Year 2010 Tributes

For pet names beginning with "Z".

Dearest Zab,

When you came into our lives we couldn't have imagined the depth of love you brought with you. You were the antithesis to all the Rottweiler negativity. You were a loving, loyal, trusting gentle giant, but above all, you were kind. You loved children and were kind to other animals. You loved us fiercely.

Letting you go was one of the toughest and most painful decisions we ever had to make, but we want you to know that our love for you was so great, that we'd rather part with you than see you die slowly and painfully as each day went by. You did not deserve it nor would we allow it. Not once in all the years we shared together did you get angry..not even when you were in pain. You were exceptional and you made your breed proud.

Thank you for all the joy and love you brought into our lives. You will never, ever be forgotten and will forever live in our hearts.

Your loving parents,

Richard and Juana

The following is a tribute to my beloved cat named Zeke. This is also to hopefully serve as an informational narrative taken from Zeke's unusual complications to a thyroid condition. Hyper active thyroid condition has been growing in greater percentages amongst cats ten years and older, over the last few decades. A very treatable disease with hopes that this testimony can shed light of Zeke's particular trials and tribulations from the condition. This is how the condition created a special bond between Zeke and myself.

Zeke came to my bachelorhood six years ago in the summer of 04', from a friend who loved him dearly, but could no longer be his care provider. A handsome American Tabby indeed, and the alpha male personality to boot. I was honored to be of his new servitude, his king of the jungle, although he never really carried himself in that sort of conventional, cat like way. Definitely territorial, and still unknowledgeable of his own undetermined limits. Most of all, if you took good care of him, his love would take good care of you. There are probably too many memories to tell in one writing, and to tell only an important few, wouldn't be enough to know where to stop. I loved my buddy whom I gave so many pet names. With each goofy name, how ever spontaneous, he was always of the responding kind, there to be found. His story was of all those things great and small like so many of our pets that carry a special place in our hearts, but his health was a never ending challenge within the odds of percentages. This is his story and the following is how it went.

Besides the growing howls in the middle of the night and parading up and down the apartment halls, he would pull out clumps of hair from his body and swallow them whole. He would do this right before a persons very eyes, leaving bare patches of skin in a half dozen places on the side of his body. This started in the Spring of 2005, and it was time to take him in and get to the bottom of his unusual behavior. His white blood count was redlining out of bounds. He had come down with a hyperactive thyroid condition in which there are 3 types of cure. The most expensive is to have the thyroid tumor surgically removed. This would cost anywhere from $3,000.00 - $5,000.00 dollars and of a greater risk factor. The second option being that of an iodine radiation therapy where he would go through a quarantined form of cat chemotherapy costing around $1,500.00. This would take place during a 3 week period at a clinic set up to provide the treatment. The 3rd most common and least expensive solution is a daily pill for the rest of his life called "Methimazole". Well like most cat owners, we decided to go with the 3rd option, the daily pill. Zeke gave me his approval, anything to provide relief would be fine with him. Besides if it were to go untreated, he could have a heart attack and the condition makes them feel like their having an accelerated head trip. Within that 1st week and a half of administering the pills he declined worse than when we started. He stopped eating altogether, drank lots of water, and then would throw everything up. He had the worse time getting the pills down, and trying to get them flowing in his body was essential to the treatment. Administering pills in cats is tricky, but by trying several methods advised by the Vet, we were able to do so with fair success. It just kept getting worse. He dropped from a below average of 10 pounds to a shocking 8 pounds all within that 1st week and a half. A few short weeks later on a saturday morning in April of 05', we went back to the Vet. His loss in weight was getting crucial. His spirit was broken down to crouching in a back room, staring weary at a blank wall, motionless. The Vet was dismayed at the rapid loss of weight and how worse he had become in such a short time. He ran more tests for other possible problems, and told me to cut the pills in half doses till the test results came in the following tuesday. He said it was possible that my Zeker might fall inside 15% of the cats with this condition that become allergic to the pills alone. That same saturday when I brought him home, by that afternoon Zeke was laying on his side in the back room with his eyes in a fixed squinting gaze and his tongue hanging out. I thought, what if he might die? What is wrong with my cat? In a sort of panic, I called my Mother and Sister who both mentioned getting a dropper and administering a combination of water and/or milk to try and see if anything could help his fading consciousness. I first made the decision to stop giving him the pills altogether. I set everything up, laid down next to him and gave him 2 - 4 drops at a time as he took to it instantly. He lapped up every drop I would bring to his mouth. About an hour later his tongue started to stay in his mouth. I did this on and off all night till about 3 am the next morning till I fell asleep next to him on the floor. The next morning at about the noon hour, I woke to him parading around his food and water dish, his tail standing straight up above the rest of his body and vocalizing in rapid desperation for more food and water to be refilled, in those now empty dishes! Not only did he bounce back while I lay sleeping, but he consumed the rest of his food and water from the day before!! I don't cry very well, but I welled up with some serious tears of joy. My beloved friend was back with spunk and spirit! I waited in patience till tuesday rolled around. The Vet called as soon as the results came in on tuesday,
"Take your cat off the pills immediately, he is allergic to the thyroid medication." I replied with a tone of relief,
"I already did since saturday, and I did take a guess that maybe it was an allergic reaction to the pills." The Vet was relieved. The new test results that came back showed that Zeke indeed had a severe allergic reaction to the Methimazole. Zeke had a near death experience and along with the help of my Mother and Sister, we sought to see him rebound, and he did.

