Click Here To View
Zeus left this world on June 25, 2026 at 3:19pm.
He went to sleep for the last time.He was 17 and a half years old.
Three years ago dementia changed him into a dog who no longer followed me around or wanted to be held. Actually, it changed everything about him, and all I could think about was how much I missed my best friend. I finally realized that someday he’d be gone for good, and I set out to learn this new dog who got stuck in corners, did not want to eat, and spent most of his day sleeping and all his awake time pacing. I learned that this little guy was into his schedule. Wake up at 6 am to potty and jump right back to bed, around 10am again to relieve himself take his morning meds and back to bed. 1pm was brunch time and medicine again which he took so well and never struggled with that. 4pm lunch and pacing. 7pm dinner and pacing. 10pm 2nd dinner and night medicine. 12-3am stay up to pace and pee and back to bed and repeat for 3 hours. Repetitive behavior became routine and after year of trying to discourage it, I learned to love these moments he spent with me just the two of us.
He no longer slept on my bed so I started sleeping in the living room on the couch right next to his bed. I loved the dog he became in his last 3 years as much as I loved the dog he used to be. It’s heartbreaking when your dog gets dementia and changes. Please don’t make the mistake I made by wasting some of your precious time together crying over how different they’ve become. There will be plenty of time for tears when they’re gone. It’s hard to watch them slip away, but I just followed his lead, changed our life as his dementia changed him. It's easier said than done but try not to mourn them while they're still here. Anticipatory grief got me for 3 years and I tried to prepare myself for this pain. But nothing could ever prepare me for this...
Our last years together was me helping him when he stumbled, guiding him to his water bowl, carried him wherever he needed to go... I never left him. And I do not regret missing out on the outside world when he became homebound because HE was my world...
I love you Zeus, and I hope you are okay my once-in-a-lifetime best boy.
It was truly an honor to be your mommy.
Face Book - Zeus Zoo And Norman
