GRR Number: 15-104
Zoey, our rescue Golden, went over The Rainbow Bridge on November 27, at age 12/13. She was such a wonderful girl! Our family is heartbroken over her loss. We are not sure about the cause of her death, because she passed so quickly, however, our vet suspects an aggressive form of cancer.
Before writing this memorial, I reviewed the background report that we received with Zoey’s adoption papers. Zoey’s story is the essence of why Gold Ribbon Rescue (GRR) exists to help rescues like her that are in need. She was the poster child for GRR.
Zoey’s early years must have been traumatic. She was found as a stray in Killen, Texas by a good Samaritan. It is suspected that Zoey was dumped, because she was found exhausted, dehydrated, and suffering from health issues including a serious foot infection, fleas, matted fur, goopy eyes, and ear infections and later to find out heartworm. Fortunately, the good Samaritan took Zoey into their home for some TLC. Zoey didn’t initially drink water or eat food, but she eventually responded to the family’s loving care.
After getting Zoey through the toughest days, the good Samaritan transferred her to the care of GRR to continue her recovery and to find a loving home. When GRR received Zoey, they continued providing medical care, which included treating her significant heartworm condition.
We adopted Zoey in 2016. We were apparently the second family to adopt Zoey. The first family returned her to GRR for some reason. We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to give her a second chance. Zoey was shy and slow to assimilate into our family unit, which included a younger Golden and a grumpy old Tom Cat. However, it wasn’t long before she eventually got along with both and showed us her unique personality. She was very loving and compliant, yet had an independent streak. She began to love riding in the car, (after being scared of it at first), always behind the driver’s seat and sometimes sticking her head out the window like most dogs. She enjoyed meeting people on walks in the neighborhood, or when visiting the local Home Depot, getting petted by everyone and a dog biscuit from the employees. Zoey loved being in the middle of the family, but she also liked being off by herself in another room at times. She was very gentile around little kids, and she absolutely hated thunderstorms and distant gun fire for which she would hide in the bathroom and sometimes even in the tub. She was definitely not a fan of the Roomba.
As a Golden Retriever, Zoey did not adhere to the standard protocol for retrieving tennis balls. She would chase a ball, retrieve it, but only bring the ball halfway back to the thrower. Zoey would typically drop the ball, start barking, and expect you to come get it from her. If you wanted to have her retrieve a ball, you had to play by her unique rules. Eventually, she liked to go out for long passes, like a wide receiver, and bark until you threw the ball to her.
Zoey had another funny characteristic. Whenever we would return to our house, we’d find the sofa pillows strewn on the floor in front of the sofa. We discovered that Zoey would get up on the sofa whenever we were gone and when she heard us coming in the door, she’d quickly jump off the sofa onto her dog bed looking innocent.
The most endearing characteristic of Zoey’s, was when we were sleeping at night. She would come up to my side of the bed, several times during the night, and sniff around my face and head. I would never feel her wet nose, but I could hear her smelling me, and every morning, between 5:00 and 5:30, I would wake up to the sounds of Zoey’s thunderous tail knocking on the metal bed frame, telling me that it was time to get up and feed her. We didn’t need to set an alarm with Zoey in the house.
We had six wonderful years with Zoey as part of our family. Thank you GRR for letting us adopt Zoey. She was a wonderful family member. With tears in our eyes, we already miss her this upcoming holiday season.
Charles Bergh
Dripping Springs, TX
