Year
2018 Tributes
(Click HERE for Tributes
posted in other years)
For pet names beginning with "Z".
Zak, 04/2004 -
01/11/18 
Zak,
we found you under the floorboards of an Amish barn where you
were born. There was something special about you. You had such
personality, and your own mind. We had to wait a couple more
weeks to bring you home, but you came home to 50 acres where you
ran, played, investigated, swam, chased woodchucks and squirrels
and rode on the ATV for the first year of your life. We moved
you from there to a smaller place but you still had lots
of room to run and play fetch for a couple years. We moved to an
even smaller place a few years later but we made sure you
had a big yard where you could roam and play. We went for
walks, went to parks, visited Duke. You loved to go for a ride
on anything, in the back seat of the car you ran back and
forward nipping at passing cars. In the truck, you claimed the
passenger bucket seat as your own, sitting up straight, leaning
back on the seat, looking ahead and then at dad then back
ahead. You were so happy, even smiling. You
loved riding in your golf cart, so proud. You were such a
rough neck, one day you did a flip running after a squirrel. You
tore your acl while fetching a stick and hopped around for a few
months, soon you were walking, but didn't want to go on any long
walk. You still wanted to play fetch. You got sick when you were
12 and the emergency vet said kidney disease. We brought
you home to a mattress in the living room where you were put on
a saline iv for several weeks. You came back to us. We put you
on home-cooked food only, gave you herbal supplements for your
kidneys. You had your strength back, played fetch as long as we
would throw. You looked so handsome. You did very well for
almost 2 years then you gradually stopped eating again, you were
having breathing problems. We cooked everything you loved
to eat, you refused it all, you only drank water. Once you were
having a hard time walking, dad carried you in and out. Once you
refused or were unable to stand we had to make the most
difficult decision ever, you couldn't take any pain medicine, we
didn't want you to be in pain. Zak-E-boy, we miss you so much.
The house is so empty without you. We miss your quirky ways,
your howls, your herding, your shadowing, your reaction to
sneezing, and when dad mentioned your "nub." We will always love
you Zak, and we'll meet you on the other side...
Zeke, June 19,
2004 - May 23, 2018 
I miss you dearly and I don’t know if the pain will ever go away.
I long for the day when I will be reunited with you and dear
Malachi on the rainbow bridge. No one has loved me more or
unconditionally the way you and Malachi did.
I love you now and forever. You were and always will be my
best friends.
Zelda, November,
1999 - Feb. 1, 2018
Sweet, loving "Zelda Zoom", who was my anchor and 'familiar',
gently and bravely exited this world in my arms. She was 18 1/2
years old and was a steadfast friend and sister to Lizzie, our
golden retriever who died March 2016. Zelda was by her side and
wouldn't leave as Lizzie left us. She was a remarkable cat,
rescued when she was 3 after living in a feral cat colony. Zelda
loved her daily sunbaths. She never held back her opinions and
loved zooming down the hallway. Now both our girls are gone and
yet they fill the empty space with so much love. Thank you, my
beloved little Zelda.
Zoe girl,
12/22/07 - 06/11/18
To our zoe girl, you left to soon, for reasons only husky god
knows why, we loved you for 11 1/2 yrs, just doesn't seem long
enough.but there must have been a need for big strong husky up
their. hope you had an easy transition over the rainbow bridge and
mayt up with your sisters MIKA N SHILOH. THEIR THERE TO SHOW YOU
AROUND. god bless sweet zoe till we meet up again !!!
Zoey, 5/15/2002
- 6/22/2018
I found Zoey on the street when she was almost 6 months and
quickly became attached to her. She had parvo shortly after and I
nursed her back to health. She ended up being a sickly baby most
of her life but that made me love her more as she depended on me
to care for her. 3 weeks ago I made the mistake of covering her as
I squally did with blankets when she was cold and accidentally
placed her on top of a heating pad, when I noticed she was in
distress and unresponsive we rushed her to the ER and almost a
week later she was discharged and every day she got better. The
next day Friday 15th of June I took her back to her Vet as she had
a congested type of breathing coming from her nose and I was told
she didn’t seem too critical and to wait for her internist to see
her on Monday. The idiot as usual recommend diagnostics that
required her to be sedated even though they’d mentioned she was
too old to recover or even come out from anesthesia and so she was
placed on more meds besides her IBD meds and since the in-home
palliative care nurse mentioned she have a growth on her vulva
checked the internist decided to perform an aspiration to check if
it was cancerous. This was Monday June 18th. Zoey started yelping
that night and then she stopped. I called the internist the next
morning and she said Zoey probably had a histamine release
reaction but no one seemed to think or mention it was critical. I
took Zoey into the closest ER which is where they treated her for
the heat stroke a week before. They told me she was stable and to
take her back to the internist. 25 mins later she was unresponsive
as I arrived and I instead rushed her to the ER side of the
practice. She had an aggressive histamine reales and she was kept
over night. I came in that night as I did frequently when she was
hospitalized to syringe feed her because vets offices couldn’t
figure that out themselves, but I did it happily as she was my
baby. The next Wednesday she was discharged and no one mentioned
her mast cell condition was critical. Her oncology appt was still
until next week. By Thursday morning Zoey was having another
histamine release episode and I went back to the ER she’d seen the
first time. Again I’m told she’s stable even though she’s vomiting
more than her own weight, thrashing around in pain and wailing
which she never ever did. I waited, then a doc took me to the
specialty clinic across the street and injected her vulva with
chemo and said she should calm down but that she wasn’t looking
well. I asked all the questions hoping if understand how this all
happened so fast and I was told the injection should calm her
until she saw the oncologist the next day (this is a different
oncologist). We went home and I prayed she got better but at that
point realized my baby wasn’t going to get better. She had awful
episodes and by 2am we went back to the ER. She was kept and told
her prognosis was very guarded. The next morning (June 22nd 2018)
we spoke to the oncologist and she said what no one had sad
before, Zoey needed to be put to sleep. This entire time I’m dying
on the inside not understanding how a checkup for congestion led
to an aspiration that triggered this response and no one warned me
about it, no one took her seriously, no one even mentioned she
should be relieved of her suffering until then. I schedule the
in-home palliative care team to come in and help her transition
but she didn’t even make it long enough. We brought her home at
noon and she died in my arms an hour later. I was hysterical, I’m
still hysterical 2 days later. I don’t understand, I don’t
understand.
Heart.Broken.
I always knew what this day would look or feel like. I knew I’d be
inconsolable and it’s worse than that. You were supposed to be
invincible. Even though you died on my chest, you didn’t give me
time, I wasn’t ready, I’m not ready. You were and are the love of
life, my best friend...truly. You have been with me through pain
of my illness, breakups, true happiness and joy, true confusion
and disappointment and all over again. You decided to be my
heating pad when I was in pain, you licked my tears, fought with
me over your food and I loved every second of it. Every vets
office fell madly in love with all 4 lbs of you, so much so that
people came out of the woodwork volunteering to dog sit. Because
of you, I worked tirelessly to have a profession that would allow
me to always care for us, but especially for you. I’m sorry I
couldn’t save you my love, I tried but I failed you. 16 years, no
matter what anyone says it was not enough and I would give
anything to have you back. I love you, I love more than anything
in the world my baby. Thank you for letting me be your mom, thank
you for fighting, resisting, and biting me when I smothered you
with kisses and bites and cuddles but most of all, thank you for
being mine.
Zula, 3-21-2011
- 2-9-2017
Some love is too big to last just one lifetime. ♥️x Infinity,
Zula. My best friend and beloved guardian.
