This Monday, Zebbie the uber sculpture dog and companion of 10 years, died in his sleep. He was a wonderful companion who never complained and always wanted to be by your side. He was a thief, criminal, and a conniver - all of which were understandable from where he came from.
Zebbie came to us, a stray that followed us home. He followed us home from our retail store on Christmas Eve in 1997. It was 10 degrees out, we already had two dogs, and definitely did not need any more. The unkept dog was wearing a ratty collar, with a rope hanging off the collar that he had obviously chewed through. After numerous attempts to make him go away he went across the the street to the Navitity Scene at the church. Watching him, he went right up to the plastic, internally lit Jesus in a basket and licked his face. We let Zebbie stay at our house for the night, but only for that night. Now 10 years on.
After witnessing the first conniving event, at the church, there were other similar events over the years. Never conniving to be a problem but out of innocent self-interest.
Zebbie always wanted to be around his humans so there was rarely a need for a leash, other than to make strangers happy that a dog was on a leash. He was always ready to share a pet with anyone he met - particularly children and infants. His favorite thing was to go pet human infants. In the studio, he would watch for a mother pushing a stroller. He would immeadiately run out and get in front of the stroller and stick his nose into the stroller to see the infant. Zebbie would be delighted while the infant squealed with delight and patted Zebbie on the nose and head. The mother pushing the stroller would be going bonkers because of Zebbie's curiousity. After the inital encounter, the stroller mom's would actually enjoy seeing Zebbie. For that matter, as the kids got older and could walk on their own, they still enjoyed seeing and petting Zebbie.
A friend wrote down a brief thought that I really like. I trust he wont mind my sharing it.
There are some people, some dogs, which simply die and disappear, and then there are some people, and some dogs, who by the way they lived have carved themselves on the souls, and hearts of those who loved them. For that latter group of people, and dogs, there should be no mourning, for they live on in our hearts. Whether they went out with a loud youp of joy, or the stiff refusal to lower their head for fear of missing a thing, if we listen closely, or watch the shadows in just the right way, we will take them on with us in our hearts, for the rest of our days, and one day, we will all be joined together, howling, watching, laughing. I am deeply sorry for your loss, but I do believe!
Wherev
er Zebbie went, he always had a friend. Even in a room full of strangers, when he left they were all his friends. I still look for him around corners and all the places he liked to sleep. I miss him greatly and will miss him for a long time. He is in a better place. There is no pain, no arthritis, only going places with the people you love, having a job to do and getting petted by people and petting them back.
er Zebbie went, he always had a friend. Even in a room full of strangers, when he left they were all his friends. I still look for him around corners and all the places he liked to sleep. I miss him greatly and will miss him for a long time. He is in a better place. There is no pain, no arthritis, only going places with the people you love, having a job to do and getting petted by people and petting them back.copyright 2008 Carl Wright
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