Clyde - Now Zack - Adopted 9/25/01

12/6/01 - Zack has completely settled into his new home and his owner says that Zack and Rosie act like they are engaged! He has a favorite toy, squeeky squirrel, that he loves to tease Rosie with. They wrestle for the best spot on the bed next to Mom each morning!

Zack was adopted by a great couple in Mound, MN. Zack has a new sister, Rosie who is also a Rescue Collie. He will have lots of fun running around his new hobby farm, herding sheep and playing with his new Family. Congratulations to Zack and his new forever family!

Zack is a beautiful neutered male Tri and White Collie who is 2 years old. Zack was turned in to a shelter by his former owners.

Latest Update:

A story of courage, love, and hope. 

... He accomplished remission without chemo or any drugs.  I think he is a great portrait of courage. 

To All Members;

I have been asked by several members how Zack is doing.  If Rosie's story was a story of hope, Zack's must be one of courage, not my courage, but his.  Rosie was "only " dog for a year after we adopted her.  Because she was alone when we were away at work Arnie and I felt it might enhance her life to have an adopted brother or sister.  We contacted the shelter we had adopted Rosie from they had no collies and referred us to MWCR.  I spoke to Lorrie and she indicated she was fostering a beautiful neutered male collie by the name of Clyde.  She said he was  2 years old, house broken, gentle, playful  and was white with a tri colored head.  He sounded  interesting.  She brought him out to our house on Sept.  25th 2001.  He was everything she had promised and more!   He floated into our house, this vision of white fur and enthusiastically greeted each of us.  He had brought his favorite toy along, a stuffed toy squirrel which he proceeded to toss about and bark at.  Arnie and I probably looked like the village idiots with our mouths hanging open , watching  this energy charged dog cavorting about.  Rosie stood there staring at him with huge eyes looking exactly like a startled owl.  As the evening progressed, he engaged her in a wild game of  "chase me -catch me".  He kept returning to us with overtures  of friendship.  He was  enchanting!   We liked him.  Rosie liked him!    He was so joyous and enthusiastic!   

His name didn't suit him at all.  The only Clyde I ever knew was a crabby old geezer who had a pot belly, wore his pants up under his arm pits, held up by suspenders.  He took great joy cutting his relatives out of his will.  Surely we couldn't burden this beautiful dog with a name like Clyde.  Not wanting to offend, I asked Lorrie if she would be upset if we changed Clyde's name.  She thought that was fine, she didn't like the name either.  Lorrie had brought her son Zack along.  Clyde seemed especially close to Zack.  In the time we had spent together, we knew we wanted Clyde, I knew I liked Lorrie and Zack, and knew I didn't want these 2 people to pass out of my life.  Shortly there after, Clyde was renamed Zack after the boy he loved so much. 

The first week  Zack was with us was not easy.  Rosie had many rules of proper collie decorum that she held to, and expected Zack to follow (which he rarely did).  They had several arguments,  Rosie was firm with her rules, Zack being  easy going could have cared less.  She seemingly went about offended and in a huff  while he was always in a gay mood.  About the time I was about to give up thinking these two would never work out their differences it all changed.  Suddenly Rosie  began licking his face, nibbling his cheek and acting  as if Brad Pitt had suddenly moved into the house.  She adored him.  He accepted all her lavish attention in a regal and reserved fashion and became alfa dog.  As the months progressed they became devoted to each other.  He still romped and played, but he became also more serious, he became an adult and began to take his position seriously.  In January Austin joined our family.  It was an easy transition, Austin really didn't want to be leader.  Life went on smoothly until the end of February.  One day I noticed Zack was not his usual bodacious self.  For 2 days he slept and laid about.  I took his temp it was 104.  Arnie took him into our vet on a Saturday.  He ran some tests gave him an antibiotic and said to call him if he wasn’t better by Monday.  By Monday he was worse. 

Thus began our longest journey.  For the next 2 weeks Zack was at the clinic every day for tests.  I would bring him in in the a.  m.  Arnie would pick him up late in the afternoon.  Rosie and Austin would greet him every afternoon when he came home.  Rosie would lick his face, Austin would touch noses with Zack and wag his tail.  Zack was very ill.  The right side of his  face began to swell.  He had no energy, he had lesions in his mouth, his fur was limp and lusterless,  he ran a constant temp, he began to have nose bleeds.  He had no energy to play.  He would lay there and watch Rosie and Austin play games that he used to lead.  They would stop playing when he couldn’t join in.  They would go to him and gently nuzzle him and lay down near him.  Neither dog ever tried to usurp Zack's alfa position.  He was their fallen leader.  Jeff, our vet  tested him for everything and all the lab work came back negative.  Zack was losing weight at an alarming rate, the dog we loved so much was dying, and nobody knew why.  Jeff stayed up at night researching medical books, consulting with other vets, they were all stumped.  Every day Zack would go back for more tests.  He would greet everyone who worked there by seeking them out and approaching  them wagging his tail where ever they happened to be.  He had such courage!    He was so strong and I spent most of my time crying.  Jeff suggested taking  Zack to The U of MN.  I had not talked to Lorrie about Zack.  I hoped Jeff would discover what was wrong with him and make Zack well.  How could I tell her that the dog we both loved was wasting away while in my care.  I jacked up my courage and called her.  Lorrie suggested Lindsay Merkel.  She called Lindsay and I called Jeff.  Jeff and Lindsay talked, an appointment was set up for Zack at the U.  We drove him down there in a howling blizzard.  He stayed there 2 days and had a bone marrow test.  Arnie brought him home and they called with their findings.  They said he has leukemia.  They could give chemo therapy which could prolong his life for a while, but there was no cure.  We had envisioned a decade of years with Zack, it was not to be.  I called Jeff at home, he said he would  be here for us and for Zack for what ever we would need.  I could hear him crying as his voice broke.  We decided to make the time we have left with Zack the best that any dog could ever have. 

This is a strange disease, as quickly as his symptoms arrived, they disappeared.  In the past 2 months he has been in remission.  He has put some of the weight back on, the lesions have disappeared, once again he is our happy out going dog.  He is back to romping ,running and playing again.  Each day that he is here is a gift for us, and we make the most of it.  I realize this story is sad to read, but we want to remember Zack for his courage.  He did whatever we asked him to do without complaint.  He made friends every where he went .  No one can say how long his remission will last, but we will treasure our time we have left. 

Kitty and Arnie

Zack was fostered in Richfield, MN.

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