Sweet dreams, Zoe

My heart is breaking right now. This morning I had to say my final goodbyes to my sweet little Zoe. She had been battling cancer for the past few years and seemed to recover quite nicely from her adrenalectomy. She bounced and played and had a great old time just being her. However, I noticed a change in her these past couple of weeks, most especially these past few days. She went from being a spunky little critter to one that could no longer walk. She barely ate her soup (which she LOVED), and she started to loose control of her bladder and bowl movements. When I saw that she was just too weak to even greet me, I knew the time had come. I held her in my arms last night, and she looked up at me as if to say, "It's okay, mama. It's okay. I understand."

I think one of the greatest gifts you can give your companions is the gift of a pain-free life. That has always been my philosophy. I spoke with my honey, and he reconfirmed that the decision we were making was the right one for HER. I took her to the vet office this morning, and everyone at the hospital was just so incredibly kind. A very sweet lady saw how much I was crying, and got up and gave me a hug. I was so touched. A complete stranger saw my pain and wanted to comfort me. It's times like that when my faith in humanity is restored, and I thank God for such kind people.

Zoe went very peacefully with my hand covering her tiny, naked little body. I kissed her one last goodbye, wrapped her in her blanket, and left the room. I'm not even sure how I made it home through the blanket of tears rolling down my face, but here I am. I know it will take me a few days to recover. A little piece of my heart just died, too.

As a tribute, here are a few pictures of my little angel. I miss her already.

Here we are a few days after we got her. Travis was working at Ground Zero at the time (this was April of 2002), so he didn't meet her until a few weeks later. It was just her and me at the beginning...

Zoe was ALWAYS getting into things she wasn't supposed to. She loved the phone and the remote controls. I'm convinced that because she was deaf, she used her other senses to their fullest potential, most noteably her sense of touch. She loved putting things in her mouth!

She also loved to sleep. After all, that's what weasels do best!

She grew up to have one of the most beautiful winter coats I've ever seen. It's no surprise, though, as their cousins are the mink.

She was a happy little thing, always appearing to beam with delight.

Until we meet one day across the Rainbow Bridge, sweet dreams my little one.


XOXO,
mama & daddy