Zoey loves to sleep on the bed with me. She doesn’t always stay on the bed all night. She moves around at times, looking for a more comfortable position.
I have photos of both of them sleeping on the bed; but this one of Zoey is by far my favorite. So sweet, so innocent and trusting, so angelic. 😇 Certainly “awww worthy” for the weekly Awww Monday blog hop!
Have a great day and a great week everyone! Zen and Zoey will probably be keeping me busy with their antics both inside the house and out in the back yard all. week. long.
These two – still being in the months between puppyhood and adulthood – love their “wrastling” (hubby’s word) matches, in the house or out in the back yard. Personally, here inside the house I prefer the peace and quiet afforded by their restful moments. 🥰😉
Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! Or, Wordy Wednesday, or Whatever Wednesday.
These two pups are the loves of my current life. They complete my seconds, minutes, hours, days.
They heal the emptiness in my life since Ducky joined her brothers and sisters at the Rainbow Bridge.
They soothe the loneliness in my life created when their human Dad was freed of his dementia demons and his physical aches and pains. While it will never be completely gone, at least it doesn’t hurt as much when my Z Kids are around.
This is indeed the best Father’s Day I’ve had in a long time! 💙🩵💙
My Zoey has healed beautifully – the incision looks great and the surgical glue has dried/been absorbed/whatever it does to become invisible – so I took the surgical recovery suit off of her this morning. Now it can be washed and put away until it’s needed by another family member.
Good time for a rest
My big boy Zen is home, too! And it feels wonderful to have him here! I have my little family back together again, the way we should be.
He loves his half a tennis ball!
When we got home from visiting with their Grandpa, we all got some water and went back outside for a little bit of fetch. But 10 minutes of that hot, humid air was about all this dog mom could stand. So, we’re back inside chilling out in the air-conditioned house.
Zoey’s happy to have Zen home, too!
Tomorrow and Tuesday are Zen’s 27-Month and Zoey’s 21-Month birthdays respectively. Friday (the 14th) was their mutual monthly Gotcha Day. Where have the months gone??!
Today is Thankful Thursday so let me say that while I am truly thankful for all my blessings, the one I’m focusing on today is Zoey…
My baby girl was spayed on Monday, as I mentioned in my Awww Monday blog post, which you can read here. Thankfully, she is healing nicely.
She is still feeling a bit “off” so she spends a lot of time snuggling with her head in my lap.
And she still looks for big brother, Zen. He’s her security blanket, her source of comfort when I leave the house. She is definitely feeling his absence. I keep telling her that we’ll go get him and bring him home soon; but I can almost see in her eyes that even today wouldn’t be soon enough.
Our vet took excellent care of my baby girl from start to finish. That care even included a laser therapy treatment on the external incision site to help it heal more quickly. And healing it is; although I can’t get a good photo of it because she wriggles so much when I try to check it. So, in addition to being thankful for Zoey and how she’s healing; I am also thankful for Dr. Simpson, Dr. Barr, and all the wonderful staff members at our primary vet, Furwell Veterinary Hospital, right down the road from our house.
It’s nothing to worry about. My little girl is being spayed today, three months, two weeks, and one day before her second birthday.
My Wild Child
I have absolute, complete faith in her doctor and I know she will come through the surgery with flying colors.
And to make sure she heals completely and properly, big brother Zen will be spending these next two weeks at his Grandpa Chuck’s house. Not because he would ever do anything to harm his little sister, but because Zoey is a little instigator. And she will need to rest and stay calm for these two weeks.
My Soul Dog in Training
I will miss my big boy so much! This is the first time he’ll be away from home for more than a day since hubby was admitted to the hospital (for the last time) in July of 2022. Zen has been “there” for me through the roughest months of 2022 and beyond. He has truly been my soul dog in training – with Ducky as his spirit guide – helping me to heal, letting me cry into his furry, wavy, Golden locks, and giving me the best human-like hugs.
But while I’ll be missing him – and Zoey will, too – this will be an excellent opportunity for Zoey and I to work on our bond. She’s going to have to be calm and not take running leaps onto furniture, not run around the yard like a lunatic, not do her”acrobatic” leaps to catch her ball; and I’m sure there will be other restrictions. So, I’m going to start her with some of Ducky’s food puzzles, and some games of easy tug of war, and some easy scent work games. And hopefully start working on her confidence so we can ease her separation anxiety with some games.
Hi Everyone, Zen here! I hope you like my selfie! I love curling up in Mom’s recliner. And the end table* is a great place to rest my chin.
*Mom wanted me to tell you that she is particularly fond of this end table. Why would anyone be fond of a piece of furniture I asked her. She told me “because, my love, your sweet human Daddy built it himself out of walnut and oak that he got from his parents’ house back when we were newlyweds. And, he used the table saw that my father gave him just because.”
Well, that’s it for me today. Hope you like my selfie! Zoey was sound asleep on the floor in front of the couch. Maybe she will do the Sunday Selfie next week.
I cannot believe my little girl, my tiny fur ball who weighed about 12 pounds when I first brought her home is now almost as tall as Zen and weighs about 61 pounds! Where have these last 18 months gone??
She’s gone from this…
To this…
In 18 short, sometimes seemingly never-ending, months!
It’s been a roller-coaster ride at times with her separation anxiety and quirky habits/obsessions; but the bonds between her and Zen and between her and me are beautiful to witness. She is such a sweet, loving, playful pup that one can’t help but fall in love with her.
Happy Half-Year Birthday Zo-Zo!! Zen and I love you!!
