Team Mueller: Zuma: April 4th 2005

She taught me about joy.

She taught me about laughter.

About love.

I tried to write this post many times, but just couldn’t find the “right” words… so today, I asked Matt to write for us… which is quite fitting, because she always loved him the mostest :)

"There is something incredibly distinct and matchless regarding the relationship between a boy and his dog. I had always had dogs growing up, and loved each as special as they were, yet they were never my dogs; I attributed them more as family pets, not as specifically mine. Zuma came into Danielle and mines life when we were just dating. I remember they day we got her like it was yesterday; the wood pile which I found her behind, so far away from the other pups in the litter—I instantly knew that she was the one for us… for me. She was ridiculously precious as a puppy, and she loved Danielle and I unconditionally, from the moment we brought her home with us… followed by a quick pit stop at Islands Burgers in mesa AZ where she chilled inside Danielle’s arms waiting for our takeout, looking up at us with those crystal blue puppy eyes.

People say that dogs take on the characteristics of their owners; I can testify that this is true. She loved running; she got that from Danielle. She loved water, she got that from me. She hated doctors, she got that from Danielle. She loved life, she got that from both of us.

Zuma soaked all she could out of every day; she lived full throttle, at 100% capacity. She did nothing at half speed, she would run till her nails bled and no one could stop her.

Life with her was never dull… even when she was finally spent—she proceeded to snore at 100% capacity—much to the chagrin of her owners.

I can honestly say that one of my favorite parts to my day was coming home and seeing her charging out of the opening garage door to greet me, tail whirring at a million miles per hour.

She was always one to play when it was playtime and one to snuggle when we were tired; she loved being near us. Sometimes I thought that her singular goal in life was just to see Danielle and I happy… I loved her for that, I will always love her for that because she succeeded almost every time.

She was up for anything, whether it be jumping into lakes to chase ducks, or running full speed after rabbits, or towing us on longboards down the street as fast as her little legs could carry her, or belly flopping into the nearest pool. She was the best dog a boy could ever ask for, I will forever miss her smiling face and wagging tail, her expressive eyes and ears that seemed to point wherever she wanted.

I will miss her for the rest of my days, she was truly my first dog, and there will never be another like her. I never understood why people chose to bury their pets near their houses, sometimes even in their own yard. The night that I said goodbye to Zuma, I understood… she was a part of me, and I didn’t want to let her go. I know that pets don’t live on in eternity, but since that night I haven’t stopped asking God that when he makes this world new again, if he wouldn’t mind throwing a half pitbull half rotwieller with a light brown coat and Egyptian style makeup my way… He is God after all, doesn’t hurt to ask."