Howl-o, hoomans!

It’s me — Zeus! You might remember me as Zeusy or Zeusy Boy or Baby Zeus or just Bubba. A silly lady down the street from my house called me a pony! Did she even know I was a doggo?! It's OK though, I love everybody, so I don't care what you called me! I'm barking to you from the other side of Rainbow Bridge because my Earth mom still gets a little sad when she thinks about me too much and looks at the bazillion pup-parazzi pictures she took of me, which is exactly what happened when she wanted to tell you about our roadtrip to that place with waves and sand where I swam until I zonked out. So ... I'm being a very good boi (as always, loloollolol) and helping her out.

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I didn't learn until after I got here, but my mommo planned this trip for us after my dog-tor friend said words that made her heart sad. What is a "advanced kidney disease" and a "severe arthritis" anyway? I dunno! They said it was worse because I was big. Is 148 pounds a lot for a doggie? Uh, I dunno! I always felt big and strong, even when I tried to be a little lap dawg. It was fun to squish the hoomans, ha ha! But at some point, my belly started hurting (even when hoomans scratched it, what's up with that?) and it was getting really hard to walk and do all the things mommo and I loved to do together. I was SO happy on Earth for 9.5 years, and now I know that staying there fur-ever just wasn't paw-sible.

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Oh, don’t worry, I’m doing doggone great! The fields here have really tall grass for me to run in and lots of rabbits to chase, all of the puddles are delicious, the squirrels here are much nicer, I go on a thousand walks a day, my favorite treats appear out of nowhere, and there is snow for me to chomp on and dig in and push around whenever I wish for it, which is every other day or hour or minute, I'm not sure. Everything I loved on Earth is here — except my hooman — but I am still her best boy and still love telling all the other animals here about our paw-some beach vacay to Indiana Dunes National Park! This is a really pretty park that makes up the south shore of Lake Michigan. I guess on a map it's under Chicago? Anyway, there are 15+ miles of sandy beaches and 50+ miles of trails. This place was beyond fur-bulous!

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OMG, my mommo totally tricked me the morning we left! I used to cry and groan whenever I saw her dumb suitcase, but this time the bags were for us! They were filled with treats and water and my leash and my medicine and my special food and a bunch of other stuff. She even brought my bed and put it in the back of the car (I can spell now: C-A-R!!!). Wut?! I get to stretch out and relax in my bed? In. The. Car. ... No, fur real. It was bonkers!

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​We were in the car for a long time, I think, and I loved it, as always! Then we got out at a hotel called Hampton Inn Portage, my first time staying at one. The guy at the desk was very impressed and said, "Wow! What a big boy!" when he saw me. Hoomans said that to me a lot! They like doggies there, so it was pretty cool and I made myself at home. Each morning, after I went outside, my mommo would say "Siiiiiiiiiitttttt," and "Staaaaaaaay," then leave for a little bit and come back with peanut-butter toast and a big bowl of scrambled eggs just for me — two of my ulti-mutt favorites! She had boring coffee and bagels, but hey, bone appetit! 

 

​Anyway, just when I got comfy, I heard "C-A-R" again and out the door we went! Now we were going to the National Park to get our park pass. It was howl-arious because when mom gave them $25 for our standard one-vehicle pass, she gave the park $5 more dollars so I could be a very important ​Bark Ranger and have a shiny new tag on my collar! She was so proud of me and told me I looked handsome. :D

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​For two whole days, we went to so many beaches! Central Beach, Kemil Beach, Lake View Beach, Porter Beach, Mount Baldy Beach. I couldn't stop smiling! We walked lots of places and also drove around to other parts of the park. We strolled around Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk. Everybody there wanted to pet me! Mommo and I sat together in the sand to watch the sunset. She hugged me a bunch and I loved it!

 

Every time we stopped at a beach, the sand felt weird in my paws because I sank into it all the time, but the sunshine was warm on my fur and I had to squint my eyes sometimes. I couldn't help it, I had to run into the water right away! There were so many waves that needed bitten, it was incredible!

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On our last full day, it was raining. I didn't mind, but un-fur-tunately mommo didn't want to go swimming. We went in the C-A-R to Gary to visit the birthplace of something called a Michael Jackson. I didn’t know what that was, so I stayed in the car and looked at it out the window. It was fine because I was pretty exhausted from all the swimming and walking. I totally passed out back at the hotel while it was raining!

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The next morning we got in the C-A-R again and drove back to my house. I was glad to be home, but will never fur-get that special trip to Indiana. It was my most favoritest car ride ever and I still can't believe my globetrotting momma picked ME to go on a vacation with her! She said it was for us both to make happy memories, and as usual, she was right! I hope all you other dawgs reading this will get to go on trips with your hoomans too. 

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​Ahhh, mommo, I miss licking your face and getting my ears scratched and all the hugs and hangin' out with you. Maybe someday I'll get to be your doggo again ... until then, just know that I'm being good while I wait and really do love it here with all the other animals. I have so many new fur-ends! ♥​​​

 

Luv you fur-ever,

Zeusy🐾

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A FEW OF MY MOMMO'S PHOTOS: