Ten and half years ago, I, Scruff Dad's wife, got my first daughter. She came in the form of a four-legged black dog-- half lab, half German short-hair pointer. I called her my Montana Squirrel hound. She taught me a lot about responsibility, loyalty, and the importance of animals in ones life. She was really the best friend a single, independent woman could have asked for....... she ran, skied, biked, hiked, and traveled almost everywhere that I went. She lived in Montana with me for two years and moved to Vermont in 2000. She was dignified, mature, but fun and adventuresome. Anyone who met her, held a soft spot in their hearts for her. I was really, really proud to call her my dog.
John was never a "dog person", he didn't grow up with dogs and had never had a dog of his own. When he started courting me, he knew Zola and I came as a package. Like most people, he quickly warmed up to her and couldn't believe that he had lived so long without the joys of owning a dog. We were both really proud to have her as our ring bearer in our wedding. Here's a picture of her being walked down the "aisle" with my good friend Mic, who had known her since she was a puppy in Missoula:
We thought she would be a part of the "happily ever after" with us
When John and I found out we were pregnant, I knew Zola would be the best "big sister"/first dog that any child could ask for.Last June, Zola suddenly came up lame. John was in Peru, I was in the middle of the mayhem of school ending and I was just finishing up my first trimester of being pregnant. Within days, she went from being my running side kick to a very sick dog. No one could figure out what was going on, but she was clearly having some sort of autoimmune response (swelling, low red blood cell count, etc.). She managed to have a short remission and get well enough to travel to my parents in Connecticut where we were reunited with John and celebrating my sister and Rob's engagement/shower. Sadly, she died days after our return.
We were heart broken. Not only had I lost the most amazing dog who had been through so many major life changing events with me, but we lost the dream of having our old black friend there for our child. Without much deliberation, we decided to visit a litter of puppies that our builder's dog had sired. Here's what we found:
We named her Izzy. She was half lab/half border collie. She was an amazing puppy. I figured I'd have the time to raise a puppy over the summer and she'd be fairly well trained by the time a baby came along. This way our child would have a dog in her life.
Unfortunately, when Izzy was about four months old, she disappeared from our house with her sister. We have no idea what happened to her. With the help of our amazing friends, we looked everywhere for her. We left no stone unturned-- offered rewards, posted notices in the papers, on Craigslist, etc. We were devastated. For months, calls came in about possible sitings, our hopes would get high, and then nothing would become of any of them.........
Still not willing to give up the idea of having a four-legged sibling for our child, I convinced John to agree to getting yet another puppy. This one I found on Craigslist. The ad said something about an 8-week old "pure breed lab needing to be re-homed b/c of allergies". I e-mailed the woman, we exchanged a few calls and agreed to meet at the Kohl's parking lot in West Leb, NH. So, on a dark night in November, John and I got Zephy:
You can't really see her very well in those pictures, but she's definitely NOT a purebred lab. The first real sign that she isn't, was the beard that she has-- very terrier-like. Then there ss the fact that she was completely neurotic and jumpy........ So, weeks before I was due to have the baby and still not in our own house, we got a very tiny puppy. Three dogs in less than six months! Some thought us insane. And we really, sort of, were.Zephy, has been a bit of a challenge. She's not as trainable or easy going as either of the aforementioned black dogs. However, she's a huge lover and absolutely wonderful with Cally. She has given Cally so much to laugh and smile about. They love each other:
Words cannot describe how much we miss Zola and Izzy. I have a feeling Zephy will be a lot like a good wine-- she'll get better with age. In the mean time, she's getting better everyday and Cally is going to be a better kid for having had a four-legged sibling in her life.
