wrestlewrestlewrestle

it's been awhile since i've updated everyone on zeus, but i'm here with more good news!

a few weeks ago, a friend of mine brought her 4 lb yorkie (apple) over, who used to use zeus as a spring board to jump onto the bench at the dog park last summer, but they haven't seen (or smelled) one another in almost a year. and zeus amazed me, when apple reached her little face out licking zeus right in the mouth, he didn't snap! he's been amazing, he's getting back to being good with little dogs. but the bigger ones, we're still working on those kinks.

as well, all of zeus' stitches are officially out as of this morning. his eyes have healed wonderfully and with the fur growing back, he looks spectacular. i've had so many people comment on how amazing he looks, especially since it's been just over a month since his surgery. he's such a rock.

and nooowww, here's a video of zeus with his brother owen and cousin brooklyn, getting some sun and getting their wrestle on.

zeus at cherry beach.

took zeus to cherry beach for the first time, he's not a fan of the water! lower your speakers, my voice is incredibly high pitched in this

begging!

he doesn't need to see to beg for ice cream!

good news!

hey everyone, got a small update for you guys but an important one none the less!

zeus just had his check up at the clinic and everything seems to be healing nicely. he is still going to have to wear the cone for another few days and the stitches have been left in to dissolve on their own. he's really doing amazing. he's got so much of his strength back, he's playing with the balls- or well hoarding all the balls in the apartment, he even tried jumping on my couch! i'm really excited for all these advancements and hope zeus continues to do as well as he's been doing for the last week.

to anyone who reads this, that i owe an email response to- i WILL get back to you. things have been crazy with zeus, my birthday and other appointments. so i really appreciate your patience. you guys are the best!!!!!

zeus 2.0

so i realize i've been out of touch this weekend, and things are still pretty crazy but i figured i owed everyone an update.

zeus has been doing just amazing. the first few nights were rough, lots of crying so neither of us slept much. but last night i got the best birthday present i could have asked for.. a full night's sleep!

besides the bit of crying, zeus is still figuring out how to get around the house wearing a cone, but he's managed to figure out how to steal toys from his brother. it's really like a magic trick. cone goes over the ball, ball disappears! he also comes running when he hears any noise in the kitchen, hoping for a treat. his personality is shining through all the pain.

we were at the vet on saturday evening and he got his fentanyl patch removed. despite not having anymore pain medication, he seems to be doing well without it. he's learned that crying leads to everyone fawning over him, so he's using it for attention.

this is all over the place so i apologize. more updates will come soon. hopefully a video blog and some more photos so you can see just how well he is doing.

thanks again to everyone, i really appreciate everything you have all done for us.

he's home!

there's not much to say about him. the pictures say it all. playing with the ball and jumping on the couch.

to everyone who made this possible for him, i will never be able to thank you enough. when i'm more composed, i'll be able to give a better update. i just wanted to let you all know that he's home and doing so good.

latest zeus update

just talked to the vet and have been told that zeus is awake and doing really well. he's going to be staying for observation for another day and he'll be in my arms tomorrow evening at 5pm! can't wait to see him!

his stitches are dissolvable, but he'll be back at the vet in a few weeks to check up and if they're ready to come out, then he'll have them removed.

plus, zeus had a growth around his eye, and it's now be chopped off and is going to be sent for a biopsy just to make sure it's benign. so keep thinking happy thoughts for a good test result on that.

i'll be calling again later tonight and if there's anything major to update on, i will let you all know! after my immediate family, you are the first to be updated with any news.

birthday

today was zeus' birthday and unfortunately it wasn't the best he's had. the pain seems to be back in full force. not opening his eyes and snapping at one of his best dog friends is just showing that it's getting worse. but we can see the bright light up ahead, knowing the pain is only going to be a roadblock in his life for only a few days more.

trying to be strong for him and owen. failing miserably, but working on it. he's a great dog and doesn't deserve this pain. but he's going to get better.

if you can, keep us in your thoughts this week, we're going to need it.

