Zeus had finally tangled with something he should not have. He had eight hourglass shaped bits on his jaw, legs, and tail. Every so often while he walked, he would screech like a nerve in his back was pinched. I talked to my friend with The Nature Conservancy, the guy I was burning with, and he thought from the shape of the bites it was either a badger or a couple of young coyotes. Zeus stood up all that night as he couldn't get down and I doubt if he did he would get back up. So, off to the vet the first thing the following morning.
They put him on pain killers and antibiotics and said the best thing to do was to give him some time. His tail was dead, bitten through, and would need to be amputated, but the vet (three of them) thought it best to see if he improved over the weekend. I took him in Monday, and he was looking a bit better, but whatever was causing the spasms was still a real problem. The vets were also concerned about how extensive the beat down had been, and we discussed putting him to sleep. Instead, we were going to give him a few more days to see if his general health would get any better. It didn't, he was a mess, so I took him in yesterday afternoon and let him go.
Zeus was all dog and all GO 24-7, it is amazing how quiet it is out here without him. Honestly, I thought by now he would have ran head-on into a 6' rattlesnake as he was always looking for something to jack with. With that in mind, it wasn't a surprise and I told my wife that if they were not back at dark they were probably dead.
Rest in peace, Zeus, you crazy bag of fur! See you on the other side!
