Zo-Zo

February marks the month that we got our dog, Zoe - back in 1997, not long after we bought our first house. We really had no plans or intention of getting a dog...a kid was enough. But my Dad called one afternoon to say that someone at church had a litter of puppies that they were giving away and he thought Mason should have a dog (this coming from a man who is not fond of dogs, or animals in general). But every boy should have a dog, right?

So we went out to the farm and spent an evening looking at the dogs and going back and forth between which puppy we wanted (and which looked like the calmest that would cause us the least trouble).

We picked our puppy out and then the next day we went to the pet store to get a collar, food dishes and all the puppy essentials. We told Mason that he would get to name her. He thought long and hard while we were standing in line. His first choice was Black Dog. Not really a fitting name. We told him to try again. His 2nd choice was Zoe - he was very in to Sesame Street at the time. So, Zoe it was.

Mason had a puppy chair that he'd sit in to watch TV and was very attached to it.

But once we got Zoe home, she became very fond of it too...I think it reminded her of her mommy.
Mason and Zoe would sometimes fight over who got to sit in the chair. Eventually, Zoe won because it got too dog hairy and Mason would get covered when he sat in the chair.

She has been a wonderful, wonderful family pet. She loves the kids and protects us fiercely (until the bad guy rubs her belly).

She still patiently lets the kids sit on her...

Runs and plays with them...though she takes very long naps afterward now

And vies for their affection


Her nerves are shot these days (maybe I should slip her a glass of wine) - she is afraid of thunder now, and when the smoke detectors go off she shakes like a leaf. Her hearing isn't what it used to be - sometimes she doesn't bark at noises like she used to and then at other times, she imagines she hears things so she barks.

She's a good girl. I hope we have a lot of years left with her.