you've all been amazing and i'll never be able to thank you enough for making this a possibility for zeus.

wednesday, april 21, 2010.

here is zeus enjoying one of his favourite zuke bones!

i just got off the phone with the vet and zeus' surgery is scheduled for this wednesday. i forget how quick things can go in the dog world, and i'm extremely nervous about his surgery. i know it's for the best, but my heart is pounding and i hope everything goes okay.

it's just hard to take as this isn't something zeus deserved to have happen to him, and now he's going through this pain. but soon he'll be living a happier life, that's how i have to look at it.

thank you to everyone who made this possible and to everyone who is still donating. to everyone who wants me to get him a special treat in their name and everyone who is donating to make sure we're covered in case there are any post op complications.

this is the best birthday present both of us could ever ask for. (zeus' 6 birthday is tomorrow and my twenty fourth birthday is next monday.) so thank you so much to every single one of you who has made this possible sooner rather than later.

and now i'm crying again, so i digress.

he'll be going into the vet on tuesday night at around 8:30 est and will need lots of happy thoughts as he will definitely be stressed out from not only being away from me but being in a strange place completely alone.

i'll keep everyone updated on here whenever i have news.

a dream becomes reality

just told zeus we raised the money for his surgery, and he just lifted his arm for a belly rub. thank you to EVERYONE!!! i'm keeping the chip-in open, not to be greedy, but i was aiming for the low end of the estimate and would like to just have a bit more incase there are any complications that raise it to the high end of the estimate. plus in case there are any infections afterwards. if you dont feel comfortable donating more that's completely understandable.

thank you to every single person who donated, you are all angels in my eyes. if i ever had any doubt in humanity (which believe me i did) you guys have squashed that completely. you've all been so amazing, BEYOND amazing. i can't thank you enough. i never thought this would happen, it was all just a wild dream in my mind and you've managed to make it a reality.

thank you, thank you, thank you.

(also, yes, he's sleeping in my closet. it's his favourite place to sleep and since the pain began, that's where he's hidden out. hopefully you'll be able to see more photos of him to come, out and being sociable in the rest of the world. haha!)

so this might not make much sense, as i'm currently shaking. for the last 12 hours, and mostly in the last 3, i've received a complete influx of donations. and i went from have $20 to over $900. you guys are so amazing. i wish i could say more, but i'm just in shock. thank you, thank you, thank you and a million times thank you.

everyone who has donated even a dollar, to those who have donated 100 and 200 dollars. each and every one of you are making a huge difference in not only zeus' life, but in mine.

every one of you who read about zeus on the vine, on divie or any other way you may have heard about zeus. from the bottom of my heart..

thank you

estimate

Just coming back from the vet with the exact estimate, including everything he's going to need. Good to see everything is included in the estimate, sad to see it might cost more than previously thought.

help zeus

This was the first picture I ever saw of Zeus, back when he was living at a foster home in SiberRescue. I met him once when I was adopting my first puppy, but I didn't know he had to be mine until I read his story. He was rescued when he was three years old, from his owners who had him chained up outside for his entire life. His fur was burned to wire and was severely underweight when he was found wandering the streets, but to add onto that, the sun damage from the lack of protection and complete neglect had left him with cataracts, causing him to be completely blind.


I adopted him two years ago when I was only 21 and everyone I knew thought that I was absolutely crazy to take on a dog with such issues. Zeus was not only completely neglected by his previous owners, but was consistently picked on by the dogs he lived with while in foster care. This wasn't an easy fix, and it's taken a lot of work to get him to trust again, but being the kind of person who always needs to help, I never gave up. It's been two years and he's been an absolute angel, but now he's facing further pain. I recently found out that his cataracts, that if he was cared for he never would have had to begin with, have given him glaucoma and retinal atrophy. His eyes are swelling, causing him to have a constant migraine. Imagine being in his shoes, it's a horrible feeling. Now, because of this, Zeus needs to have his eyes removed and unfortunately it's quite an expensive surgery.


