Finding Zeus
“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too.”
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
Like so many of my neighborhood adventures, it began on my morning walk. With a bag of foraged lemons nestled over my shoulder I found myself smiling at a large black dog across the street from me. The woman with him acknowledged me and we both kept walking. At one point, she thought I had spoken to her and she invited me over to meet the dog. I started to learn about Zeus. He was a Chow-Chow, four months post-rescue from the local animal shelter. He had been surrendered to be euthanized. Covered in sores and malnourished, Zeus had been living in the dirt under a shed for all of his ten years. Denice told me he was adoptable through Animal Friends Rescue Project. She was a volunteer in the program and Zeus was the 21st dog she was rehabilitating. I returned home and went about my day. Only later did I find Zeus on the AFRP website and emailed his photo to Mr. R and picky daughter.