Friday, August 14, 2015

{This Moment} See Beautiful: Happy Old Man

Happy Friday!  It's a beautiful day here in New England (although it's going to be hotter than I'd like... I was really loving the few days of fall-ish weather we just had) and today we are participating in the See Beautiful blog hop hosted by Sugar.  Sugar recently celebrated her 14th birthday, and any dog parent knows just how special that is.

We lost Zeus in April, just one month after his 14th birthday. I am so incredibly thankful he was here and feeling good enough to celebrate, but man do I miss him every. single. day. This morning, Facebook reminded me that it was exactly one year ago today that I thought we were losing my boy. I thought his body was shutting down. It tuned out to be Vestibular Disease of Old Dogs - not something I'd wish upon any dog parent to have to go through, but certainly a huge relief when I was dwelling on the worst case scenario. 

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Zeus enjoying his 14th birthday cake!

While it was a process, very scary at times, and required a lot of nursing care on his humans part (I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat), my boy got thru the bout with Vestibular Disease and aspiration pneumonia (which he was susceptible to due to his megaesophagus) like a champ!  Zeus had a truly amazing will to live that I have not seen matched in any dog, or human for that matter.  I am so thankful for the many, many years and memories,  and the unconditional love and pure joy he gave us.... but man, do I miss my Happy Old Man (and my Baby Girl).

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Zeus loved nothing more than lounging outside, whether in the dirt or on the back deck... and I know he would have loved to spend time chilling out there his new little sister Penny, just as he did with the rest of his pack. 

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And, I know Penny would have been infatuated with her big angel brother, just as all of our foster puppies were in years past.  Which leads me right into sharing a few foster updates with you, thanks to these shots I stole borrowed off of their humans' Facebook pages.

First up is Booth... or, my little Boo-Man as I liked to call him.  Just look at that grin... I think he learned it from Zeus. 

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Zeus and Booth in 2011

Maverick was such a teeny-tiny tot when he was with us... and he still is!  His human sister shares lots of photos and I have to say, the little mini-munchkin's facial expressions are just too cute for words.

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Zeus and teeny Maverick chilling, 2011

And, just because I adore this photo (and happened upon it while looking for the shots above), here's Zeus with Belle, our former foster baby who was adopted by friends of ours.  I miss that big 'ole happy grin of his!

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Have a great weekend, and remember to make every moment count!  Fall, my absolute favorite time of year, is quickly approaching and I'm really going to miss Zeus' love of making the leave crumple...

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6 comments:

Unknown said...

Such happy faces!! I especially love the last one where he's after the leaf. :-)

www.DzDogs.com

My GBGV Life said...

So sorry about Zeus. My sister Katie is 13, and she has a myriad of issues which keep popping up. We are thankful for every day we have with her. Zeus will never be forgotten.

Marjie said...

Nice update on some of your fosters, and elegant tribute to Zeus!

Unknown said...

It must make your heart happy to know that your foster puppies have such good homes. Thanks for sharing the photos of Zeus. What a handsome boy he was!

Groovy Goldendoodles said...

a 14th birthday - that is simply A-mazing. Celebrate all week long...

Kari Neumeyer said...

Anniversaries of anything are tough after we lose our friends... I'm not sure Facebook is doing us any favors of reminding us what we were doing this time last year. Thank you for the foster updates! A good reminder how much of a difference you've made in those doggies' lives.

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