Kat Eye Studio

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A Faithful Companion

It’s been several weeks since I started on my hiking regime, and I’m very happy to report I’ve been able to get out about three times a week on most weeks. Even last week, as crazy as everything was at work, I still made time to hike. I think it reduced my stress and kept me level-headed.

And I have discovered a faithful hiking companion as well, in our dog Zoey.

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I haven’t written that much about her since we adopted her in February, but she has slid right into our family and taken her place in our lives and our hearts as if she has always been here. She is the most happily enthusiastic dog I have ever met. She does everything with all of her self — body and heart. It’s kind of hard to describe, but everyone who meets her can sense it, and they fall in love with her too. She holds nothing back.

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I came up with the nickname “Gung Ho Zoe” for her. It just fits.

I was telling my husband this weekend that I can’t imagine not having her in our family. I remember how against getting a dog I had been. Too expensive, all the food and vet stuff. Too much trouble when we travel. Too much fur, making our house dirty.

But the real reason? Too much hurt in my heart. Our faithful companions have shorter lives than ours, and love also means loss and hurt. I hadn’t wanted to replace my dear dog Tasha.

Getting Zoey has reminded me what it’s like to be on the love side again. To realize I didn’t replace Tasha, I added Zoey. It reminded me that it’s all worthwhile…. The fur and the vet bills and the kennel. It’s all worth it, to have this fun and faithful dog in our home.

The next time I am at the point of deciding whether to open my heart to something, I’m going to remember the philosophy of Zoey. I’m going to ask myself, “What would Zoey do?”

Without hesitation, she would be all in.

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Playing Hooky

Today was supposed to be Exploring with a Camera day, but I’m playing hooky. You see, I’m going to for a long walk in the forest instead.

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A long walk with our newest family member, Zoey, a very sweet 4.5 year old golden retriever/Australian shepherd mix dog. We brought her home from the shelter last night.

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Getting a dog again was a big decision for us. Our beloved golden retriever Tasha passed away at age 14 while we were in Italy. It left such a huge whole in our hearts, we didn’t think another dog would ever measure up. (I’m tearing up just writing this. You would think more than two years later, that would go away.)

But slowly, slowly the idea of a new dog was creeping up on us. As my husband said, “No dog could ever replace Tasha, but there are other good dogs out there.” Now that I’m out hiking more, I’d love a dog companion with me in the forest. My husband loves to play fetch and frisbee. Our son is almost 12 and is excited and responsible enough to help. We aren’t traveling nearly as much as we did in Italy. So we were ready.

The search began.

We didn’t want a puppy again. Been there, done that, more than once. It would be nice to get a dog already house trained. But we didn’t want a senior dog either. After losing Tasha we didn’t want to open that whole can of worms up too soon. I really wanted to adopt a dog from a shelter if at all possible, although that can have it’s own set of challenges. But there are so many animals that need homes, it made sense to start there.

Good luck, right?

Enter Zoey. My husband found her listing in the neighboring county’s humane society last Sunday. He emailed me the link, asking what I thought. “She sounds sweet,” I answered, “But when can we get over to meet her?” Their hours were 12-5 or 6 and that didn’t work for any of our work schedules. Until yesterday, when my husband had the day off. Zoey was still there, so he went over to meet her, and fell in love.

We all went back at the end of the day, hurrying over there before they closed, to meet this dog who was seemingly perfect for us. And we brought her home.

Here’s the amazing thing… Zoey fits all of our dream dog criteria. She’s 4.5 years old, sweet and well-trained. She is spayed, house trained (already whined at the door to go out), crate trained (went right in at bedtime), doesn’t jump (although does like to give kisses, if you get your face down close enough to hers), doesn’t bark (as of yet) and rode well in the car. She sits, waits and drops items on command. She loves to fetch and wants to play. She seems ok on the leash, but I’ll check that out further this morning. We’ll have to be careful with her around other dogs, it sounds like she can be over-excited/nervous, and keep her from small children. That’s why she was in the shelter: The couple who had raised her from a puppy had a baby and she never adjusted well. She likes adults (especially women) and older kids. She is great with Brandon.

She’d been there a little over a week, and we were amazed she was still there, after we met her and saw how sweet and well-behaved she was. The people at the shelter thought it was the issue with young children… A lot of the families who want to adopt dogs have young kids. We don’t have any very small children in our life, so that’s not an issue for us. Somehow, I get the feeling she was just waiting there for us to bring her home.

