October 22, 1998 - May 17, 2012
Our beloved pug, Zoe passed away this morning.
Zoe was a very special member of our family. Regardless of how she felt or what kind of day she had, she was always there sitting in the kitchen to greet me and put a smile on my face when I walked through the door when I came home from work everyday.
Zoe was a smart pug. When we would take her for a walk, we would ask her "Zoe, do you want to go for a walk?" She got so familiar with the word "walk" that when she heard it said in conversation, she immediately thought she was going for a walk. We had to start saying "W" instead when we used the word walk as to not excite her. So when I went for a walk, I would say to my wife "I'm going for a W."
Zoe traveled with us many times up to Vermont to visit my wife's son at college. She never gave us a problem on the 7 hour drive. When we got there, she made herself right at home. She loved sitting in her bed by the fireplace there.
Monday evenings were a special night for us. I called it "Castle and Creamsicle Night." I would spread the blanket out in front of the TV and we would watch our favorite TV show, "Castle" and share a creamsicle. (Alright, I spread out a blanket and watched TV with Zoe practically every night and we shared many creamsicles on other nights but Monday nights were special.)
When she was left alone in the house, we would either leave the TV on for her or play music for her. She was a fan of HGTV and in music, liked country music, loved Christmas music and developed an affinity for Frank Sinatra.
As she got older, she slowed down. Some nights when I sat on our blanket, she would come over to me with a little sadness in her eyes. It was like she was asking me "Why can't I walk around the block anymore and why can't I go up and down the steps like I used to?". What could I do. I would pet her on the head or rub her chin and talk to her in a soft, calm, reassuring voice. She would look at me and the sadness was gone. She would lay down on her side or back and I would rub her belly. Immediately, she started making that purring/snoring sound that pugs make. All was once again right in her world. It was the best I could do.
I started carrying her up and down the main stairway. When we were beginning the trip at the top or the bottom of the stairs, her little paws would grab my arm as if to say, "I'm ready." She never gave me a problem carrying her. She had no trouble with the outside steps, just the main staircase. When I would carry her, her little head would twist around and she looked everywhere. My guess is that since she always saw the world from about 6 inches off the ground, seeing it from 4 or 5 feet high was a spectacular sight.
I imagine right now she is laying in her bed, bright sunshine on her. (It is a beautiful sunny day here). She is content, napping comfortably with one eye ever so slightly open, keeping a watch out for me to enter and take her on a long “W”. I told her it would be the first thing we would do when I got there.
