I know this is a long post, but I want everyone to know what an AMAZING dog Zedd was and how much he meant to us.
We are very sad to announce that on Flag Day, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Zedd. He was 16 years old and lived at least 4 years longer than we anticipated, which is why we did our best to make sure he ate right and was healthy with regular visits to the vet. It gave us more time with him and we know he lived a happy life.
How We Met Zedd
Zedd was a stray dog that wandered onto my husband’s uncle’s property in the High Desert, during that time when people lost their houses and they were abandoning pets. He came tromping onto their land with a large bone in his mouth, wagging his tail and playing with anyone who would give him a moment.
I fell in love with him the first time I laid eyes on him. My husband’s uncle said they just couldn’t keep a big dog like him, and I begged my husband to let us take him home. It was the best thing we ever did. He bonded with us immediately and was very protective. He never wandered off our property, knowing straight away where he called home. But we could tell he might have gone through some kind of abuse, as he had a lot of anxiety. He panted almost constantly, and it took about four or five years of our love and stability for that anxiety to eventually go away.
Zedd’s Training
Although he was house trained, he was rambunctious and bit rude. LOL He did a lot of digging around the yard, chewing on our charger cables, and was a bit of a menace around the house. It was a good thing I knew how to train dogs! My husband was going into the office at the time, and as a writer, I was working home full-time, so it was just me and Zedd, and he and I started working together extensively. He was such a quick learner!
I didn’t know everything about training dogs, so I watched every video I could, including Caesar Milan’s dog training videos, which helped me understand Zedd, and enabled me to work with him instead of conform him to us. Within just a few short months, Zedd was a well-behaved member of our family with a playful personality. No more digging, chewing or tearing through the house, and only hours of playing his two favorite games - Fetch and Catch Me If You Can. We had to have two balls when we played fetch because he never liked to give the ball up once he caught it! (See above picture!)
Oh, and he loved to sit on people, for some reason.
Zedd was a Gentle Soul
Zedd had never been one to bark unless it was for a good reason. Someone knocked at the door? No barking. But if a stranger walked onto our property, he’d warn us. If he needed to go outside, he’d bark once. If he was hungry, thirsty, or wanted to play, he would lay his chin on my thigh. If he wanted my husband’s attention while he was watching TV, then he got very vocal!
He never climbed on furniture, never went to the bathroom inside until his final days, was always so very gentle with children and babies or when he ate food from my hand. He never begged at the table until we had another dog living with us temporarily who was a master at begging. Sigh. That first picture above is a testimony to that, and we only spoiled him with people food in the last two weeks he was with us.
Zedd’s Last Days
By the time Zedd left us, he had been blind to the point where he could only see shadows and light and had a complete loss of his hearing. This put him through a lot of anxiety, especially at night. We tried to keep lights on for him to make it easier, but that also kept us up at night. He was frequently in our bedroom, waking us up at all hours, and we comforted him as much as we could and let him know we were there for him. It became harder for him to get up when he laid down because of the pain and weakness in his hips. Pain meds helped, but then he spent most of the day sleeping.
About two weeks ago, he had a very bad episode where he couldn’t get up to go to the bathroom and we had to carry him outside. After we cleaned up the mess, we made the hard decision to call the vet and make an appointment two weeks out. We wanted to take the time to spoil him during his last days. And we did. He had burger patties almost every night, French fries and steak. I strained my back about four days before his final appointment when he had another bad episode, which just drove home the point that this difficult decision was the best for everyone, no matter how heartbreaking.
On the way to the vet, we bought him a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon for his last meal. He was allergic to chicken, but he loved it. What would it hurt now?
We spent time with him while they prepared. Hugged him, told him how much he meant to us, and how much we would miss him. And we stayed with him until he closed his eyes and fell asleep for the last time. He is at peace now. We know that, but Gods, it hurts so much. When we wake up, he isn’t there. When we come home from going out, he isn’t there to greet us. When we walk around the house, he isn’t following us anymore. We feel the emptiness, but he will always be in our hearts.
He was the best dog I ever had the pleasure of sharing my life with, and I’ve had a lot of dogs through the years. He was smart, loving, playful, protective, and the best companion anyone could ever ask for. Goodbye, my sweet baby.
R.I.P Zeddicus Drool Zorander.
So very sorry for your loss. You have me in tears.
We recently lost two seventeen year old cats, a brother sister duo within 2 1/2 months of each other. SO hard…
You made me fall in love with Zedd too in your newsletters. Thank you for sharing him with us and all of the hugs. I’m crying now so I can only imagine how you’re feeling. ❤️