So I’m out of here… Off to go on a hike with Zoey. Exploring with a Camera can wait until tomorrow. I’ve more pressing matters to attend to.

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A Beautiful End

I take a break from my regular blog topics to say a few words in memory of our dear, sweet golden retriever Tasha who left this world yesterday in the arms of her second family in Colorado.

This was not a surprise, she was almost 14 years old and was having more and more physical problems. One of the hardest things we had to do when we came to Italy was leave her behind, knowing that she might not be there when we got back. We were all so very blessed that Patrick’s sister and her family wanted her to come live with them and be part of their family in Colorado.

Let me tell you a little bit about Tasha… Everyone loved Tasha. She was the most gentle soul you would ever meet. Always happy to be there for love and support, never demanding. Never once hurt or threatened another creature, even when annoyed by a toddler or a kitten or an alpha dog. She would just look at us with those big brown eyes that seemed to say “Seriously?” and stoically bear whatever life threw at her. Tasha patiently taught me to like dogs, and she was the first dog I ever truly loved. She was our first baby, coming to us as a 6 weeks old puppy in 1996, 5 years before our son Brandon was born.

Sometimes we might think that we are doing a favor to the animals in our life, by taking them in and loving and caring for them. That we are giving them a home. But really, they are the ones who are doing us the favor. They become part of our hearts, they make our home a home. Our animal companions are the ones who show us what unconditional love truly is. They teach us compassion. And they teach us how to grieve when they go, since their lives are so much shorter than ours.

So, Tasha I just want to thank you. For all that you gave to me, all that you taught me.

And Heather, Rob and Dylan, thank you so much for bringing Tasha into your home and loving her as much as we did for the last year and a half. For so amazingly dealing with the difficult end of her days when we weren’t there. You got the hardest part. Tasha was so lucky to have had two families in her life that loved her so much. We will be forever grateful to you.

Today I created this photo story to honor Tasha’s life. I wish I had her puppy photos, our canoe dog photos, more photos from her time in Colorado… but this is what I have today and now is when I need to do this. For me. For her. For anyone who knew her.

“It’s a beautiful end to a beautiful life…”

by

A Beautiful End

I take a break from my regular blog topics to say a few words in memory of our dear, sweet golden retriever Tasha who left this world yesterday in the arms of her second family in Colorado.

This was not a surprise, she was almost 14 years old and was having more and more physical problems. One of the hardest things we had to do when we came to Italy was leave her behind, knowing that she might not be there when we got back. We were all so very blessed that Patrick’s sister and her family wanted her to come live with them and be part of their family in Colorado.

Let me tell you a little bit about Tasha… Everyone loved Tasha. She was the most gentle soul you would ever meet. Always happy to be there for love and support, never demanding. Never once hurt or threatened another creature, even when annoyed by a toddler or a kitten or an alpha dog. She would just look at us with those big brown eyes that seemed to say “Seriously?” and stoically bear whatever life threw at her. Tasha patiently taught me to like dogs, and she was the first dog I ever truly loved. She was our first baby, coming to us as a 6 weeks old puppy in 1996, 5 years before our son Brandon was born.

Sometimes we might think that we are doing a favor to the animals in our life, by taking them in and loving and caring for them. That we are giving them a home. But really, they are the ones who are doing us the favor. They become part of our hearts, they make our home a home. Our animal companions are the ones who show us what unconditional love truly is. They teach us compassion. And they teach us how to grieve when they go, since their lives are so much shorter than ours.

So, Tasha I just want to thank you. For all that you gave to me, all that you taught me.

And Heather, Rob and Dylan, thank you so much for bringing Tasha into your home and loving her as much as we did for the last year and a half. For so amazingly dealing with the difficult end of her days when we weren’t there. You got the hardest part. Tasha was so lucky to have had two families in her life that loved her so much. We will be forever grateful to you.

Today I created this photo story to honor Tasha’s life. I wish I had her puppy photos, our canoe dog photos, more photos from her time in Colorado… but this is what I have today and now is when I need to do this. For me. For her. For anyone who knew her.

“It’s a beautiful end to a beautiful life…”

Tasha from Kat Sloma on Vimeo.

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