My sweet girl passed away quite suddenly on August 2nd. It started off as an ordinary day – we walked down to the beach in the early morning, she enjoyed her usual relaxing swim at Cane Garden Bay, said hi to her dog and human friends on the beach and we walked home. She ate breakfast and laid down to relax for the day, belly full and happy. A couple hours later, she collapsed under my desk and two hours later, just before midday, she died. I am so grateful I was home and she passed away peacefully, just her and I, outside on the porch in a gentle summer breeze. I got to hold her in my arms and whisper how much I love and appreciate her.
I can’t believe she is gone, my heart hurts so much. I wasn’t prepared for how such a seemingly ordinary day would change my life too. I thought I had more time to love her.
Zumaya’s Story
My friend, Kris, met Zumaya when she was looking for a home. Kris went to scope out this little ragamuffin as she was several hours away from me in Cary, NC. Well, I immediately fell in love with this squishy, utterly delightful, small little fluff ball. She joined our family when she was 7 weeks old and Henry was NOT amused, several times that weekend he had her head in his mouth every time we weren’t looking. It didn’t take much time for her to win him over with her puppy antics too! She actually kept that old man feeling young. Zumaya was a definite mama’s girl and did suffer from anxiety – from meeting other dogs to missing her mama when I was out of sight.
She loved walking and swimming and learning all of Henry’s naughtiness! Growing up on a beach, she always enjoyed her early morning walks with Henry and then with Maggie and Maisy as they joined our pack. She came sailing with us and adored being included in our weekend cruising on the boat as long as I was near. Now, the power boat on warm summer evenings I believe was her most joy. She was just delighted to jump onto the boat and take off. She would sit up forward with the breeze flowing past her beautiful fluffy ears and was the happiest dog ever. She also appreciated and enjoyed hanging on the beach when we would go fishing and loved swimming and splashing in the ocean. She just loved life!
Zumaya was a very loving, sweet, beautiful soul. Giving cuddles and kisses was her thing, so was following me from room to room and seeing if she could trip me up. She had so much enthusiasm for life and took on adventures head on from relocating to another country to flying in airplanes to the aftermath of hurricanes and floods, just took it all in her stride.
I will definitely miss her soft fur and ears against my face when I cuddle her, will miss scratching that belly and butt and receiving massive amounts of kisses every day and, of course, her very enthusiastic, doggy dance greetings at the door.
Our home feels very empty without her.
