zoesmom
01-16-2007, 07:43 PM
January 15, 2000 -
Yesterday was my eldest's birthday. Also, it was seven years ago on Jan. 15th that I had to say good-bye to my doggy 'soulmate' KC, Zoe's big 'sister.' So Jan. 15th is a happy and a sad occasion. I can't believe it's been seven years already (nor that my firstborn is now 37!). KC was my heart and soul. And Zoe's constant antagonist. KC came from a CA shelter and had been there longer than any dog they'd ever had. (But it was a no-kill shelter, so who knows how long she'd have lived in a cage if we hadn't taken her.) When I walked the aisles, looking for just the right one, however - her sad eyes looked back at me from behind the bars & when I stopped, she got up and came over and licked my hand. She was the only dog not barking. I think she'd really given up finding a home. They told us she was five and had been dropped on their doorstep in the middle of the night. I later came to believe that she'd been much older when we got her - maybe 7 or 8.
I always liked to say that this dog represented 'the good, the bad and the ugly.' We took her home and soon discovered there was a dark side to dear KC. She wouldn't let any of us touch her or pet her and she was very nasty/aggressive if we tried. After two weeks, I suggested maybe we ought to return her and pick another. My two youngest kids would have no part of it. So she stayed. I gradually won her over with love, but she never warmed to anyone else but me and the two younger kids (all four of the kids were teenagers when we got her.) She tolerated the older two kids & hubby, and a handful of other friends & family, but we could never trust her around strangers, or little children, or even most other dogs. OK, that's the ugly.
Now the bad . . . .when our son brought little Zoe home for an interview w/KC - to see if she would let her stay, KC wanted no part of that either. But gentle Zoe won out and the two developed a love-hate relationship. The hate was all on KC's side, because Zoe loved everybody and everything. Zoe was not allowed to touch any of the dog toys, but as she grew and surpassed KC in size, her winning ways took over. She'd sneak a toy away and then prance thru the circle path in the house carrying the toy, teasing KC, wagging her tail, and looking back over her shoulder to make sure KC was following her - KC always was, but by then knew better than to attempt anything rash if I was around. But you could see how frustrated she was with this new pup who'd come into our lives. Mostly, she still managed to hoard all the toys from Zoe. Hence the younger one - to this day - doesn't care about dog toys.
The good - this was the smartest dog I ever owned. I once counted her 'vocabulary' and she understood well over 100 words. And the funniest. She made me laugh every single day with her shenanigans. Obsessed with frisbees. Played volleyball, hitting the ball back to me in the pool - over my head usually. She loved Xmas - always knew where her toys were hidden, and come Xmas morn, she opened every one by herself - and then opened Zoe's for her, too. Her favorite spot - lying under the tree. The vet called her a chesapeake bay retriever mix, but we don't know. She definitely had some herding dog in her, as she would herd us AND Zoe whenever possible. Zoe was afraid of the pool, and if she got too close to the edge, KC would herd her over to the back door, away from the water.
She never liked Hubby, and even nipped him once or twice when he was playing roughhouse with kid #4. She was just being protective and didn't understand it was a game. But when hubby flew home on a red-eye one one night and went straight to bed to sleep, she laid down next to him and stayed there for hours - until he woke up.
Well, that's just a small part of why I loved this special girl so much. She finally got so she could barely walk from arthritis and we were never allowed to help lift any part of her body. So when she couldn't get in and out of the house, that was when it ended. :( I can still cry over her to this day, I miss her so much. She'd clearly been abused. She never trusted one single man, except for my son, who has always had a special way with dogs. Her tail looked to have been lopped off. You could never touch her paws, ever. But the five & a half years we had with her were the best ever. Even Zoe still misses her. I sometimes ask her if she remembers KC, and she gets that forlorn, far-away look in her eye, & you know she's thinking of her. Zoe laid at the low front window sill for weeks, looking for KC to come home, but of course, she never did.
I know only you great dog-people here will understand what I'm feeling. Even my birthday girl yesterday doesn't get it. I was telling her about Zoe's latest medicine & how it's affected her, and she said, "Well, this is going to sound cruel, but why don't you just put her out of her misery." I just don't know how she could say that. (Then I thought, well at least my other 3 kids would understand. And you guys here.)
