In March of 2000 Matt and I were to have dinner at my parents' home in Duncan. When I arrived there was this fuzzy little puppy on the back porch scratching to come in. I wanted a dog SO BAD. I fell in love with her, I even named her- all before I knew where she came from and why she was there. My younger brother was going to take her to the animal shelter for a friend.
When Matt arrived to 2 sets of puppy dog eyes staring back at him he couldn't say no. He took one look at us on the porch playing and asked me if I had named her. I told him her name is Zoee and he said "well then I guess we're keeping her."
Zoee lived with me in my studio apartment in Oklahoma City since Matt lived in barracks on post at the time. Zoee got to see daddy on the weekends though. They were quite the pair- even early on she preferred him over me.
Zoee played a rather infamous part in our wedding that June. Let's just say that I had some beautiful custom-made ballet slippers that I was to wear with my gown on my wedding day...until Zoee decided they would make a better chew toy. I got married barefoot.
Zoee rode cross-country with Matt and I in our big move from Oklahoma to Bellingham- shotgun in my car most of the way, but occasionally she rode alongside daddy in the big moving truck.
About a year later I started getting the "baby" bug- but we were holding off on kids until Matt graduated. So we got a kitten instead. Zoee and Aja were fast friends. They rolled and played and chased each other every where.
Matt and I were pretty content with our furry little family. Until we discovered that apparently having kids was not going to wait until after he graduated. 9 months later, along comes Isaac and a big sister was born. Zoee was so great with Isaac. She would check on him all the time. She would sleep next to his carrier when he was sleeping in the carrier. If he cried she came to the rescue with me.
As he got mobile, Zoee just stayed one step ahead of him. If he pulled her tail, grabbed a fistful of fur or poked her eye she would just take it for a bit, then she would get up and walk away. When Isaac started mimicking and wanting to play tug of war with Zoee like mommy and daddy do- we were reluctant. We weren't sure how Zoee would react. When we finally decided to let him try it- she blew us away. She tugged gently on the rope until he let go on his own.
Zoee and daddy's favorite past time has always been wrestling. He would get so rough with her- but she loved it. Her tail never stopped wagging. They would growl and bark at each other and goof until Matt would finally "capture" her and bring her to me, carrying a completely docile Zoee over his shoulders and say " fire up the grill honey, it's roasted Zoee for dinner tonight!"
In October of 2003, we got ripped apart. Matt was sent for deployment to the Middle East. Isaac, Zoee, Aja and I moved into our new house just as Matt was leaving. Zoee instantly started acting out. She had serious separation anxiety and was acting out in every way she never had before. I was at my wit's end with her- I told Matt I was going to get rid of her. But I couldn't do it. I decided she just missed him and it would get better when he got home. Apparently I was right because the little monster became quite the angel when daddy came home finally in July of 2005.
While Matt was away I did adopt Aja out to another family when she made it clear that she was NOT ok with having a baby in HER house. As Isaac became more mobile, she became more hostile. Her new family had no small children. We miss her still- but we know it was for the best.
In May of 2006 our little family was joined by Max. Zoee again took this in stride, playing the big sister role. She watched over the baby, checked on him, even cuddled with him as he yanked on her fur etc.. She loved to give him kisses when we weren't looking.
In November of 2007 I packed the car and drove home to Oklahoma with the boys to help my mom, who had taken a turn for the worst. While we were gone Zoee began shedding and losing weight and acting depressed. She missed us like crazy- even though she had her daddy. As it turns out she needs all 4 of us to be okay. When we came home Zoee was her old self again almost instantly- and she seemed to have gotten over her jealousy of my relationship with "her" daddy. She would come to me, obey my commands, cuddle with me... she was finally my girl too.
Zoee's favorite spot is in the crook of my legs when I sit sideways on the couch. Her next favorite spot is on mom and dad's bed- and if the covers are up, she will shove them down and lay on the white sheets. She is infamous for barking at every little thing and for insisting that she must be walked down the street in order to relieve herself sufficiently. The fenced backyard here is larger than the entire lot our last home was built on- but that doesn't matter- she must be walked. She won't eat any store-bought dog biscuits. She will however eat all sorts of bits and crumbs left behind by infants. She cocks her ears at us when we are talking to her. She loves car rides but hates baths. She adores her groomer at City Dogs back in Bellingham. She liked to ride in the back of the boys' John Deere tractor as they drove around the alley in Lynden. She had an ongoing battle with a crow that liked to land on our fence and wait for Zoee to freak out and chase it away... over and over and over again.
Zoee loves to bask in the sunlight! She will go outside and lay in the grass in the same spot for so long that I occasionally would call her name just to get her to look up- so I know she is still alive out there. She also loves to play in the snow. As soon as she sees snow outside she is scratching and begging to go run in it. She gets it caught in big chunks in her fur, but it doesn't seem to slow her down. We can't trick her when we have to give her medicine- the little stinker can eat a mouthful of peanut butter in one bite- and we think we've succeeded, but then she'll spit the pill out- completely devoid of any peanut butter residue.
