Breed: Rascal Hound Mix
Owner: Laurel Trautwein - Sioux Falls, SD
Our Zoey (also known as Z, ZoeZoe, ZoeZoePants, Zoecharias, Zdog, Bubba, Bubbs, Miss Wigglewaggles) went to the Big Snoozie in the Sky yesterday at 5:30 pm. We had the great privilege of having her in our life for 12 years and 8 months after adopting her from the Humane Society at 4 months old. She was a mystery from the beginning, having been found in a farm field in Parker, SD, in April of 2005: what breeds mated to produce this rascally hound mix?, did she escape?, was she socialized?, how big would she get? The constellation that was Zoey let out her light over all these years, teaching us all the most important lessons in loyalty, joy, patience, wisdom, devotion, LOVE.
Up until the very end, she initiated play time every day around 4pm, choosing a toy from the toy mountain and chewing on it or rolling on it while giving herself a back massage (to the sound of applause from her pack). She loved eating like the rest of the us, demanding to be served at 8am and 6pm, if not earlier, and had coaxed us (by unrelenting barks) into giving her treats at every possible opportunity. As every dog or cat mom or dad knows, a book could be written about all the quirks and events that made this soul memorable and made life meaningful.
Perhaps that is how I will spend my free time now—attempting to figure out this equation of energy and light by writing down the sum of what I knew of Zoey. But there will always be the wonderful mystery, no matter what can be said or written, of how we came to belong to each other. There will always be an infinity of emotions that cannot be understandably expressed, and it makes perfect sense that there would be a poverty of words to describe her effect on us.
We are rich with memories and feelings because of you, because you have shown us all the things pure and true.
RIP Beautiful Zoey, XOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