Now we had to come up with plan B for the on going thyroid problem. We resorted to the next best option, the quarantined cat chemotherapy or the iodine radiation treatment. This was performed by only two practitioners in the state of Minnesota, the U of M and Dr. Ralph Weichselbaum, both in Minneapolis. I can't say enough good about Dr. Ralph, but he apparently was responsible for setting up the U of M's department for this very type of treatment. So Dr. Ralph it was, and as far as others had experienced along with myself, it was a great success. Zeke came back home in June of 05', and as the good Dr. said there would be, a lot of fur was shedding for a while. Zeke was like his younger self in appearance and become incredibly devoted to me. He knew, together we saved his life. He was truly becoming the quintessential bachelors cat, of cats. Zeke maintained such a dynamic up beat spirit after toughing out a near death situation as if nothing ever happened. He had a particular way of conveying he was well aware of what he went through. For the first few weeks after coming home, he would not leave my lap as I had to pick him up off my lap before standing up out of a sitting position. He would also jump on my lap at every chance he could whenever I sat down. Then he would purr and look up at me from my lap while I watched TV, or sat at my computer, as if he were saying,
"Thanks for helping to save my life." He would literally gaze at me in admiration, like when a dog gazes at it's owner in loyalty. And when I would pet the back of his head when he did this lap stare, he would wrap his front arms around my leg by my knee and head butt his face all around my knee, literally hugging my leg. He seemed to be saying,
"I'm happy to be alive and here with you." A special bond was developing between the two of us from those moments on. Eventually the head butting part of the lap routine diminished and he became more of a regular lap cat.

For the next four years till the fall of 2009, he continued to show his devotion following me everywhere I went, when I was home. He would sprawl out across my chest when I laid on my back for a nap and curl up next to me at night, purring himself to sleep. In waking hours, he would lay in my guitar case and watch me play music, wearing that admiral gaze. He would beg for table food when I ate , and when he understood my food wasn't made for him, he would go over to his dish and eat like as if we were eating together. Daily he would lay down on the bathroom rug while I showered and prepared for the day as his eyes followed me around the bathroom. On two occasions he brawled with outdoor cats on the other side of the kitchen window screen. We lived in a garden level apartment, where I worked off all the rent as a Caretaker. On one of those occasions Zeke busted through the screen, although not enough to get through to the cat fighting back on the other side. In a flurry of commotion I quickly pulled him down from the window and closed it shut. In a split second he jumped back up and started batting both his front paws against the window pane thappity, thappity, thap, thap, etc.......for a short while after the cat on the other side had disappeared. He had accidentally scratched me pretty good across my arm when the commotion was over. I could not be angry at him as I understood the nature of his beast. I knew Zeke was a one person cat, but I knew from there on in, there would be no other cats living in his world and I dare not try. That night in bed, he jumped up and started quietly licking the scratch on my forearm. As if to acknowledge,
"Sorry, it was unintentional, here I'll lick your wound for ya." I was awe struck by his gentle way of making amends. Then he cleaned himself, curled up by my neck and went off into sound slumbers. Most of all, without fail he was there to greet me nearly every time I were to come through the door, even if it was just a quick trip to relocate the sprinkler. It was an unusual, and unique devotion. Otherwise before he was a normal take it as it comes on my own time kind of cat. This was his way of showing his gratitude to the human. It was almost like when a dogs devotion is almost human like in nature to his best friend. I had been with cats that came to you when they were ready, on their time. Cats that would resist being petted, till they wanted it. I loved them all in different ways. But with Zeke, it went beyond inner actions of personality. It was very personal, it was about life and death, and understanding the depth it took him to fight for his life. Then to have the animal turn to the human and convey such gratitude almost everyday since his tragedy was narrowly averted? Pretty cool stuff.