So someday, I'm going to dig out my two favorite pictures of my KC and post them here. Zoe & I miss her so much. (Sorry I can't make anything short!) Sue
Yesterday was my eldest's birthday. Also, it was seven years ago on Jan. 15th that I had to say good-bye to my doggy 'soulmate' KC, Zoe's big 'sister.' So Jan. 15th is a happy and a sad occasion. I can't believe it's been seven years already (nor that my firstborn is now 37!). KC was my heart and soul. And Zoe's constant antagonist. KC came from a CA shelter and had been there longer than any dog they'd ever had. (But it was a no-kill shelter, so who knows how long she'd have lived in a cage if we hadn't taken her.) When I walked the aisles, looking for just the right one, however - her sad eyes looked back at me from behind the bars & when I stopped, she got up and came over and licked my hand. She was the only dog not barking. I think she'd really given up finding a home. They told us she was five and had been dropped on their doorstep in the middle of the night. I later came to believe that she'd been much older when we got her - maybe 7 or 8.
I always liked to say that this dog represented 'the good, the bad and the ugly.' We took her home and soon discovered there was a dark side to dear KC. She wouldn't let any of us touch her or pet her and she was very nasty/aggressive if we tried. After two weeks, I suggested maybe we ought to return her and pick another. My two youngest kids would have no part of it. So she stayed. I gradually won her over with love, but she never warmed to anyone else but me and the two younger kids (all four of the kids were teenagers when we got her.) She tolerated the older two kids & hubby, and a handful of other friends & family, but we could never trust her around strangers, or little children, or even most other dogs. OK, that's the ugly.
Now the bad . . . .when our son brought little Zoe home for an interview w/KC - to see if she would let her stay, KC wanted no part of that either. But gentle Zoe won out and the two developed a love-hate relationship. The hate was all on KC's side, because Zoe loved everybody and everything. Zoe was not allowed to touch any of the dog toys, but as she grew and surpassed KC in size, her winning ways took over. She'd sneak a toy away and then prance thru the circle path in the house carrying the toy, teasing KC, wagging her tail, and looking back over her shoulder to make sure KC was following her - KC always was, but by then knew better than to attempt anything rash if I was around. But you could see how frustrated she was with this new pup who'd come into our lives. Mostly, she still managed to hoard all the toys from Zoe. Hence the younger one - to this day - doesn't care about dog toys.
The good - this was the smartest dog I ever owned. I once counted her 'vocabulary' and she understood well over 100 words. And the funniest. She made me laugh every single day with her shenanigans. Obsessed with frisbees. Played volleyball, hitting the ball back to me in the pool - over my head usually. She loved Xmas - always knew where her toys were hidden, and come Xmas morn, she opened every one by herself - and then opened Zoe's for her, too. Her favorite spot - lying under the tree. The vet called her a chesapeake bay retriever mix, but we don't know. She definitely had some herding dog in her, as she would herd us AND Zoe whenever possible. Zoe was afraid of the pool, and if she got too close to the edge, KC would herd her over to the back door, away from the water.
She never liked Hubby, and even nipped him once or twice when he was playing roughhouse with kid #4. She was just being protective and didn't understand it was a game. But when hubby flew home on a red-eye one one night and went straight to bed to sleep, she laid down next to him and stayed there for hours - until he woke up.
Well, that's just a small part of why I loved this special girl so much. She finally got so she could barely walk from arthritis and we were never allowed to help lift any part of her body. So when she couldn't get in and out of the house, that was when it ended. :( I can still cry over her to this day, I miss her so much. She'd clearly been abused. She never trusted one single man, except for my son, who has always had a special way with dogs. Her tail looked to have been lopped off. You could never touch her paws, ever. But the five & a half years we had with her were the best ever. Even Zoe still misses her. I sometimes ask her if she remembers KC, and she gets that forlorn, far-away look in her eye, & you know she's thinking of her. Zoe laid at the low front window sill for weeks, looking for KC to come home, but of course, she never did.
I know only you great dog-people here will understand what I'm feeling. Even my birthday girl yesterday doesn't get it. I was telling her about Zoe's latest medicine & how it's affected her, and she said, "Well, this is going to sound cruel, but why don't you just put her out of her misery." I just don't know how she could say that. (Then I thought, well at least my other 3 kids would understand. And you guys here.)
So someday, I'm going to dig out my two favorite pictures of my KC and post them here. Zoe & I miss her so much. (Sorry I can't make anything short!) Sue