I can’t believe my big boy, my sunshine, my leprechaun, my pot of gold, my lucky charm is suddenly two years old! 💚🐾☘️🐾
Hi Mom!
Before Bogie’s ashes even came home, I was looking forward to Zen’s arrival. I had promised Ducky that we would get her another baby brother to help her deal with Daddy’s dementia demons. Then Ducky left me, too. I was devastated. But once the shock wore off and I was left with just the reality of her absence, I knew Ducky would pick the perfect puppy for me. I just had to wait patiently. That waiting wasn’t easy in between Sam’s dementia-induced “episodes” but I managed. And suddenly, on St. Patrick’s Day 2022, on their mama’s birthday, my little furball and his nine siblings were born. I was soooo excited! And Sam was excited (when his dementia allowed him some control).
Zen and his siblings, about 2 weeks old
Oh! They were soooo cute and tiny! Baby leprechauns all! When they were three weeks old, Sam and I went to see them. I saw baby Zen, with his smudge muzzle, looking at us from under a chair and fell in love.
Look at that sweet little face
He stole my heart even then, but at just three weeks old he wasn’t ready to choose his humans yet. So we went back to see all the puppies again the following week. And I let Ducky do the choosing. I knew she would whisper in the right puppy ear. It took a little extra encouragement from Ducky because Sam’s demons were lurking in the shadows; but that little cutie I had already fallen in love with picked me. And eventually picked Sam too.
Soooo sweet!Hi DaddyOur Zen-puppy and Us
So much has happened since that day four weeks after Zen was born that I couldn’t possibly include it all here. Some of it was heartbreaking, some of it was truly frightening, a lot of it loaded with anxiety. But once Sam was in a place where I knew he would be cared for professionally and compassionately, the anxiety eased enough that I could bring Zen back home. So I did and our relationship, our bond has been growing.
Zen Hugs
We’ve had our times when my journey into widowhood has made for tense moments, but we’ve gotten through them relatively unscathed and more bonded as a result. Zen has truly been my “rock” throughout these 17+ months since Sam joined Bogie, Ducky, and our other pups at the Rainbow Bridge to wait for me.
Then, six months and one day after Zen was born, his little cousin Zoey came into this world with her own nine siblings. I knew I wanted another girl to love. And I knew raising pups of the opposite sex would be challenging. But I felt up to it and Zen needed a playmate. So, six months to the day after Sam and I brought Zen home for the first time, I brought Zoey home while my brother stayed with Zen.
Getting to Know You…🎶This photo brings back memories of Callie and Shadow at the same ages.
Zen is not just my rock; he’s also an excellent big brother.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZEN-ZEN!! ☘️☘️🎂🎉🎈 Zoey and I love you and will do all we can to make your day as special as you are! 💚💚💚💚💚
January 14, 2022 was the worst day of my life, of all our – Sam’s, Ducky’s, and my brother’s – lives. And, to be honest, the first day of the worst year of my life. It was the day my sweet Bogie got his angel wings. And it was the day that my sweet Ducky’s heart broke irreparably. That sweet, loving, adorable boy. Just thinking about how it happened still brings a flood of tears – the bitter part of my memories. All I can do is thank God for allowing Sam and me to be his human parents and Ducky to be his “big sister” for his short life.
How could you not love that face?!
I will always miss this boy. He loved snuggling with me, and I loved snuggling with him. Bogie was the reason why I decided to get another “baby brother” for Ducky as soon as I could, which leads me to the sweet part of my memories…
A few days after Bogie got his wings, I called our friend and Bogie’s “Grandpa Chuck” and told him “I want another baby brother for Ducky. I’ll send you a check tomorrow.” Even though Ducky’s broken heart earned her her own angel wings a month later, I knew she would pick the perfect puppy for us. And she did….
4-Week-Old Zen
This adorable little smudge muzzle was born on March 17, 2022 but even before then he became my sunshine boy. Sam’s dementia took nearly total control of him after Ducky got her wings; and the only thing I felt I had to smile about was knowing I would soon have another puppy to love on and be loved by. So Zen became my sunshine. When he was born, I decided his Gotcha Day would have to be on the monthly anniversary of Bogie’s passing. I needed a happy event to balance the tragic one. So Sam and I brought Zen home on May 14th.
After Ducky passed, I knew Zen would eventually need a playmate, and I wanted another girl. At first I wasn’t sure I could deal with two puppies and Sam. I kept wondering out loud if I had lost my marbles somewhere along the way. But Zen was such an easy puppy once Sam was admitted to the hospital, that I stopped wondering. Shortly after Sam was admitted to the hospital, Bogie’s mama, Bailey, was mated with his daddy’s brother so I knew the chances of getting a female version of my Bogie were pretty darn good. And the chances of her being exactly six months younger than Zen were good, too. It turned out to be six months and a day, but that’s close enough. So the second sweet part of my memories came into my life….
Baby Zoey Petunia at about 6 weeks.
Look at that foot in the water bowl! To this day, she thinks water is for more than just drinking, just like Bogie! And Zoey’s Gotcha Day became November 14th, exactly six months after Zen, and ten months after us losing her older genetic brother. And, oh my doG, does she ever remind me of Bogie! She looks just like him and she acts just like him. She is a snuggle bunny just like Bogie was; and she’s sassy with Zen like Bogie was with Ducky.
So, as bitter as the memories are of losing sweet Bogie that awful day two years ago, at least his younger cousin and sister provide me with extra sweet memories for counterbalance. And truthfully Bogie’s not gone. He’s here every day, along with Ducky and their human daddy. I just can’t see him or love on him.
in my heart 4ever 