Goodbye Big "Z"

Big Z ( 2003-2015)

We got you when we were newly married. Out of a litter of colored puppies, you were the one who ran to us when we called. You were all shiny black with sparkly brown eyes, medium among siblings...and oh! we adored you forevermore.

We named you Zeal because you had that spark for life. The name fit your character and reminded us of how good it was to be Zealous for The Master..His glory and His life.  You reminded us of this every day for 12 years. Excited for food, eating it all in one gulp, always by our side and eager to obey.  There was no dog like you. You knew you were loved and thus LOVED to obey us. With enthusiasm you learned tricks and commands, caught balls and frisbees, swam in lakes, raced down snowy hills, and long stretches of khaki sand beaches.  You chased hard. You could run after a ball or frisbee as fast as lightning. There were no woods deep enough, no distance great enough to swallow the ball we threw for you. You would always find it and emerge with a wagging tail and yellow ball in mouth. When we'd play hide and seek..  you would take off running when found you and turn quicker than we could catch. What a delight you were! You would wrestle by leaning hard into us making grunting noises and gently biting at our hands or stuffed toys.. so gently to never hurt us. You never hurt us. You did snip at a few dogs at the dog park, you weren't a dogs dog. You were a people's dog.. Well, you kinda just loved Kevin and i so much..Dondon and grandpa. You could take or leave the kids. You were the star of the dog park making us swell with pride as you bolted out to catch balls and jumped high to catch frisbees. You bit Bennett twice when he was little and he messed with an injured eye of yours. We laid into you so hard..you never did that again.  You loved adventures like we did. We had so many good and young years with you swimming, walks, runs, leaping into lakes to retrieve sticks, creek exploring, car riding, beach exploring, snow sledding with you running Fast past us down the hill....fall weather made your tail wag faster. You would jump in the piles of leaves i raked and leave your ball only to dig and retrieve. Summer days you seemed happy with your tongue hanging low and long...panting in the shady yard. You were an outdoor dog and glad you were cuz you could shed with the best of them. In the wintertime you'd  sneak on the couches and lay in bed with us to escape the old cold floors. I can remember your sweet black snout reaching up to the bed as if to ask "Can i come up?". When Kevin was out of town you'd bark at all the noises as if you were the protector. You weren't a barker or a runner. Except in your older age you began to bark if left alone too long.  Once they kicked us out of our hotel room for you barking.  You remained home and within boundaries even when gates were accidentally left open for the day. I'd return home and there you were sitting on our front porch waging your tail happy to see us. You were such a good dog. Never too demanding about anything. You never had too much patience for the kids.  You'd growl quietly until i came to your rescue. I think you were a mama's girl. :)... or "whom -ever -fed -you" girl. 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups at night. Amos had a deep affection for you and i think you knew it and tolerated him a little more. You were always in shape and beautiful.  As you got older your teeth broke from all the frisbee catching and balls were the new thing. Slowly your hips couldn't take the high jumps, but still you ran fast as ever. As the days unfolded into many passing years your shiny black face grew duller with a beautiful silver gray around the snout. You would lay around more, but were always up for adventures which were fewer and farther between due to the kids. But i was home with the kids,  and you were always around and included. I can remember  the candy type dog smell of your fur..your paws had a good smell...life and dirt. You could also be SO STINKY...ha. eeew Car rides you would stink it up. In the last days, the decline was fast and i was thankful for that. We knew when your Zeal for life was lost and the sickness and loss of mobility was stronger than your body. We had to carry you to and from outside...and you were heavy. i knew you'd be when the time came...but there was a sweetness to that for me. Holding you close in the last days. One hot day in August we had to let you go...it was one of the saddest days. But all the good days outweigh and are remembered.  We miss you so much big Z. You were the BEST dog. We don't think there can be another as good as you.  By good girl..."You're my baby Z"..That's my baby Z". We will see you on the other side I'm thinking. Heaven's gotta have big Z there...obeying and bringing joy to The Master.