Peaceful, Easy Feeling – The Life and Times of Zoe

“All dogs go to heaven because, unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind.”
— All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

Such a beautiful quote from a movie that should not have been forgotten. Today I am writing this to celebrate the life of our family dog Zoe (Zoh-ee). She had many nicknames over the years, I loved ‘Zo Zo,’ when my nephew Dom and niece Emma were young they couldn’t say Zoe so she was ‘Woh-Woh or Woe’ just the cutest thing, my Uncle Gary and cousins loved ‘Zoe Boe’ and I guess ‘Shut up Zoe’ should be one too bc man she loved to bark lol we were blessed with 16 amazing years with our Zoe and she was absolutely a gift from God. Zoe made our family better, with Zoe around there was always sweetness and love in the house. First thing people do when they come in the house is go right to Zoe and start talking in the doggy voices people use and giving her pets and getting licks and happy barks in return. That’s one of the things I miss the most, no matter how bad a day I had, as soon as I came home there was guaranteed to be at least a little bit of sweetness in my day as Zoe would come up with happiness in her eyes and tail wagging. At least some of the negativity of the day would melt away and I never realized how much I relied on that until she was gone.

My brother, sister and I always wanted a dog as long as I can remember but growing up we def couldn’t afford it so we didn’t have any pets. But once my parents moved to Regina, my Dad was lonely dealing with life without his sons in the house, “my, boys, my boys” he would sadly repeat lol until my Mum finally got sick of it and decided that they were gonna get a dog so we actually only got Zoe to shut my Dad up hahah my parents decided they wanted one of the little white dogs bc they were easy to take care of esp with both of them working all day so they headed out to meet a lady that had a litter of Bichon-Cockapoo puppies. By the time they got to her house, there was only 1 dog left, our Zoe. She perked up as soon as she saw my Dad and he was immediately in love, “That’s the one, let’s go.” Zoe fit in so perfect with our family and was such a blessing to all of us with her unique personality that I know she wasn’t the last pick, she was just waiting for us. When they first got her, they had her blocked in the kitchen so she had room to run around but the neighbour told my Mum that Zoe literally barked non-stop from the time my Mum left until she got home lol if you ever spent any time with Zoe, you know that story is 100% truth.

All of us kids were really excited to finally have a family dog but a little offended that they wait until we leave to get 1 haha my first memories of Zoe are of a tiny little fluffy ball of energy lol 1st time I took her for a walk was in the winter and it had just snowed a bunch so the sidewalks were covered but that did not deter Zoe at all. I can still see the snow going everywhere as this little white Tazmanian Devil plowed through at full speed lol that was 1 thing we never cared about was letting Zoe just giver during walks bc it was easy to control her if we passed another dog/person and she was just so happy that I couldn’t bring myself to stop her from doing that. When she was young I loved playing the game of getting her to chase my hand and she would playfully bite it. My Mum hated it bc she thought it would teach her to bite but I knew there wasn’t a mean bone in her body so I wasn’t worried and eventually she stopped humouring me lol another game I loved to play was if she was sitting on my parents bed and my Dad was in the living room, I would walk up to the doorway, get her attention and then run towards the living room with my hands up like I was attacking someone and she would fly off the bed barking her little head off and get between me and my Dad LOL fck that used to make me laugh, man when she was young all I had to do was start leaning towards to living room and she would slowly start to get into position and then Boom lol right to the end she would start barking and trot over to my Dad if I threw my hands up and ran at him. We had so much fun.

Zoe was def a dog that would break out into the Zoomies haha man in her prime she would have been great at those dog obstacle courses you see at football halftime shows. She didn’t really do tricks but if I grabbed a treat and asked her if she likes cheese/chicken/steak/etc.. she would spring up and walk on her hind legs, sometimes even jumping, and then would bark if you said ‘Speak.’ If you had a treat and she was sitting, you could say ‘Sit Pretty’ and she would lift a paw, smile and kind of tilt her head lol no clue how she learned most of em but they were def some of my fav things about Zoe. 1 of her favourite things to do was lay in front of the door and bark at literally anyone and everything including people walking across the street. Drove me nuts but I would always open the big door so she could sit there bc I know how much she loved it. She loved going out into the backyard and sitting in the sun both on the concrete and on the grass. She loved going to the back corner of the yard and barking her dumb little head off haha For the 1st 8-10 years of Zoe’s life, we would hear a big dog barking back and I always liked to think that they were friends. But one day we stopped hearing the big guy respond so he must have made his journey but I know that wherever they are, they have tracked each other down.