Fast forward four years to the end of the summer in 2009. New life changes caused Zeke and I to move from the garden level apartment, into a house we started renting in South Minneapolis. Zeke seemed really happy to have all this new space above ground with all kinds of window sills to hang out on. He seemed to gather a new found energy with the sun beaming through the house during the day. As we settled in to our new home, October 2009, I started to notice him getting thin again. By the 1st week of November, the bare patches were showing up on the side of his body again. He started throwing up his food again, along with the clumps of hair. I needed to know, what are the odds? What are the percentages? The thyroid problem? Again?! Well as favorable odds would have it, 95% of the cats that have the iodine radiation therapy celebrate a once in a lifetime success rate of treatment. So not only did Zeke fall into the 15% that get a severe allergic reaction to the common (pill) form of treatment, but he also fell into the yet lower 5% that experience the condition reoccurring later on in his life after the chemo treatment. The damned condition came back! Zeke happened to fall inside that 5%. And again with the help of the good Dr. Ralph, there would be no harm in a second treatment, at a cost of only a few hundred for reoccurring patients. I was so grateful, to Dr. Ralph, for that. After a few weeks in quarantine and recieving the treatment for the 2nd time, Zeke came home by the end of that November. He had improved, but didn't seem to bounce back so fast like in 05'. As we made our way into winter, every so often I would wake up in the night with him howling like a dog, walking around the house in the dark. By April of 2010', he was howling and meowing for minutes and sometimes an hour or so non stop, eating less and drinking a lot of water. We went to the Vet, ran tests, and only found the very early stages of kidney disease, but nothing else. He did not take well to the new kidney diet at all. All that summer I did everything possible, every trick in the book and he not only refused the new diet, he would refuse his favorite foods and even treats at times. By the end of summer 2010, he was eating small amounts of every kind of cat and human food imaginable, but not any normal amount at one time. Again we had to move by the end of September 2010. This time we moved into a big second floor 1 bedroom apartment. He was getting way too thin.

So as Zeke and I entered a new home once again, he seemed to do a complete turnaround the very 1st week or so. He ate regular portions of food, he started to stick by my every move again, and he started to do that admiral gaze. Maybe he had allergies from living in that house, something in the air over there, might that have been the problem? Unfortunately my hopes of him getting better were dashed. By mid October 2010 it all came to a halt very fast! He begged for food, I served it, and he would just walk away. He even started drinking very little water with his litter box not really needing to be tended to. Most of all his spirit was broken, It was a noticeable difference that he was depressed. Then I noticed him struggling with his favorite treats, trying so hard to chew these soft tasty morsels and spitting them out, trying a different morsel and spitting that out too. He drooled as he kept trying to get the treats down his throat and would get gag reflexes trying. I crumbled the treats in my fingers and made a little pile on a napkin and he was finally able to get them down that way. The 1st time I discovered this sudden drop of all common routines, I brought him to the Vet as soon as I could. The thyroid problem was in his neck, not down his throat, what could possibly be wrong with my Zeker, this time?

If you take three forces of evil, competing in a race to try and take my Zeker away? You have the 1st thyroid event with the allergic reaction mishap falling behind and disappearing out of the race. Then you have the 2nd reoccurring thyroid event starting to gain momentum but falling behind to the 3rd demon culprit. Well surprise, surprise, the third force of evil was a tumor in his throat. It was coming around the back stretch, and coming in fast. This tumor in his throat not only took the race, but spread to his mouth and would finally be the evil force to take his life. I was stunned by this unforeseen menace that had no forgiving boundaries of easing up on my Zekes health issues.

