echoguy
05-29-2008, 05:13 PM
We changed the dog's name to "Zoo".
"Zeus" would not do. I appreciate the humor in such a misnomer but it didn't sit well with me. Calling him "Zooey" seemed far too effeminate. A few days later, we decided to call him "Zoo" since it seemed more appropriate for his character- a riotous bundle of aged energy.
"Zeus" is the 5'2" 'roid freak at the gym who listens to GWAR and other death metal hoping to impressive you with his falsely enhanced biceps and self-professed, self-promoted love for all things "rad" and violent.
"Zoo" is the guy you want to have a few beers with. He'll always make you smile and he always looks forward to your company.
He got a new crate which he loves. It's smaller and cozier and he barrels straight in there when he knows that me and my wife are leaving. Jet, on the other hand, needs pounds of treats as a bribe.
He got new toys that he proudly carries around the pad until he can find a quiet place where he can engage in his acts of plushie toy savagery. Between him and the rending ferocity of Boston Terrier jaws, we will be poor from having to constantly buy plushies.
He got new food- a Senior formula with Gluco and Chondroitin to help with his Old Goat bones.
A few weeks later, he got a new mouth. He had a cleaning and several extractions to rectify years of dental neglect. I wouldn't say his breath smells like a bed of rose but at least he doesn't reek of the Abyss. His breath, before the cleaning and extractions, was truly rank!
In short, this long dog got a new life.
He and Jet co-habit well. They don't play with each other or seek each other out. I think most of this is due to Jet's aloofness. But they don't fight and will, on occassion, be caught napping together. They are like cell-mates with an understanding.
He rarely wakes us to go out. The only exception was when he was on steroids and his tummy was a red hot mess. Squirty poops at 2:30am, anyone?
He only shakes when he's excited or, during the winter, when he gets cold. But a blanket or one of Jet's sweaters (Jet hates them, the Prima Donna!) does the trick.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this dog. The only real reason he was so close to death was because his previous human was too damned lazy to provide even the most basic of care. And for that, I hope karma pays her back in spades.
We have only had him a few short months (he came to us right before Thanksgiving of 2007) but since then he has give us joy and a daily sense of levity. It's almost as if, every time he wakes up, he looks around, smacks his lips and exclaims, "I'm... ALIIIIIIIIIVE!!" Then, with an old man cough like Dastardly Dog, he trundles off to enjoy his day.
Sometimes I wonder if he understands what happened and what he narrowly missed. I know "experts" claim that canines don't possess that type of reckoning but when he stands on my chest and looks at me, unblinking, deep in the eyes, I know he knows.
Welcome home Old Goat. Our paths took a while to meet but we are together now. I hope the coldness and being forgotton is a distant memory. You are part of our pack now and we will stand by you unto the end.
You deserve at least that.
(end. or... the beginning? ;))
"Zeus" would not do. I appreciate the humor in such a misnomer but it didn't sit well with me. Calling him "Zooey" seemed far too effeminate. A few days later, we decided to call him "Zoo" since it seemed more appropriate for his character- a riotous bundle of aged energy.
"Zeus" is the 5'2" 'roid freak at the gym who listens to GWAR and other death metal hoping to impressive you with his falsely enhanced biceps and self-professed, self-promoted love for all things "rad" and violent.
"Zoo" is the guy you want to have a few beers with. He'll always make you smile and he always looks forward to your company.
He got a new crate which he loves. It's smaller and cozier and he barrels straight in there when he knows that me and my wife are leaving. Jet, on the other hand, needs pounds of treats as a bribe.
He got new toys that he proudly carries around the pad until he can find a quiet place where he can engage in his acts of plushie toy savagery. Between him and the rending ferocity of Boston Terrier jaws, we will be poor from having to constantly buy plushies.
He got new food- a Senior formula with Gluco and Chondroitin to help with his Old Goat bones.
A few weeks later, he got a new mouth. He had a cleaning and several extractions to rectify years of dental neglect. I wouldn't say his breath smells like a bed of rose but at least he doesn't reek of the Abyss. His breath, before the cleaning and extractions, was truly rank!
In short, this long dog got a new life.
He and Jet co-habit well. They don't play with each other or seek each other out. I think most of this is due to Jet's aloofness. But they don't fight and will, on occassion, be caught napping together. They are like cell-mates with an understanding.
He rarely wakes us to go out. The only exception was when he was on steroids and his tummy was a red hot mess. Squirty poops at 2:30am, anyone?
He only shakes when he's excited or, during the winter, when he gets cold. But a blanket or one of Jet's sweaters (Jet hates them, the Prima Donna!) does the trick.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this dog. The only real reason he was so close to death was because his previous human was too damned lazy to provide even the most basic of care. And for that, I hope karma pays her back in spades.
We have only had him a few short months (he came to us right before Thanksgiving of 2007) but since then he has give us joy and a daily sense of levity. It's almost as if, every time he wakes up, he looks around, smacks his lips and exclaims, "I'm... ALIIIIIIIIIVE!!" Then, with an old man cough like Dastardly Dog, he trundles off to enjoy his day.
Sometimes I wonder if he understands what happened and what he narrowly missed. I know "experts" claim that canines don't possess that type of reckoning but when he stands on my chest and looks at me, unblinking, deep in the eyes, I know he knows.
Welcome home Old Goat. Our paths took a while to meet but we are together now. I hope the coldness and being forgotton is a distant memory. You are part of our pack now and we will stand by you unto the end.
You deserve at least that.
(end. or... the beginning? ;))