Our life with Zoe was almost over before it started. One day my Dad was outside when she suddenly ran out into the street at the same time a car was driving by but by the grace of God, she ran under the car and hit the side of the inside wheel and bounced off. Took her to the vet to be safe but she was totally fine. Couldn’t believe how blessed we were but we did have her blessed by our family friend that is a priest so I know that had something to do with it. There wasn’t a mean bone in her body and loved people/other dogs but Zoe did not tolerate anyone, esp other dogs messing with her. One night when my Dad was helping take care of the local baseball diamonds for a summer, he had Zoe with him off leash just doing her thing as he locked everything up. He was locking up the washrooms when all of a sudden he heard Zoe barking and yelping so he ran around and saw a big dog around Zoe. My Dad ran over and tried to get the big dog to go away until finally the owner came over and settled his dog down. The owner was very apologetic and concerned about if Zoe was ok. When they checked Zoe she was fine but when he checked his dog, there was a bit of blood so I guess Zoe gave him a little nip lol both the owner and my Dad thought it was funny that everyone was concerned for Zoe but she had it under control haha Zoe was def a special dog.

1 of the reasons I believe that she lived so long and acted so young was bc of Skittles my Mum’s service dog. Zoe was about 10.5 when we got Skittles so she was right about to start getting old but having a new, young dog in the house out the youth back in Zoe. She was running around and playing with Skittles all the time, jumping up and down off the bed/couch together so i know all that had a big role in Zoe living such a long, great life. Man those 2 dogs loved each other so much, they were always takin naps n snuggling together, it tore our hearts out when we had to send Skittles back after she was attacked by another dog while out in her vest and started to regress significantly as a service dog. But I was not prepared for how it would affect Zoe, genuine sadness was visible in Zoe for at least a month. Crazy thing was that Zoe started doing the things that Skittles used to do, for example, Skittles used to get scared and shake when the oven would beep. Zoe never cared but in the`1st month after Skittles left, whenever the oven would beep Zoe would do exactly what Skittles did acting scared and shaking. My guess is that her feelings of missing Skittles were so strong that her subconscious takes over and releases the energy like that. Dogs can’t cry or share memories to release like we can but they clearly still feel it.

My Mum eventually got another service dog, a beautiful black Lab named Wanda, and she became fast friends with Zoe. Unfortunately, Zoe was about 14 when we got Wanda so she couldn’t run around or play with her like she did with Skittles. But Zoe did what she could and they formed a strong bond as nap partners. My cousin Drew has a big Bull Mastiff named Winston and you would think they wouldn’t have got along but Zoe and Winston were more than good with each other, I have good memories of walking Zoe with Drew and Winston. My sister Jessica’s family got a Bichon-Shitzu dog named Snoopy but once again Zoe was about 14 so she couldn’t play with Snoopy like she would have if they were younger. But you could tell Zoe was always happy to see her. Zoe just loved interacting with other dogs so I was always happy when we would meet a friendly dog on our walks. Bc I was living at home, me and Zoe put in hundreds of KMs worth of walks. We have a 1km loop around our house that is perfect for walking so me and Zoe walked that almost every day. I would always let her decide when she was done so if she wanted to keep going she would just keep going past our house but when she was done she would pull into the driveway. When she was young she would average about 6-7 laps before she was done but as she got older it wound down to just 1 lap but you could always see the happiness in her when she was out for a walk or a ‘dub.’ 1 of my fav things was grabbing the leash and her harness and asking if someone wants to go for a walk? And as soon as she heard the word walk or saw the leash/harness she would get so excited, shaking her tail but wiggling her whole body she was so excited lol man I miss her.

