Zeke: 13 Years Gone

  

Zeke passed in 2012. Kona has been gone nearly three months. I have lost two best friends. I'm thinking about another dog, but I haven't done anything about it yet. 

Kona is Gone

He died yesterday (Saturday 4/12). He was over 13. He was no longer really eating and could barely walk. The last couple of days all he wanted was to sit on the back porch and smell the air, which I let him do as much as possible. The vet came to the house and he was surrounded by our family as he was given the shots. It was very peaceful. He is being cremated and we will scatter his ashes in the yard he loved so much. 

This picture was taken 2 days before the end. 

I am devastated.

 

Moose: 10 years gone. And Kona's health

 

A LONG time since I posted. It was the 10-year (!) anniversary of Moose's death a couple weeks ago. I still miss him (and Zeke). Moxie is fine. She's fat and lazy, but a happy cat.

 

Kona is 13 years old now. He has recently been diagnosed with a likely cancerous mass in his torso, near his windpipe and lung. Occasionally, the pressure causes him to cough as if to clear his throat. Otherwise he acts about the same, but his sleep is less restful. He's had the cough very irregularly for a long time. The vet thought it was just an allergy or some mild congestion, but when it got a little more frequent, we had some X-rays done and the growth was discovered.

He is far too old for things like major surgery, especially since it's unlikely that would make much difference to his lifespan. He is essentially on hospice now. I spoil him terribly and let him do pretty much what he wants. His appetite is... OK. Sometimes he is less in the mood for his meals than others, but he's nearly always ready for a treat, so he's not starving himself. 

I will keep him as happy and comfortable as I can for as long as I can, then I will help him die as gently and peaceably as possible. He may have months (or more) left in him. When he isn't coughing, you'd hardly know he had any trouble. He looks like an old dog (and he is), but he is alert and affectionate and still likes a (short) walk now & then. It will devastate me when he is gone, I know. But for now, I try to look forward to as much time with him as possible.

I started this blog because when Zeke passed, I realized I didn't really have much in the way of tangible memories (pictures, videos, etc.) of him and I wanted to be sure that didn't happen with Kona. I let this blog lapse a bit because for a LONG time, he maintained pretty much the same status he always had. I guess it was that mutt hybrid vigor at work.

Anyway, it felt right to post something here given Moose, Kona's turning 13, and his status. Here he is, wanting a milk bone:

6 Years Gone

Zeke died six years ago today. I still miss him, but time moves on.

I haven't kept up with this blog, I know. I'm not sure how many people besides me even look at it, but I need to be better about taking pictures of Kona and Moxie and keeping those memories someplace other than my addlepated brain.

Two Years Gone

Moose died two years ago this Saturday. He is still missed.

Moxie and Kona continue to gambol along. Although Kona nearly died Sunday when he managed to pull down a fresh-baked loaf of sourdough bread and eat half of it.

Because I was going to kill him.

Dog Bagel

Moxie has decided that Kona's bed pad -whatever we put down on his frame- is an alternate toilet for her. So we've been leaving it bare for the last couple weeks. The fabric is slung above the floor so it provides some padding, but Kona's decided the sofa is better.

Now, he's not allowed on the furniture, but I gotta admit he's pretty cute. And he's trying not to take up TOO much space.

The eye-shine from the flash is just a Halloween bonus.

Four Years Gone

Zeke died four years ago this past Saturday. I suppose the fact that I wasn't moved to post this immediately is a sign that the grief is not so intense any more. Kona and Moxie are both doing well, and hopefully will be with us for a long time yet.

She's very comfortable with herself.

Moved the rope to the apple tree in anticipation of tearing down the jungle gym.

Kona vs. Snowzilla 2016

Kona doing his best to romp in the early AM hours of Saturday the 23rd, during the massive blizzard that hit DC/MD/VA.

Moose: One Year Gone.

Moose died a year ago today. He is still loved and missed. Moxie is adorable and a good cat, but –like Kona with Zeke– a new friend isn't really a replacement for the ones that leave. 

Rest in Peace, my friend.

The big four point oh

Kona is four years old now. He's still pretty much the same goofball he's always been, but that's OK. He rarely fails to get a smile out of me. His earnestness is fairly unstoppable.

Birthday girl

Moxie turned one year old yesterday, and she's ENORMOUS! She is 14 pounds according to the bathroom scale. The vet says she isn't particularly fat, just bulky.

She is still kitten-y in temperament, despite being larger than most full-grown cats.

And because this blog is supposedly about Kona, here he is cuddling up on a bean bag with my daughter and a good book.

Squeaky (whiny?) clean

Kona managed to roll in something foul the other day, so he was less than April fresh. He had also gotten some fleas recently so it was time for a bath. He was... unenthusiastic. I couldn't get any pictures of him in the tub as I needed both hands to deal with him, but here he is post-cleansing.

I think he figured he was safe on base there.

He doesn't have a lot of fur, so it didn't take much to get him dried off.

Looking a bit ruffled.

It was unusually warm here for November, so once he was dry I let him back out (under supervision to make sure he didn't re-stinkify himself). I think he forgave me once I started grilling. 

And on the eighth day, God created WEBER. And is was soooo goooood!

Kona got a piece, of course.

Three years gone.

Zeke died on this day in 2012. He is still missed.

I think Kona is being a little TOO patient

Moxie seems to have settled in well. She's definitely less nervous about Kona.

K: Can I have my bed back, now?

M: ATTACK!!!

Adapting Well

I think Kona and Moxie are getting used to each other.

A New Roomie

The girls got a new cat today from the shelter. Moxie (short for "Macchiato"), a 4 month old calico-tabby. She's been spayed and still has her claws. She's sweet and shares the mad amazement at the world of all kittens. The introductions to Kona are going slowly. Starting with a meet & greet through a closed baby gate.

As you can see, there was some arching of backs and a little hissing at first, but I think they are slowly getting used to each other. I suspect it will be at least a couple days before they are okay to be left unsupervised without being separated. 

 

Inspecting her new digs.

Dawg Days of Winter

We (the DC area) had a (hopefully) final dump of snow this past week. Kona and Nala got a good romp or two in. Afterwards, it was time to snooze with one of the peoples (my 8yo) by the heat vent.

Moose R.I.P.

Moose was put down today. We didn't expect such a fast decline, but he was 21. He was having kidney failure. The vet came to the house and we were all with him to say goodbye. We buried him by Zeke. Nothing else to say, really. We loved him very much. He will be greatly missed.

Moose

Rest in Peace

1994-2015

3/21

So Kona is 3 years old now. He's come a long way from when we first got him. I need to exercise him more and ramp up his obedience training again, but he's a very sweet dog.

A bigger milestone is our cat, Moose, has reached the venerable age of TWENTY-ONE years old! His health is not great, but it's not terrible. I worry that his eyesight is starting to go, but the vet will look at him next week and we shall find out. He has lost weight again, but is still puttering about the place and has a good appetite.

At this point, any time he has left (without pain) is a bonus. As long as he isn't suffering, we'll keep him as happy as we can.

Two Years Gone

I still love and miss you, Zeke. RIP.