Zeus came to live with us in the summer of 2022. We had lost Moose a few months before and Heather wanted another fluffy old dog around the house. She called them her quilting dogs because they were good about hanging out with her when she worked on her quilts.

It didn’t take long to spot him. He was a handsome 10-year old fella on petfinder. I think he may have been a courtesy post for Old Dog Haven. He was living in eastern Washington on a farm and was not in great shape. The way the rescuer who had him told it, he had been a farm dog but was neglected and was now living outdoors with a female dog that kept going after him. Despite that, he was supposed to be dog friendly, so we decided to take him in.

We were warned when Heather drove over to get him that he had been partially shaved. He had so many burrs in his paws and coat, they could not brush them out. We would later learn that he hated a lot of the grooming tasks and would absolutely bite you if you over-handled him.

Zeus fit right in with us. He began bossing Emma around right away and he and Bacchus agreed to a general truce although there were small skirmishes from time to time. Mostly when Zoo-Bear, as we nicknamed him, decided to pick on Bach about playing too much and Bach would get fed up with his bossiness. Despite those occasional snarking fits, everyone got along fine. He even began going to daycare where he bossed around staff and dogs alike.

When Ziggy came along and later Brooke from Working Dogs Oregon, he was a patient old puppy-raiser. He played with the young dogs, getting a little rough from time to time, like any good uncle would do.

We got our first scare when he had a large growth develop on his cheek. We opted for removal and the vet didn’t think it was cancerous. Soon, his hair grew back and he was back to his usual ornery self.

About six months later, I noticed another growth, this time on his lower jaw. He had appeared quickly and was about the size of a twenty-five cent gumball. We had another visit to the vet and another surgery for removal. The hope was that the surgery removed all the tumor. That was September. In late October, the pathology results were back and, unfortunately, so was the growth. It was cancerous and obviously, the surgery did not get all of it. We had a consult with a cancer specialist which was a frustrating experience. The oncologist barely looked at him and wanted to do tests to see where things stood. The first round of that testing would be about $4000 and they were talking about another eight or nine thousand for a surgery that would remove part of his jaw bone. Even then, the “hope” would be they would get it all, but there was no guarantee.

We left downhearted.

We went back to our vet who thought he may be able to do another more aggressive surgery and get it all. They did xrays and sent them out to a specialist look at them.

Meanwhile, Zeus was having trouble. He had developed a weird cough and was having accidents. He could not get up and down the porch stairs and had become very wobbly. None of these symptoms would seem to be associated with a tumor in his mouth. Then the radiology report came back. He had what appeared to be more tumors higher up on his face. They were just not noticeable to us yet. At this point he was scheduled for his surgery on Tuesday the sixteenth. Monday morning, he couldn’t get up. We had a long talk. We gave him ice cream and hot dogs, which he could barely eat because of the tumor. We canceled the surgery and made a different appointment. 

On Wednesday, December seventeenth, we carried our 100 pound dog into the vet’s office. We sat with him a few minutes and said goodbye. I think he was just aware enough to know we were there. The vet came in, did his final service for our big lovable boy, and we said our last farewell. Then, without a sound, Zeus was gone.

In our short three years together, he became a loved fixture in our home and our lives. He had attitude and feistiness. He wasn’t a cuddler, but always wanted to be near someone. I hope he enjoyed his final years. He was a good dog.