Zoe was so good with kids and just loved playing with them. My nephew Dominic was born when Zoe was about 2 and it was so sweet to see how protective she was of him. If Dom was on the floor, Zoe was right there beside him. As Dom got older, Zoe became his best friend and would laugh so hard at anything Zoe would do. Bark, shake, walk, didn’t matter what it was Dom thought she was so funny. A year and a half later, my niece Emma was born and Zoe was right there as protector, if Emma was on the floor then Zoe was right beside her. Zoe was so good and never reacted to getting her hair/tail pulled and was always ready to play or snuggle. As the kids got older, Zoe loved to chill with Dom on the recliner and snuggle with Emma on the bed. In a blessing from Jesus, Zoe got to connect with 1 more of her kids as my nephew O’Wen was born when Zoe was about 14 so while they didn’t have long to connect, they made the most of it and O’Wen got to make some good memories with Zoe. On Zoe’s last day, when he saw her O’Wen cried out and reached for Zoe so there was def a connection made between them. What a blessed memory that was. I’m so thankful that we took as many pictures and videos that we did bc having these memories to carry with us is priceless. I still hope to have kids someday so it def makes me sad that they won’t get to connect with Zoe but thanks to all the pics/videos, they will know her and in some way, they will have a connection.

Zoe loved us all but there is no doubt that my Dad and Mum were at the top of the list. My Dad treated Zoe like his baby and they really did have a special relationship. When my Mum had to move to Edmonton to finish her career, my Dad stayed in Regina bc they didn’t want to lose their house when my Mum was just gonna retire in a couple years and Zoe was the only reason that situation worked. Zoe would always get so excited when my Dad came home or if she would see him through the window. My Dad did not have to feel alone bc he always had Zoe there. When we had to send Skittles back, my Mum was having a tough time but Zoe stepped up and started acting like a service dog and doing the things Skittles would do like staying close to her and going to snuggle if she was sad. Would have been a bad situation if Zoe wasn’t there. If Zoe wasn’t in the living room with my Dad, she was with my Mum. She loved to snuggle but only on her terms, she def wasn’t a lap dog that you could just grab and chill with lol if you did then she would usually get down within a few minutes but if she came over and wanted up, then she would stay for awhile. I always used to laugh hearing my Dad yelling at Zoe to come in the house in the winter bc sometimes she just wanted to stroll around even if it was 2 in the morning haha I always used to tell him that he always forgets that he is on ‘Zoe’s Time’ lol drove me nuts too bc it’s -30 and she is stopping to sniff and look around every 2 steps. That’s why I say Zoe was waiting for us, we couldn’t have had a dog that better suited the needs of our family.

1 of my fav things was during our walks, when we turned the corner to go back down to our house, I guess she would catch the scent bc she always wanted to sprint and would be like a galloping horse leading a chariot lol i would usually sprint with her but the best was when we would catch my Dad coming home bc then she really tried to run. So I would unhook the leash and she would Usain Bolt down the block until she got to my Dad haha really miss those times. Zoe loved to stop and sniff everything so the walks were always a process and you had to bring a bag bc even if I saw her poo in the backyard that day, she would always go on a walk. Every time lol always made me laugh. She loved her belly rubs as all dogs do and was so funny watching her enjoy it. Whenever I came in the house she would come over for pets and a forehead touch. She eventually went deaf and couldn’t hear anything lol so when she would go crazy barking at the door, I’d smack the side of the couch and she would come over for some love. That only started in the last couple years but became 1 of our favourite things. Her hair would get matted under her collar so I always got under it when I gave her pets and she def loved that. I’ll miss sitting on the deck and looking over and seeing Zoe sitting in the sun with her head up and eyes closed like a Hollywood starlet lol God has had other priorities for me in life up to this point, I don’t have a wife or children yet but everyone in the family has someone to pair off with so Zoe made sure I wasn’t alone. Obviously I loved Zoe as family but I never realized what kind of impact she truly had on my life. Zoe was 1 of the big reasons that I have been able to live life like I have and I didn’t realize it until it was time to say goodbye.

Another thing she used to do all the time was try to bite wasps out of the air lol so funny to watch her snap at a wasp and we would always tell her she is gonna regret it if she gets one. If a squirrel came in the yard, we would open the door and Zoe would sprint after it but it was all about that chase, she wouldn’t know what to do if she caught one. We saw it one day when she surprised a squirrel and caught up to it but Zoe almost looked surprised and didn’t try to bite it or anything. She really was the sweetest dog. She loved to walk around the yard eating grass. I used to eat a lot of Subway and every time I got home with my subs Zoe would start freaking out, whining and barking, trying to sit pretty but she couldn’t sit still she was so excited lol it was annoying bc she did not stop, whining literally every second until she got her fill haha but I loved sharing my food with her. It has def been an adjustment, when I cut my meat I’m always looking for a good piece to give to Zoe to move to the side. When I make my shakes, I always break off pieces of the Bananas for Wanda and Zoe. I’m not used to eating 100% of my food lol she loved food but cheese was by far her favourite. When my Mum n Dad were trying to train Zoe, they had regular dog treats but Zoe kept going to the other person there that had cheese LOL that is so Zoe man I love that story. Zoe loved pretty much all kinds of fruit, she LOVED carrots man it was so nice that she considered a carrot stick a treat. Used to make me laugh watching her sit and crunch on on a carrot. She loved to chill underneath the Christmas tree lol almost as if to say ‘forget the gifts, I’m your present dammit’ lol oh man 1 things she used to do that would make everyone just roar with laughter; if you gave someone like my Mum or Dad a hug, Zoe would get in their leg and start humping it hahaha lol oh man I used to laugh so hard when she did that, dogs get so jealous it’s hilarious.