When she is mad at us she will pick up her dry dog food by the mouthful and drop it into her water bowl- making a mess that we then have to clean up. After a bath she darts out of the bathroom, shaking off and "talking" along the way. She runs loops and circles all over the house, then she finds a dry patch of carpet and rubs her ears along the ground as she walks (trying to get the water out we assume) -which is absolutely hilarious to watch. When she is wet she looks like a drowned rat. When she needs a haircut you can't tell which end is up. When she is nicely clipped she looks like a little lady. She doesn't like to be without her collar.
She also likes to wander off occasionally. Going off on little Zoee adventures, but she typically returns home before we have noticed she is gone. Someone will leave the gate open... or she'll follow us out as we get groceries and get distracted sniffing something and by the time she has sufficiently investigated we are done and back in the house. She is 9 so it has happened lots of times over the years. We get worried every time we discover her missing and she is usually back before we can get in the car to go search.
On Friday morning I let her out to go potty- as is our usual routine. It was sunny out so I expected her to stay out for a bit- but she was soon scratching to come back in. One of the boys let her in. A few minutes later she was scratching to go back out again. I told her to make up her mind as I opened the door to let her back out. At about 11:30 I got the phone call that I had so dreaded each time she wandered off before. Zoee had been hit by a car.
Several people stopped and 3 people lifted her into the back of someone's vehicle and drove her to a vet just down the road. They got my number from her tag and called. Zoee had been walking on the sidewalk down a very busy street (132nd for those of you who know our area) and she stepped off the curb in front of a van. The van did not have time to stop completely- though they did try. Zoee was hit on the left side of her head and was thrown under the van- between the tires. When I arrived she was howling and bleeding profusely from her mouth. The vet asked my permission to give her something to calm her down and to control her pain- so he could find the source of the bleeding. Matt arrived just as she was finally calm. The vet discovered that she had bitten her tongue- but there didn't appear to be any other bleeding. It was clear that she was in shock and that she had a head injury. He was not equipped to care for her there- so we ended up at the emergency animal hospital in Lynnwood. It was like a real ER in there- only for dogs and cats.
They immediately took her vitals and did x-rays. Her pupils were fixed- which indicates severe head trauma and brain swelling. They were able to administer meds that stopped the swelling... and gave her pain medicine to make her comfortable. They came back and told us that remarkably, her X-rays looked pretty good- though it looked like she had a couple of broken ribs. She had a small cut over her eye that they cleaned and closed with one staple. Once they stopped the swelling in her brain and she came down from the shock they felt we would know more about her prognosis... so give it 24 hours. We were prepared to make "the" decision if they thought she wouldn't make it. There was just no way to know for sure right away. So we waited.
The next day we got the call from her ER doctor. She told us she was absolutely amazed at Zoee's progress overnight. That was our moment. We knew we had to give her the chance to continue getting better if she could. The doctor said that there is no way to know for sure if there would be long-term damage...if we would get "our" Zoee back.
She is our first "child"- we had to take that chance. So Zoee continued to improve. I spent all day Sunday and Monday preparing to care for our little invalid at home. The vet staff gave me lessons on how to care for her at home, a shopping list for supplies, and bag full of "sample" supplies. I brought Zoee home with me on Monday evening. It was a bit of a setback for her. Max's energy and enthusiasm and playful 2-year-oldisms does not translate well for Zoee- especially now. She was so nervous and tense that her pain became uncontrollable. I called in the cavalry to help me get things under control. The cavalry- otherwise known as the grandparents. Max is staying with them for a couple of days- and since he left Zoee has made even more progress. Yesterday when "daddy" came home she stood up on her own and wagged her tail for the first time! You'd have thought the sky had opened up and started raining down dollar bills!
Her mental state seems fine so far- the big problem is her ribs. They are really painful and there is nothing we can do to help them heal faster- other than keep her immobilized for the next month.
In the meantime, I am her legs, her comforter, her pain controller, her food preparer and her dish ( I have to feed her homemade mush with my bare hands!) and her water bowl. I know it sounds like I am complaining- but I assure you she is repaying me tenfold with her progress. She is doing so well- and it hasn't even been a week yet.
I credit the Angels (Autumn, Julie and her son) that stopped and put Zoee in their car and drove her to the vet right away. I credit the incredible staff at VCA Hospital in Lynnwood- especially Dr Edwards. And finally- I credit all of you who prayed. It worked! We got our miracle! Zoee is doing better! We still don't know long term what might happen- but we can't help but be hopeful with all of these positive signs! So thank you for praying. And thank you for your continued prayers. Our little family of 5 is still intact! Praise God!
