Sagebrush Zillionaire (Zilli)
Zilli was bred in 2002 by Sagebrush Spinoni (Joe and Penny Masar) in New Plymouth, Idaho. His parents are North Ridge Grady and Sagebrush Zeda Del Fudge. He was one of seven healthy puppies, Zeda's first litter.
Zilli had a very outgoing personality. He was cautious initially, but always friendly to every human and dog he met. He loved to go on long walks, but preferred to be let off the leash so he could terrorize the world in his own inimitable style.
Zilli passed on recently and we've taken time to reflect on the good memories he gave us:
- the trip to the beach in Florida
- his appearance on WSFA on the morning "Pet Vet" segment
- exploring Dismals Canyon
- the cow herding experiment at Mount Sunflower, Kansas
- mountain hiking in Colorado
- and perhaps his favorite, frequent trips to the park
Zilli was a fun dog, here are a couple notable traits he exhibited:
- Zilli frequently gave off a loud burp after eating and drinking.
- He always ran counter-clockwise around the couch when he needs to go out and when both dogs lined up to go outside, he always lined up to the left of Stella. If he ended up on the right, they automatically resort themselves.
- When he stretched out on his back, he was a hair over 6 feet long
- When he stood up on his hind legs, he was about 5'6" tall
- When he was sad or lonely, he lets out a low, groaning, howl that would break your heart.
- He was nearly silent for the first 3 months, but then he found his voice and didn't stop vocalizing after that.
- Zilli was very obedient and learned a broad range of skills. If there was food in the deal for him, he's game.
- He is very smart, which can be a good thing, but also a difficult thing at times.
- We didn't give Zilli the opportunity to dig often, but he found himself in semi-soft soil, his legs started kicking. He dug quite the hole on our visit to the beach in Florida.
- He thinks redwood chips and pine needles are snacks.
- If you turn Zilli loose in a cow pasture, he will chase the cows. For a gun dog, he's a fairly effective herder. He'll also likely come back with fresh cow manure on his nose.
- Zilli loved to roll around in smelly stuff.
- At 1 year, 3 months, he figured out how to operate door knobs with his nose.
On May 27, 2005, after a long year of battling progressively worse symptoms and diseases, Zilli finally got to the point where his body could no longer function. We had no options left and decided the humane thing to do would be to let him go as peacefully as possible. We took the long ride down to the vets and had him put to sleep. Stella, Melanie, and I stayed with him to the end, reassuring him and letting him know we loved him. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
Links: Our Spinoni - Zilli Pictures
Tags: zilli - zillionaire - spinoni - spinone - italian - italiani - italiano - dog - hunting - rainbowbridge - photos - memories - inmemorium