Zeke and I partied one last weekend after that friday visit to the Vet. For the duration of that weekend the Vet gave me three shots of anti inflammatory medication, (taken orally) to bring down the swelling of the tumor, and a can of this special appetizing canned food mixed with water. We would be coming back for the last time the following Monday, and all the while, Zeke thinks this was just another visit to those other humans in the white coats that make him feel better when he is sick. And on Monday he will think the same thing as the other day when we were just here. What a sad but necessary lie, and my one and only betrayal of his trust in me, and without him ever knowing it. He will understand in the after life it was a betrayal out of love, for him not to suffer, anymore. The anti inflammatory shots were magic, bringing the swelling down enough so he could eat, drink and be comfortable. He lapped up a quart and a half of milk over the weekend. I had to go back to the Vet saturday morning to get more of the appetizing canned food before they closed for the rest of the weekend. He stretched and sprawled out on the bed for the first time in months. And even by sunday he was cleaning and grooming himself all the while purring. I laid with him all weekend and kept a space heater blowing by the bed. He kept looking at me as to why with all this special treatment? I talked to him while he slept and told him over again how much I loved him. When I started to well up in tears, I would leave his presence so he would not be able know of my heartache, so he would not feel like he had something to do with my hurt and start feeling bad himself. At one point on saturday night he even gave me a look like, what is going on, like he knew this spoiling was too good to be true. I hardly slept the whole weekend, and I still wanted the weekend to never end. Monday came too fast, and the appointment with the Vet was at 1:40 p.m. This kind of thing is not even remotely easy, let alone ever knowing how to truly prepare for it.

My good friend Peggy wanted to be there with Zeke and I on that rainy Monday, October 25th, 2010. Peggy, her husband Matt and their daughter Daisy loved Zeke, and took loving care of him when I went on vacation. Peggy called Zeke her kitty boyfriend, and one time Daisy had become heartbroken when I had arrived to bring Zeke home after a vacation. Daisy really loved Zeke. So did many he came into contact with. He just had that approachable charm like so many contented pets do. I can't tell you how many hugs I gave him from other people. I was thinking about seeking one more weeks supply of anti inflammatory medication, so maybe a few more who loved him could say a final goodbye, but Zeke made the decision for us. The trip to the vet that day was too much for his strength to bear and he slipped into a rapid decline from that short trip alone. He was fighting it, and I could tell, but he was too weak at the same time. He gave the Vet a little resistance just before the dose went in, and I petted and scratched him while it happened. I spoke reassuring words as he faded quickly and quietly away, assuring him that everything was going to be okay. I didn't really know if there is even a suitable way to say goodbye for this kind of thing. It is not good to let the animal see that you are upset, we don't want them to leave this life feeling bad. By no means would I want that on my mind as his last thoughts. I tell you, I wept along with the rain outside that day. I learned another thing too, that my Zeke taught me to truly cry, to really cry a good cry, a real heart felt rain storm. And I will always be grateful to Peggy for standing up to that situation with me. Her support that day was countless in measure and terribly sad for her too.

This has been my story about Zeke, he who wouldn't give up the fight inside his big heart. Like if he were reincarnated in the afterlife and would become a fearless soaring hawk scaling down a mountain side at accelerated free falling speed, then with one ferocious swoop, shooting back up to the sky just barely missing the ground. Or perhaps in the kingdom of God, where he might be chosen as one of the gate keepers at the entrance of the Rainbow Bridge, to welcome and comfort the newcomers as they enter the kingdom of this animal heaven. Just because he had learned to be a fighter of life on the other side and earned that position. What ever one might believe, I just don't feel his incredible spirit up and disappeared. And in the afterlife he is going to be in absolute telepathic transmission with me as his human counterpart when I come to pass. And then we will find out what we were trying to say, like back when we did not always understand what was going on in each others minds. Like back then before the afterlife, when we took care of each other and made each other happy when we needed to be. Like now and beyond infinity, his love is always, and always will be. Timeless and unending.

Today, our Ziggy passed away. He was 12 1/2 years old. There was little warning, though we knew he had grown tired. I was with him until the end and felt so helpless because I did not expect to lose him, so suddenly. He could not seem to catch his breath, but finally, I calmed down because I knew that I could not help you. I knew that you would need to make this journey alone. Still I knew that you would be ok because you were going to be healthy and whole again as you were as a young puppy. You were our first pet and we will love you always. You were and will always be "Original Ziggy." You will live in our hearts forever. We will meet again, but until then, we will never forget you.