This is Zeus today. His eyes have gotten so swollen from the glaucoma, that it causes him pain to even open them. We've been trying homeopathic remedies to try to keep him comfortable until I have raised the money for the surgery. With the help of family and friends, I've managed to raise about $400 but I still have a long way to go, so if you can donate even a dollar, it really does go a long way. Thanks to everyone who has been so amazing through all of this.

zeus, his brother and cousin flexing their vocal chords!

howl from vivian valery on Vimeo.

zeus wrestles!

here's an old video from two years ago- the first day zeus ever wrestled since i had adopted him.

Zeus on Facebook!

If you’ve ever spoken to me, you know Zeus’ entire life story. If you’ve only read my blog, you know very little about him.

I rescued him just under two years ago from a rescue called SiberRescue based out of Aurora, Ontario. Zeus was found wandering the streets, blind as a bat, underweight and his black fur burned down to orange wire on his back. He gained his weight back, and his fur grew back to a beautiful black. Unfortunately, he never regained his eye sight. After being chained outside the first three years of his life, the sun damage had given him cataracts. Because of his disability, very few wanted to adopt him and the few that did, thought of him as too difficult to stick through.

Until I met him. I met him the same day that I was picking out which puppy I was going to take home from a fresh litter the rescue had just saved. I fell in love twice that day.

As I waited for my friend, Kayleigh, to return from the car, Zeus kept his backside pressed against my leg, making sure I didn’t stop giving him attention. Having no idea he couldn’t see, I backed up slightly, losing the touch between me and him. Immediately, Zeus turned around, trying to find to where I had gone. In that moment, I knew it was love.

I had bad luck getting a dog for the first few months, and Lisa from SiberRescue had already trusted me with a brand new puppy, so the chance that she would allow me to adopt her beloved Zeus felt impossible. I couldn’t give up, though. I sent an email to the rescue and after only two months with Owen, I had a second dog.

Zeus has been through more than his fair share of abuse and still deals with his fear on a day to day basis. But even with all the neglect he’s had to endure in his lifetime, he’s the friendliest dog most people have ever met. We go to the dog park and he spends all his time with the people, his butt wagging hoping for a nice rub. Rescuing him was the best decision I have ever made in my life and I haven’t ever changed that idea. He was my birthday present for my 22nd birthday.

About 3-4 weeks ago, I noticed that Zeus wasn’t opening his eyes or eating his meals. When we went to the dog park that morning, he laid in the middle of the park and didn’t associate with anyone, crying whenever anyone even touched him. Inexperienced me, I thought he just had something in his eye, as the next day and for weeks after he was back to his regular self, for the most part. His right eye stayed red and hurt him to touch. But with his eating habits back on schedule and finding him playing with his friends once again, I stopped worrying.

Until earlier this week when I took him to the vet.

His 6th birthday is coming up and we just found out that his cataracts have caused him retinal atrophy and glaucoma. Although he is still the friendly dog he’s always been, he’s in constant pain. The best thing that I can do for him right now, to rejuvenate his quality of life is to have his eyes removed to remove the source of his constant pain.

I have found a vet clinic who is offering me the surgery with all the extras for just $2,500. Without this surgery, he will need constant medical attention, at least three drops in his eyes a day as well as needing to take a pill every day. This would just relieve a touch of the pain, but it will never bring back his vision.

If you can find it in your hearts to donate any money you can, that would help so much. Believe me, I hate to ask, as I’ve been paying for everything these dogs have needed for the last two years. But it comes to a time that everyone needs a little help. Even a dollar helps. Please pass this along to anyone you know who would love to help this dog’s life.

If you’d like to keep up on how Zeus is doing, I will continue to update this blog with any important information, or you can always email me and I will respond to you asap with any updates I have on him.

Thank you so much for even reading this, even if you can’t afford to donate. Keep him in your thoughts and wish the best for him.

If you can afford to donate, even a dollar, please donate through my chip-in below.