Zoe was not only the dog of one of my best human friends, she was my dog's best friend and holds such and amazingly special part of my heart. It doesn't seem possible that she is gone. It happened too fast and she was too young, we just didn't get to have her for enough time. Those are the feelings I am left with. But then another side comes to the surface and I realize that I got the opportunity to have her in my life for about 4 of her 8 years. In that time she gave me so much love, happiness, comfort, education and of course, friendship.
One of my fondest memories of Zoe, is also my first memory of her, it is how we met. I had met her owner a little while before I met Zoe, she helped out with my training mentor. On this particular night, Zoe was going for her K-9 Good Citizenship, I was one of the "crowd". I also was helping with registration. So I came walking down a set of stairs to give her owner some forms to complete. Zoe and her owner were on a stage in a type of small amphitheater, outside the testing area. It was twilight, if not a little darker. So as I moved toward them, Zoe preceded to bark at me in a way that I thought I was going to loose my life. I still remember her owner yelling "STOP MOVING". So I did. Then we all calmed down and in the next few minutes she became the sweetest girl. From that moment on, we were friends.
Over the years, she taught me about dogs, she taught me about aggression, she taught me how to take life a little less serious and she taught me about the relationship a dog and human can have. But she did more than just teach me, she taught my dog. When I got Neville, Zoe was there to teach him how to fetch or at least go after the ball and how to go into the water... both the ocean and a pool!
Zoe and Neville have had so many adventures together, hiking, beaches, parks, and even snow. They had sleep overs and dates to all sorts of places. All the while, we humans got to just enjoy.
Zoe was also an amazing friend to me. She listened to many of my woes and licked a few tears away. She endured my singing and even pretended to enjoy my "Zo-Zo-Zo" song. She would smile at my voice and say I love you with her eyes and her whole body would wag with her tail. Her greatest joy was her tennis ball and one of my greatest joys was throwing it for her just to watch her happiness.
Today marks one week since she left this earth. The week leading up to her death was a difficult and tragic week, the cancer came in and took over very quickly. To think that just 2 weeks prior I was walking around her neighborhood with her and we had no idea she was sick. I was honored with the opportunity to be present for her passing. Though it was sad, I was happy I was there with her and especially her owner. I got to give her one last hug and one last kiss and sing my "Zo-Zo-Zo" song. Not having her here is so very sad, but I am so profoundly grateful that she was there at all.
