Rest In Peace Zoey girl

After an unexpected turn for the worst on Friday and sudden deterioration following Zoey's surgery our precious little Zoey girl died. We are so devastated by the loss of our sweet little puppy. The doctor thinks that she might have had an ulcer in her stomach from all the medications and stress of this whole situation, then it perforated causing massive infection which caused her to go into shock and die. 

All day Friday she wouldn't eat or drink and was obviously much more uncomfortable and unable to be calmed.  Brandon stayed up all night with her Thurs while I was at work, laying on his sleeping bag next to her on the floor. There he stayed all day while I tried to get some sleep and had to go back to work that night. Soon after I left she got much worse and without going into too many details, she died while Brandon was trying to get her back down to the hospital.

We decided to write down some memories and some loving messages to her in the box she was buried in. I never knew I could love something so much. Before we got Cole and Zoey I didn't even really much care for dogs. But they became our constant companions always giving us so much joy and unconditional love.
We felt the best place to have her buried was in our backyard. It is a very peaceful place with the mountains all around and wildflowers blooming on the hillside next to her. Brandon spent most of the day Saturday digging in the hard ground of clay and rocks. His brother Chris helped as well. It was pouring rain for part of the day so they had to stop until it cleared up. I cried about as much as it rained.
Just after we finished our little "funeral service" a rainbow appeared in the sky. We decided that is was a sign from Zoey that she is happy in doggy heaven- running and jumping around now, not suffering any longer. 
Zoey- you will never be forgotten and can never be replaced. We love you so much and are so sad that we couldn't have you in our lives for very long. Next week she would be 6 months old, much too young to leave this life. But we think she had a much better life in her short time than many dogs have in a whole lifetime. She was the most affectionate and loving dog I have ever known. We are trying to remember all the fun and great times we had with her and we're so glad we still have Cole. Her spirit lives on and we're grateful to have had our time with her. Rest in peace Zoey girl.

If love could heal

Sunday- Zoey's first day post-op. She seemed so much more comfortable, despite the metal fixators protruding from her back. There's nothing we wouldn't do to make her better.
Daddy loves his little girl. He has such a calming presence, she would immediately relax when Brandon was there to give her some love.
Tuesday- With the help of a towel sling to support some of her weight, the hospital staff started doing standing exercises with her. She did show signs of bearing some weight on her own, and still had good reflexes and some movement in hind legs.
Sometimes though, her poor little legs just dangled there like they forgot how to move. This must have been so frustrating for our girl who was so used to running and jumping all around.

We took Zoey home on Wednesday evening where we would continue to care for her and help try to rehabilitate her. The doctor ordered her to be on strict "cage-rest" for 6 weeks, so we knew it was the start of a long road. But at least she would be home with us where she would feel our constant love and attention and be in her familiar surroundings so that her healing would be optimal. It was hard work, but we knew it was worth it.