It seemed like Zoe was going to cruise into a record long life bc she seemed so young, everyone was always floored when they learned how old she was. But in about 2019 we noticed that she was limping 1 day but it only lasted the day and she was fine for months after. But around early 2020 the limpy days started increasing and it would be sensitive to touch so we took her into the vet and they told us she had severe arthritis and would need to start anti-inflammatory medication. Crazy how expensive the medication is but Zoe had so much life to her when she wasn’t limping that we had to try it. The medication worked great at first but Zoe started to build up a tolerance to the medication so they kept having to increase it and add an additional medication. To try and help, my Dad bought CBD oil for dogs that was said to help with arthritis. There was actually a point where Zoe got to such a good place that I hadn’t seen her limp in about 6 weeks. I thought we might be in the clear but one day she was sitting on my parents bed wanting to get down and decided she was feeling good enough to jump down without waiting for someone to let her down. After that, the limpy days were back on regular schedule of approx every 2 weeks and kept getting more frequent. The vet says the arthritis was hereditary so there wasn’t much that could be done to prevent it but I always thought Zoe jumping up and down off the bed for too long was a contributing factor. She had no problem doing it for so long but as she got older, she got a little heaver so we prob should have tried to stop it sooner. But she was fine until 1 day she stayed at the edge of the bed looking tentative when she wanted to get down so we knew it was time to start helping her up and down. 1 of those things you wish you knew at the time.

As we headed towards Zoe’s 16th birthday, it became clear that the decision we didn’t want to make was now at the doorstep. Zoe’s limpy days were now multiple times a week and on bad days, she couldn’t sit still or sleep through the night. My parents went through multiple rough nights with her before they came to the realization that it was now becoming cruel to keep her alive. Her options for life were basically be doped to the gills or in pain and that is no way to live esp for a dog that was so good to us. We couldn’t increase the medications anymore, it was time for us to say goodbye. My brother and his family were going on a trip to BC and were coming back to Regina on the Tuesday so we decided to spend 1 last weekend with Zoe and then put her down on the Tuesday so my Dad and Mum had as much family around them as possible. My sister, nephew and niece also wanted to be there so they came up as well. We wanted to make her final days as special as possible and I had an idea to take her for The Final Lap 💚 God is so good, man this was so beyond my wildest expectations. It’s been a couple years since Zoe had to retire from walking due to her arthritis. Sad bc she LOVED walks so I wanted to make sure she got 1 final lap. We have a 1km loop around our house so it’s perfect for walking and me n Zoe walked it hundreds of times. My plan was to let her go as much as she could and then just carry her to her fav spots to sniff. But God had other plans.

She started out with some energy but slowed a bit after a few minutes so I carried her to the corner. When we turned the corner, there was a man walking his dog and I thought oh great that’s the last thing we need. But turns out it was exactly what we needed. Funny how God works like that. As soon as Zoe saw them it put a spark in her that lasted the entire lap. She loved dogs so if she saw one, she would turn into a horse pulling me along lol so for 1 last lap, we had the old Zoe back. It was so amazing, man, this is a dog that could barely sit still in her last few bad days so to see her out in front of me just givin er like she used to is a memory I will cherish forever. God is so good 🙏💚🙏 She even sprinted down the final stretch of the block like she used to. When we turned the last corner she wanted to sprint so I unhooked her and she gave er one final time down the block. It was so amazing to see my Zoe running again and to get 1 final awesome walk with her. I don’t know how it happened, never could have imagined a final walk like that. We prayed that Zoe would have good days for her last few and God delivered it to us. It makes it so much easier to know that she had the absolute best final days that she possibly could have.