My Brown Furry Friend

I whisked him home on a cold moonlit night
Swift as a horse drawn chariot
Filled with emotional delight
We flew down the highway
like a comet through the sky

Hoping he would like where his brown furry body
where eventually lie
The days, the months, and the years passed by
Most with happiness and some with a cry

He had a second home to my dismay
It was the route 516 Animal hospital
Where he likes to go and sometimes stay
He liked the doctors and the staff especially Rene
Who said "How's our boy" and then a laugh

He enriched my solitude life like no other friend
but in the back of my cob webbed mind I know this will eventually end
As fate would have it, in the month of May
We had to take my brown furry friend to his final lay

As he slipped into the abyss late that night
He went without a struggle, he went without a fight
Now that this wonderful experience has come full circle and to an end
It's so hard to picture my life without my brown furry friend


This poem is dedicated to a great companion and the talented and caring staff at the Route 516 Animal Hospital who just enhanced this wonderful life experience. Thank you.

Ziggy was given to me and my daughters in 2002, (she was 6 or 7 years old at the time) as I already had another dog, Lulu, and I thought that Ziggy would be great company for Lulu. I was right. Ziggy and Lulu were best friends - always together until it was time for Ziggy to pass on 22.02.10. Having to make the decision to put Ziggy down was heartbreaking, and when she was gone, the pain was unbelievable. Ziggy was the sweetest and most loyal dog - I miss her everyday. Lulu misses her too, which makes it even harder to bear. I wish I could give Ziggy just one more cuddle, and tell her one more time how much I love her. I hope she knows how much she was loved by everyone, and how hard it was for us to let her go.
RIP Ziggy.
We will always love you
We will always miss you
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zippy,

You were the best fur-baby we could ever ask for. You were kind, gentle and didn't have a mean bone in your body. We know you are with your brothers and sisters across the Rainbow Bridge. We love you and will miss you until we are together again.

Love,
Mommy, Chris, Sparky, Pixie and Binti

From the moment I first held this tiny white ball of fur Zoe was mine. She was always my girl. Her little ears had not even become erect yet and her little legs were so short that she had to hop over blades of grass. But even then she had a strong spirit and brave heart. I love her so very much and I feel her loss physically, like an empty spot in my chest.

Zoe was incredibly beautiful. More often than not when Zoe and I would take our walks someone would stop to tell me how beautiful she was or ask her breed. But Zoe was so much more than that. She was my loyal, loving companion. Her heart was so very brave and strong. She was fearless. I called her my Miracle Dog because when she was 6 months old she had open-heart surgery. She came through like the champion that she was and from that point forward, until she was a Senior she never had a sick day in her life.

She did not like everyone - she was particular about where she bestowed her favors. And as she grew older she would only be held and petted by me. I will never ever forget her "Eskie Kisses," a paw on each of my shoulders and kisses all over my face. She never tired of giving kisses. Zoe was by my side as I lost my job, moved across the country, went through a difficult divorce and came through to the other side. My one constant for 16 years was her. I've held her in my arms and promised to love her, to protect her, to keep her safe. I kept my promise and she did the same for me. I held her in my arms as a puppy and I held her as she peacefully and lovingly crossed over.

My Zoe, my dearest Zoe, run and play a chase your squirrels across the bridge and wait for me. I will hold you in my arms again some day.

Shed no tears of sorrow
for I am not gone.
Believe in your heart I will be there.
Believe in your heart and I am there.

Zoe, you are the soft white light in my life, still... The most beautiful smile, the softest most beautiful white fur, the best retriever, the most determined swimmer, most amazing athlete, most phenomenal nose for a ball, the best catcher. Such beauty, physical grace and independence of spirit. You are the dog by which all others will be measured. I live with the regret of my mistake every day. I've turned away from the people and situations that influenced my judgment that night. I'm a better person for it, but still so full of regret and so lonely for you. How could I fathom the enormous hole there would forever be in my life without you, my first dog, my one and only, beloved Zoe.

I love Knuckles now as I loved you because he was your tiny sidekick, he chose you, and he suffered horribly with me when we lost you. He still remembers your name and comforts me when I cry.

I so look forward to the time when we can all be together again, with Purl too. Until then, I trust that you're with me as I am with you, every day.

I love you and miss you, Zoe.
I'm so sorry we missed out on so much time.
God help me with my regret.

You loved like no other. We loved you too Zoey.
You taught us so much. . . forever in our hearts.
Rest in Peace sweetie!