Return to Summary page
Goodbye, Zeke
Jul 21, 2008 10:16AM
- 1 comments
Last night, my mom called me to tell me she had our 13½ year old family westie, Zeke, at the emergency vet and was about to have him put down. It felt like my stomach dropped like a ton of bricks when she said those words through her tears. She said that after I had left her house yesterday afternoon that he started coughing, panting and shaking, and it came on suddenly, so she rushed him to the vet. After x-rays and an EKG, the vet said he was having severe heart failure and his lungs were rapidly filling up with fluid. His heart had enlarged and "flopped over," as my mom said the vet worded it.
I'm still in shock about it. I was at her house yesterday afternoon and he was wandering around, bright-eyed and alert. Trevor and I even gave him a couple small bites of our sandwiches. He was curled up on the couch with us when my family watched a movie together.
I just don't know what to think. I could hardly sleep last night. I know he lived a good, long life, but I never saw this coming. He seemed fairly healthy, other than his allergies and becoming a little blind and deaf in his old age. It makes it all the harder to come to grips with his loss because my family had him from the day he was born. I remember the night he was born--December 12, 1994. He was also our last westie. My mom raised, bred, and competetively showed westies from the time I was a toddler. By about 1997, she retired all her show westies and quit breeding them.
Zeke was a champion show dog and he looked and acted every bit of one til the very end. He may have been slow moving, partially blind and deaf, but he was still a beautiful dog with a thick, coarse coat and perfect configuration and posture.
But most of all, he was a family dog. Zeke never bonded with one particular person in the family; he truly loved us all the same. Anyone's lap was acceptable to be in or anyone's company was as good as another's. He was happiest when we were all together, so I'm glad he had that with us on his last day of life. I know that's what he would've wanted, and I think that's probably the reason he decided to hold on until yesterday rather than let go Saturday or today.
I'm really going to miss him. I love you, Zeke-mon.
I'm still in shock about it. I was at her house yesterday afternoon and he was wandering around, bright-eyed and alert. Trevor and I even gave him a couple small bites of our sandwiches. He was curled up on the couch with us when my family watched a movie together.
I just don't know what to think. I could hardly sleep last night. I know he lived a good, long life, but I never saw this coming. He seemed fairly healthy, other than his allergies and becoming a little blind and deaf in his old age. It makes it all the harder to come to grips with his loss because my family had him from the day he was born. I remember the night he was born--December 12, 1994. He was also our last westie. My mom raised, bred, and competetively showed westies from the time I was a toddler. By about 1997, she retired all her show westies and quit breeding them.
Zeke was a champion show dog and he looked and acted every bit of one til the very end. He may have been slow moving, partially blind and deaf, but he was still a beautiful dog with a thick, coarse coat and perfect configuration and posture.
But most of all, he was a family dog. Zeke never bonded with one particular person in the family; he truly loved us all the same. Anyone's lap was acceptable to be in or anyone's company was as good as another's. He was happiest when we were all together, so I'm glad he had that with us on his last day of life. I know that's what he would've wanted, and I think that's probably the reason he decided to hold on until yesterday rather than let go Saturday or today.
I'm really going to miss him. I love you, Zeke-mon.
I am so sorry I have been through this a few times it never gets easier, He had a great life though didnt he with you all, you will shed tears then go on to remember what a great dog he was, I have the pics of my animals engraved in my memory and think back to them a lot with happiness now.How great you put this up here for us all to see and feel for you.
Post a Comment