Zoe loved people food so there was no way she was getting dog food for her last meals:
Sunday- she had McDonalds Double Cheeseburger and KFC chicken. Don’t think she took a breath lol
Monday- she had a foot long amount of chicken/bacon and steak each. Maybe 1 breath lol
Breakfast- she had tuna and salmon the last 2 days
The last meal- a mountain of cheese, her fav food. Surrounded by her family.

On her last day, we let her walk/sniff at her favourite spots around the house, in the front by the bushes and all around the back yard. God gave us 1 last gift, my brother’s plane was set to land at the same time as the vet appointment but God delayed the vet 90 min so my brother made it to the house in time to go with us. So me, my Dad, brother and sister Jes took Zoe to the vet to send her on her heavenly journey. I didn’t sense any fear or confusion from Zoe, she wasn’t restless or trying to get away, she was actually smiling on the way there and in the room, she was ready. My Dad held her in his arms, I was petting under her collar like I used to while my brother and sister gave her pets as the vet administered the drugs. 1 of the worst moments was also the best, it was awful to have to say goodbye but we couldn’t be anything but happy that she wasn’t in any more pain. She could run again, she could walk again, she could have all the treats she ever wanted, she was home. Dogs are sinless and are 1 of God’s creations so why wouldn’t they be in Heaven? And maybe God will give the gift of voices and memories for dogs so we can talk about our lives together. Wouldn’t that be glorious. Whatever happens, I am so thankful for all of our time with Zoe and I know I will see her again. When we got home from the vet, we all sat down as a family and watched the picture montage videos that I made for Zoe and that was such an awesome memory and something I think helped us all deal with the loss.

Zoe’s final days went so good and with how everything worked out so that my brother could be with us, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we did the right thing at the right time. As hard as it was, it would have been cruel to Zoe to keep her alive and it would have only been for our benefit. It’s been very hard to live life without Zoe but I keep reminding myself that we didn’t have another 20-30 years with her, 16 years is longer than most dogs live so we were def blessed. We are blessed that we are saying goodbye to our family dog after a long life and not another family member or friend. Jesus gives us the strength to see through the tears just how blessed we are and that makes it easier not to let yourself mope or dwell on the sadness of it. It lets you focus on the happiness of Zoe’s life and how great our connection was with her. Without the arthritis she def could have lived a few more years but it is what it is. I wanted to put as many memories as I could into this piece so we don’t forget them. We’ll never forget our Zoe but the little things sometimes get lost in our memories as we get older so I’m glad I decided to write this. She was worth every word and more. I miss her so much and def still have moments where it hits me like brick but I have more moments where I smile thinking of her.

Before I finish this, I just want to mention 2 special places that helped care for Zoe. First, Zoom Zoom Groom the place that did her bath/brush/haircuts. Zoe was 1 of their 1st customers back when the business was mobile run out of the back of a bus and then into the permanent building. They loved Zoe and everyone was always so shocked when we told her how old Zoe was. Zoe def loved going there, she would be excited to be around the people and other dogs when I took her in and I’ll def miss seeing her after being there looking all happy and pretty. I also want to thank the team at TM’z Veterinary Clinic, they always did such a great job taking care of Zoe when she had medical issues and they were amazing at the end being very caring and considerate as they went through the process. Both places sent very kind letters of condolence after so we are very grateful for how they treated Zoe in life and death. TM’z also had Paw print mouldings made so we had something to remember Zoe and that really meant a lot to us.

Well I think it’s time to finish this and say goodbye for now to our sweet Zoe. I know there are somethings I have forgot to put in there but that’s ok, some things are just for the heart. And Zoe will be in my heart until I make my heavenly journey. She made us a better family and the impact she had on our lives will continue to influence our family life. We so wish me would have had more years with her but I think God gave dogs such short lives to teach us to really appreciate the good things in our lives while we have them. And I can honestly say that we appreciated every moment with Zoe and never took her for granted. Zoe, I love you and I will miss you so much but I am so thankful for everything you did for me and our family. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be ok. You just enjoy that sweet heavenly paradise and all that comes with it. We’ll see you when we get there. So thank you Zoe for that peaceful, easy feeling. You never let us down…not even once.

“Mom says, a soul is something inside of all good things, and that it goes on forever and ever. Souls don’t die..”
— The Iron Giant (1999)