Farewell Zoe, we will miss you very much

Our hearts are heavy with sadness this evening as we deal with the loss of our sweet Zoe. 

Zoe had been with us for 14 wonderful and sometimes trying years.  She came to us as a rescue, despite the fact that we got her from a breeder.  Had we not taken Zoe, the breeder was planning on putting her down.  At 8 months old, Zoe had not been socialized to people or other dogs and she suffered from fear aggression.  Worse yet she’d never had a house life, so things like the ice maker, the dishwasher and even the floor scared her.  What she loved from day one though was Randy.

She bonded with him I think as soon as she saw him and was always happiest when he was around.  She certainly listened to him far better than she ever did anyone else.  Well there was one other person that Zoe adored and that was my mom.  Zoe would speed past all of us when my mom showed up at the house, she was always anxious to give her kisses and on more than one occasion she also nibbled in her excitement. 

 

Even though their relationship started off rocky, Zoe and Dakota became the best of friends.  She relied on him a lot to let her know that everything was going to be okay.  Dakota was such a easy going dog and I like to think that he rubbed off on her over the years they were together.  As time passed Zoe learned that she was always safe with us and would always be cared for and I thank Dakota for helping her see that as well.

Zoe made friends with Hayleigh and Ally.  I won’t say she enjoyed sharing her sleeping spaces with them, but she didn’t seem to mind too much either.

Zoe loved being outside with us and would find a place that she could stretch out in the sun and keep an eye on things at the same time. She was the queen of her castle for sure!

Last year with the addition of Cooper to the family, Zoe seemed to regain some of her youth.  She had a bit of spunk again and enjoyed brief play sessions with Cooper.

It is hard to imagine a life without Zoe, she has been with us for almost as long as we have lived here.  She will be forever loved and missed very much by all that were blessed to know her. 

It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them, and every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are. - Anonymous

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2015!  I hope that your holidays were joyful and full of family and friends.  We had a very nice holiday season and a very quiet start to the New Year. 
Randy is gearing up for the guest bathroom renovation (finally!)  He had talked about doing it over the winter break he had but that didn’t happen.  We did however manage to get most everything ordered.  I know at the very least he’s looking forward to demo!  Me I’m looking forward to getting rid of the blue!!

I also know that after we complete this one, he will be ready to start on our master bathroom!
In other news… today brought us the first significant snowfall of the season.  It’s also the coldest air we’ve had all winter and I’m beyond happy! To me there is a peace of mind that comes with snow, and I know not everyone else feels or shares that sentiment. 
Zoe continues to plug along, she likes the cold weather a lot, it seems to make her frisky!  I watched as she played with Cooper when we first went outside, she hops and jumps at him and he gets so excited it gives him the zoomies.   It's nice to see them playing together even if it is just for a few minutes.  At 13 she's doing pretty good!


Cooper wasn’t overly sure about the snow when he first went out.  There was a lot of snuffing and snorting going on, but it didn’t take long for him to realize that he loved it and off he went!  He’s been out several times today running around like crazy.  He will surely sleep well tonight!
Bright blessing of happiness to you all for the New Year!

This, that and the other…

Where did the summer and fall go?  I’m now ready for the snow to blanket everything so that I can stop thinking about all of it for a while. We got a brief taste of winter this past week with a little snow falling and covering things.  For me snow brings instant peace of mine, no longer do I see all that needs to be done, just a lovely clean slate waiting for dreams to be planted.

Zoe celebrated her 13th birthday in November!  She is doing really good and while she can’t get around like she could in her youth, she still tries.

Cooper continues to grow but he is still very much a gawky puppy who only knows what his feet are doing fifty percent of the time.  He doesn’t understand why Zoe doesn’t want to play with him.



For now, we are just getting ready for Christmas and spending some time with family and friends.  Maybe into the new year, we will get going on some new projects, at least I hope so!!!

Snow…My!

What do you get when your 8 month old (as of tomorrow by the way!) Great Dane sees 12” of snow?
A whole lot of laughs and pictures, that’s what!

Now Zoe’s days of this sort of enthusiasm for the snow are well behind her, she takes a more lady like approach and just watches Cooper and his antics.

Of all the pictures I took and there are hundreds of them, this one stands out as one of my favorites.

Many are tired of the snow and cold, but I’m loving it and who can blame me?  When you’ve got this much fun living with you, you can’t help but have a great time regardless of the weather.  Spring will be here soon enough, for now we are having a blast with Winter!