Buddy was Buddy. But she is definitely helping to mend a broken heart, and I am ready to start a new chapter in our family. As much as it hurts when we lose one of them, the time we spend with them is too good to not have them be a part of the family. I/We are ready for the Dakota chapter in our lives. Let the good times roll! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day of New Streak: #189
