A Tribute to Zak

Zak: So energetic, lively, fun. He made life into a game, kept us all smiling at his fun antics and kept us fit running around after soccer balls and playing Frisbee. I miss you, my friend. Never in my life have I met such a crazy pup as you, and you filled such a special place in our hearts.

Zak’s story started when we left the Langkloof at the beginning of last year. Beth came running into the house shouting: “Guess what, mom? I’m getting a puppy!” Mom looked at me, I looked at mom. A puppy…hmm this should be fun.

So Zak came home and guess who had to prepare his bed, take him to the loo all hours of the night and comfort his lonely heart by allowing him into her bed? You guessed right – me! I didn’t mind though, he had captured my heart.

During our time on the small-holding in Kraaibosch, he showed us how to play soccer and have fun. He loved his family but didn’t like going to the beach. He loved ice-cream and squishy cone that Rebekah didn’t want to finish (…and us neither!). He wanted to be part of the family.

Zak did school too. He sat on the bench while the little ones painted; he played bubbles with mom and Rebekah. He picked berries and ate them, and, as I mentioned earlier, he LOVED soccer and was a real pro at it too. He hardly needed to be trained to sit and lie down. He was easy in that regard. I am grateful that he was around to alert us of snakes lurking in our garden and he followed me wherever I went.

Zak was put down three weeks ago after contracting parvovirus. Even though he was a fighter, it was too much for his little body to endure. I will always miss him.

Kelly-Anne