by Elaine Moreau
(Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada)

My most precious Zoe

My beloved Zoe was a gift from God. I adopted her as 2nd year anniversary of my son's death approached. She was only 6 weeks old and her white coat of fur was like wire due to worms. She won my heart within seconds of seeing her.

My Zoe had more than her fair share of health issues. At the age of 2 she developed Hepatic Lipidosis and with great care and several surgeries, she pulled through. Through the remaining 8 years she had repeated bouts of serious constipation that would result in hospitalization for several days at a time. These hospitalizations were very stressful for Zoe and the threat of Hepatic Lipidosis was never far away.

Each time I brought her home from her hospitalizations, I wept tears of joy and we would spend several hours snuggling. I would climb into bed and she would lay down, reaching for my hand. Zoe loved to sleep with her head resting in the palm of my hand. Once her head found my hand, she would wrap her little paws around my arm and pull it as close to her as possible.

This fall she started sleeping more, and I had assumed she was just getting older and needed more sleep. She showed no signs of pain and it wasn't until she stopped covering her pee that I found the blood. I called the vet and picked up the 'special' litter so I could capture a urine specimen. I cried when I saw how much blood she peed. The next morning, December 5, 2012, the vet called and asked me to bring her in immediately. After the ultra-sound, she told me that my most precious Zoe had Transitional Cell Carcinoma.

We attempted medication to shrink her tumor, and we spent hours snuggling. On January 3, Zoe went down hill very quickly. Her breathing was very labored and the pain prevented her from getting any sleep through the night. I knew it was time to say good-bye. Taking her the vet clinic was excruciating. I stayed with her, holding her and whispering love to her. At 10:15, on January 4, 2013, my Zoe left this world. My heart aches. I miss her so very much.