Chester Zausel was a good boy. The best one actually.
I'm sitting beside him right now. His body is still ever so slightly warm to the touch, but rigor mortis has already set in and so he no longer looks like he's just asleep. I still kind of expect him to just snap out of it. Surely he'll lift is furry head any second now and come over to beg for pets and treats.
But I guess not.
It all happened so quickly. A week ago we just thought he had a cough. Tracheitis. Nothing medication and rest couldn't fix. It looked like the medication was working at first, so we kept at it. This morning however he was a lot worse. Lethargic. A little weak in the legs. Lost his ability to swallow. Concerning. So we talked to the vet and moved up his follow-up appointment to today. An x-ray showed that it wasn't a cough, it was a fist-sized growth in his lungs.
Theoretically this is something one can try to operate. Practically with all his pre-existing conditions the chances of success were slim to none. Leishmaniasis, arthritis, pelvic tilt, gingivitis and now a growth in his lungs making it painful to breathe.
Our little guy didn't have it easy in life. 4 years on the streets in greece, then one year in a greek shelter, followed by two years in a shelter in germany. Not once did someone try to adopt him. And yet he never lost his spirit. He wasn't the biggest fan of other dogs, but he loved people. To him strangers truly were just friends he hadn't met yet. Even though people are the reason he's had such a tough life. It's inspiring and I'm glad we got to reward his unreasonable perseverance when we adopted him almost exactly one year ago. 12 days until the anniversary.
He was such a kind soul. Curious. Loved to sniff around. Loved going on walks. The green meadow was nice, but the forest was amazing. Loved getting his paws wet in a stream. But not too deep, that's scary. Loved running as fast as possible and looking over to see if we were keeping up. Sometimes I was, but he had more stamina so he always won. Looking proud because he knew I didn't let him win.
Every day we had with him was an extraordinary gift. When he was first brought to Germany his leishmaniasis was apparently so bad the vet didn't think he would make it for long or ever get into an adoptable state.
I am thankful for every minute I got to spend with him. Every morning I woke up and he was already waiting. Grinning his biggest grin, just because I was finally awake. Every night when I came home from work he came up to me barely able to contain his excitement that I was finally back. Made it impossible to stay grumpy, even if I had had a bad day.
And even though I knew his health could take a turn for the worse at any time it still caught me completely off guard. We still had so many plans.
It all happened so quickly.
His body is growing colder now. Stiff. I am not ready to say goodbye, but it is time.
Good-night, sweet prince. I will always remember you.
