A Champion heart

 As is often the case in life, despite our broken hearts over the losses of PopPop and Zoey, we continue on, trying to find joy in our days. Alex has done extremely well this first week. He has had some hard times, but he continues to lean on his faith and his friends and has really done better than expected. He is working hard at school and is trying to figure out how to balance his work, his medical needs and time with his friends. He is doing well academically and socially, but still needing to work a bit on how to manage it all!

As is often the case for Maddy, she has sought solace in her time at the barn and her horses. We have had some ups and downs as she struggles with her emotions after two tough losses as well as some struggles physically. But she showed her warrior spirit and had an amazing show yesterday. I am so very grateful for the support system she has and the lessons she is learning as she continues to find her voice and some self confidence and work through hard times. PD was not her most cooperative yesterday, but Maddy dug deep and used all the lessons Tammi has taught her and managed to walk away the High Point Champion. But we always choose to focus on Maddy doing and being her best, not the placing. Yesterday she showed her Champion heart as she battled through and that is what I am most proud of. 

I continue to thank God for the amazing people he has put in our lives and the way we continue to see his love and blessings as we walk this journey, always trying to keep our eyes fixed on him. The days are not always easy, but what an amazing gift to see so much love around us and for that we forever grateful.

Ali

PS- I will post videos from yesterday on Facebook in the comments. If you would like to show your support for Living Hope Equine Therapy and the way they pour into Maddy, please consider donating here.

Jeannie and Dawn are always there to support Moo

Showmanship

Allison came to watch!

My Champion! None of this would be possible with Tammi!

Kisses for a job well done

Our precious Zoey

 

As most of you know by now, our sweet Zoey passed away unexpectedly Friday night. First thank you so much for everyone who has reached out and prayed for us, especially Alex. I have received the same couple questions from everyone I have talked to so I thought I would let everyone know what happened and where we go from here. Zoey came to us early in 2016 and was trained as a medical alert dog. Her job was to detect when Alex's cortisol was low and alert him him needed more meds. It is always hard to lose a "pet", but the relationship with a service dog is truly special and unique. Zoey was a lifeline for him. There is a high level trust and communication that occurs when you are counting on a dog to let you know something is wrong before you are in crisis. Zoey also Alex's best friend and constant companion. She was with him almost every minute for 7 years. She had even stayed with him in the hospital and accompanied him into the OR for certain procedures. All that to say this loss is very hard. Zoey would have turned 8 in December. Most people start looking into another dog around that age because it takes years to properly train a dog. It is also extremely costly. We had not begun that process yet. At this point, Alex does not even want to talk about another dog, but even if he did, it would be a minimum of two years before they were fully trained to detect levels and alert. If or when he decides that is what he wants we will begin that process. 

This was the first day they met!

Zoey's first day at home

So what happened...we have spoken to our vet, the emergency vet, a family friend who is a Veterinary clinical pathologist and our trainer and they have all come to the same conclusion. We believe Zoey had a tumor (likely on her liver) that ruptured and caused her rapid decline on Friday. While this is awful, it is also somewhat comforting as nothing we did or didn't do would have changed the outcome. 

We will miss Zoey every day. We are also so very grateful for the ways she blessed our lives. She was an amazing dog and protector. We are so glad she didn't suffer. Please pray for all of us, but particularly Alex as he allows his heart to heal. We are comforted to know that PopPop, Samuel, Hayley and Hershey were waiting to greet her.

Ali