Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Our Dog, Zed

Zed is our 11 year old Yorkshire Terrier. His full name is Zed of Woods End. Woods End is a place in West Virginia near Timberline Four Season's Resort where we have owned a vacation home since before we got Zed. It is one of his favorite places because, unlike our Charlotte neighborhood, he can run free here without too much chance of being hit by a car. Zed is very sick right now. He has been diagnosed with complete, or nearly complete, kidney failure and we have been watching him for the last month or so as he loses weight, appetite and interest in almost anything. Last weekend we had contemplated euthanasia. But on Monday morning he woke up closer to his normal self and was so good that we decided to bring him with us to West Virginia for what might be his last week up here. There must be something in the air in West Virginia. I know I have always felt happy and relaxed here but I put that down to the scenery, the golf, the skiing, the good times with friends, etc. As soon as we arrived after a really easy trip that Zed had no trouble with, he was running around, barking at everything that smelled or moved and in short being his old self. He gobbled down dinner like he hadn't eaten in a week. And, truthfully, he hadn't eaten much in the last week. Yesterday he kept running between the couch where he sleeps and the back door where he stands to bark until we let him out so he can bark some more and then come back in to sleep again. He went on walks, off leash, checking out smells he hadn't smelled in months (I'm not sure when he was here the last time). In general, except for the extra sleeping he was pretty close to normal. I don't know how long the West Virginia effect will last but we are both really glad we decided to bring him up here. It gives us a few more days of "good old Zed" and it seems to be good for him too. He still isn't eating much and he still sleeps a lot but he doesn't appear to be in pain or other distress. We know that when we leave on Sunday or Monday we won't be back until probably Memorial Day and it is unlikely that Zed will be with us, barring a miracle, by then. But we will have had this week with Zed and all his barking and running and kisses. And that is something that I would not trade for anything!

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