Mama's Broken Heart

For the first time in more than 20 years I don't have a black and white dog in my life.  Zodiac continued to not do well during the week.  He acted like he didn't feel well, spent most of his time in bed looking miserable, had increasing difficulty in getting around and mostly stopped eating.  I knew I could try to keep going, try new drugs, search for foods he would eat, but I was not optimistic that he would get any better.  And even if he returned to normal, he was already weak and painful in the hind end.  We knew it would only be a matter of time before he would not be able to get around at all anymore so we elected to let him go and not suffer any longer.  We spent a few hours petting and loving on him, fed him a bag of treats and bowl of ice cream and said our final good-byes. He gave it a good try, but in the end it was just too much and we owed it to him to just let go. 

He was the sweetest boy I ever knew.  So patient and gentle with everyone-kids, puppies, you name it. He was the easiest dog we have ever lived with, so easy to train, and willing to try anything I asked.  I wasn't sure when the rescue dropped him off if he was what I was looking for, but he ended up being just what I needed and so much more.  Everyone should be so lucky to have such a good dog in their life.  We will miss all the silly things he used to do-bark at rabbits when the vacuum came on, roll on the dirty towels, licking the TV trays as he walked by, carrying a toy in his mouth while he was herding Legend, barking at the pigs to round them up, and probably more that I can't think of.  We will even miss his naughty habit of going through the trash (which he still did), or counter surfing when he was younger.  We will miss that sweet face, fluffy coat and stunning beauty. We will miss the joy he brought to others and way he was a perfect example of how versatile a border collie could be and how wonderful rescue dogs are.  We are saddened by the emptiness this leaves in our lives but thankful for the almost 13 years we had together.  Run free baby Z...we will see you again someday. 

Zodiac CDX, MX, MXJ, NAP, NJP, OAC, NJC, TN-N, CGC

2/1/01-3/16/16