Zepple
A donation was made in memory of Zepple on Feb 03, 2013.
Zepple the dachshund, responsible for many smiles and laughter, passed away January 19, 2013, at Chambers Creek Veterinary Hospital, Lakewood, WA. He was 13.
Born in Parkland, WA, December 12, 1999. Zepple was handsome, smart, funny, sensitive, passionate, devoted, and tough. He was the quintessential man in a little dog’s body; he was a great guy who, with an enormous spirit, lived a full life, rich in activities and experience. How blessed I am to have had him in my life. And how sad I am that he is now gone.
Zepple was the namesake of my mother’s childhood piano teacher's black/tan dachshund. The original Zepple traveled to Detroit from Dresden aboard the Graf Zepplin in the 1930's in the coat pocket of the piano teacher's uncle. My mom liked the piano lessons because she got to see Zepple. The dog would sing when the piano teacher played the Star Spangled Banner. Since the time my Zepple and his sister, Lila, came to live with me as 7 1/2 week old puppies on February 2, 2000, he matched his namesake’s ability to amuse not only his family but strangers with his antics. But unlike his namesake, Zepple stubbornly refused to learn and perform tricks that were not his own.
At age 3 years, Zepple began a lifelong passion for playing with the garden hose. Whatever the season and temperature, if the sun was out he begged to go outside and play with the running hose. Through hours of committed practice and innovation, he advanced techniques in water biting, and hose placement on a variety of surfaces -- concrete, wood deck, grass and dirt. Zepple was always great help with garden chores. Just for fun, he liked to aim the hose at me and other unsuspecting people. When payback was delivered; he gleefully tried to escape the spray, only to return for more action. Two days before Zepple’s death, the sun was out and he struggled to play what was to be his last hose game.
More comedy came from Zepple’s lifelong devotion to his own toy dog, “Heidi Ho,” one of many of the same make/model/color plush dachshund dogs that he favored since age 3 years. A constant companion of his own choosing, Zepple not only played with Heidi Ho, he used her as a pillow for his head, and carried her in his mouth on walks. Heidi Ho was with Zepple at the time of his death.
Last year with the passing of his sister, Lila, Zepple got to enjoy 9 months of new love and life with his bride, Maggie, whom he rescued from the Tacoma Humane Society shelter. Sadly, Maggie was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer at the onset of Zepple's last days and quickly followed him, passing away in the comfort of their home on January 24, 2013.
Zepple was a tough guy who thrived despite many health issues – including Cushings and related problems, periodic seizures, IVD first diagnosed at age 2 years and two, amazingly successful back surgeries at 11 years (December 2010). Zepple died of a lung embolism a/or pneumonia and possibly other complications.
Huge credit and profound gratitude for Zepple’s long happy life goes to Chambers Creek Veterinary Hospital and Summit Vet and Referral Center, Tacoma, WA. Special thanks to Dr. Neeson, Dr. Ho, and Dr. Thiessen at Chambers Creek and Dr. Demuth at Summit Vet, for their exceptional and compassionate care of Zepple and his family over the years. You are forever in our thoughts and high esteem.
~ Zepple's family
Born in Parkland, WA, December 12, 1999. Zepple was handsome, smart, funny, sensitive, passionate, devoted, and tough. He was the quintessential man in a little dog’s body; he was a great guy who, with an enormous spirit, lived a full life, rich in activities and experience. How blessed I am to have had him in my life. And how sad I am that he is now gone.
Zepple was the namesake of my mother’s childhood piano teacher's black/tan dachshund. The original Zepple traveled to Detroit from Dresden aboard the Graf Zepplin in the 1930's in the coat pocket of the piano teacher's uncle. My mom liked the piano lessons because she got to see Zepple. The dog would sing when the piano teacher played the Star Spangled Banner. Since the time my Zepple and his sister, Lila, came to live with me as 7 1/2 week old puppies on February 2, 2000, he matched his namesake’s ability to amuse not only his family but strangers with his antics. But unlike his namesake, Zepple stubbornly refused to learn and perform tricks that were not his own.
At age 3 years, Zepple began a lifelong passion for playing with the garden hose. Whatever the season and temperature, if the sun was out he begged to go outside and play with the running hose. Through hours of committed practice and innovation, he advanced techniques in water biting, and hose placement on a variety of surfaces -- concrete, wood deck, grass and dirt. Zepple was always great help with garden chores. Just for fun, he liked to aim the hose at me and other unsuspecting people. When payback was delivered; he gleefully tried to escape the spray, only to return for more action. Two days before Zepple’s death, the sun was out and he struggled to play what was to be his last hose game.
More comedy came from Zepple’s lifelong devotion to his own toy dog, “Heidi Ho,” one of many of the same make/model/color plush dachshund dogs that he favored since age 3 years. A constant companion of his own choosing, Zepple not only played with Heidi Ho, he used her as a pillow for his head, and carried her in his mouth on walks. Heidi Ho was with Zepple at the time of his death.
Last year with the passing of his sister, Lila, Zepple got to enjoy 9 months of new love and life with his bride, Maggie, whom he rescued from the Tacoma Humane Society shelter. Sadly, Maggie was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer at the onset of Zepple's last days and quickly followed him, passing away in the comfort of their home on January 24, 2013.
Zepple was a tough guy who thrived despite many health issues – including Cushings and related problems, periodic seizures, IVD first diagnosed at age 2 years and two, amazingly successful back surgeries at 11 years (December 2010). Zepple died of a lung embolism a/or pneumonia and possibly other complications.
Huge credit and profound gratitude for Zepple’s long happy life goes to Chambers Creek Veterinary Hospital and Summit Vet and Referral Center, Tacoma, WA. Special thanks to Dr. Neeson, Dr. Ho, and Dr. Thiessen at Chambers Creek and Dr. Demuth at Summit Vet, for their exceptional and compassionate care of Zepple and his family over the years. You are forever in our thoughts and high esteem.
~ Zepple's family
