Sadly, we said our final goodbye to our beloved Zelda last week. She was sweet and affectionate, a playful clown, our self-appointed guardian and pack leader, and an incredibly devoted companion - either by my side or waiting at the door for me to return.
After her diagnosis last month, she benefitted from palliative care, and we enjoyed 5 happy weeks with her before the disease finally caught up to her. We are all (humans and dogs) struggling with her loss. She was very special to us, and her absence leaves a huge and un-fillable hole in our lives. She goes to join her friends Piper and Lola, and leaves behind Opus, Max, my wife, and me ... who will miss her forever.
Zelda had an adventurous spirit and lived life with enthusiasm. She had an infectious personality and often made strangers smile with her eye contact and her goofy "jumpies" on our walks around the neighborhood. We traveled thousands of miles together, including hundreds of nights in the Colorado mountains, where she summited peaks, scrambled over boulder fields, forged swollen creeks, bushwhacked through dense forests, and plowed through deep snow. Zelda was our "try-hard" dog, and would not be stopped by any obstacle. She was athletic and agile, but sometimes a bit reckless, resulting in some memorable events, including a double "cut by ski" incident on Christmas Day 2019. I will never forget a heart-stopping moment when she tumbled down a 40-foot cliff, landing hard on a narrow ledge above a sheer 500-foot drop. True to her breed, she was fearless, with a strong prey-drive, and was always on the lookout for wildlife. On a few occasions, these interactions did not go in her favor, most notably with a porcupine, a rattlesnake, a skunk, and a grumpy bull moose. A few years ago, she successfully chased down a mouse on a high alpine ridge, swallowed it whole, and promptly fainted - causing her to keel over and slide down the tundra, fortunately coming to a stop before she reached the edge of a cliff. Terrifying at the time, but funny in retrospect.
Zelda had her share of health and medical challenges, but nothing slowed her down for long. She was not breathing when she came into the world, and was resuscitated. She dealt with allergies, eye and stomach problems, and survived bouts with fainting spells and cancer ... until cancer finally got her the second time around. Still, up to and including her last day, she persevered with joy and enthusiasm. Nothing ever stopped that little butt from wiggling.
