Zoey, Littleton, CO

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.”
~Morrie Schwartz

Hi I’m Zoey, and I’m the spokesdog for Love Adds Up For a Cure.

My life began on October 19, 2010 in a place called Wyoming. My story isn’t sad like so many that you read about, and I can’t share very much about my very early days other than that fact that my living arrangements were less than ideal.

When I was about ten weeks old though, everything changed for the better when my brothers & sisters, and I were rescued by a very special animal control officer. There were eight of us, and eventually most of us made our way to Colorado, where one of my brothers and I found ourselves in the care of a very nice lady named Kelly who agreed to foster us. We were really lucky, because there had been a bunch of stuff called networking going on, and we already had people lined up to adopt us.

My handsome brother went to his new home within a couple of weeks, but for some reason, even though there were lots of people that wanted me, I remained with Kelly and her family. One day I overheard her tell someone that she was a failure. No wait, she said that she was a foster failure. Yeah, that’s it, a foster failure!

I also heard her say that I was an angel sent to help her heal. I have to back up just a bit because my story wouldn’t be what it is without sharing the life of a very special American Bulldog named Cain.

Kelly, who I now call my mom, had a best friend who she called her four legged soul mate. His name was Cain, and he meant the world to her. They went everywhere together, and they loved each other more than anything. They had an incredible life together, and it seemed there was nothing that could tear them apart until a day in November when a disease called cancer took him away from her. I’ve heard her say that it was as if the oxygen had been sucked from the air. 🙁

Her heart was shattered, and she was still in a very sad place a year later when I came along. I really didn’t understand everything that was going on so I just played a lot with my new brother Pirate, and my new sisters Bear and Sadie. But most importantly, I slept next to my mom every single night, sharing my love and helping her heal.

She has a business called Wishcuit (rhymes with biscuit!) that raises money for dog rescues and dogs in need, and as the story goes, Cain inspired her to draw a little picture, which portrays a very simple message of the loving bond that dogs share with their human companions. After Cain passed away, she put the drawing on stickers and magnets and called it Love Adds Up, and she started selling them to raise money for rescues, neglected and abused dogs, and canine cancer research & treatment.

Then things changed again in 2011 when Sadie got cancer too. Sadie was the most beautiful Yellow Lab, and I loved her very much. My mom tried to save Sadie, but she passed away, and my mom got very sad again. That’s when she stepped up her mission to help find a cure for canine cancer, and she started a fundraising campaign called Love Adds Up for a Cure – One Million Dogs, which brings the story back to me!

My mom says there was something special about me from the very beginning and I think that it had a whole lot to do with my stellar personality. I was a free spirit, which continues to this day.

I love to explore, and make new friends, whether they’re human or canine, and I’ve heard my mom say on more than one occasion, that I am a social butterfly (even though I don’t know how to fly. She’s kind of silly sometimes!). Anyways, my mom participates in lots of pet events each year, and I started working with her in the summer of 2011. It was a last minute decision and a pretty little tutu that set the course for the future and my ambassadog role as the Love Adds Up spokesdog.

My job is so super simple that you won’t believe it. Without even trying, I get to use these awesome magnetic powers that I have, to draw people to us. Once they stop to talk with us…”BAM!”, I’ve got them hooked! 🙂

We’ve met some really incredible people, and I’m told that not only am I awesome at raising awareness about canine cancer, I’m also a positive role model for pit bulls. Just by being myself! It’s the craziest thing, and the easiest job in the whole world because I love everybody, and everybody loves me!

My mom makes all of my fa*bull*ous tutus and being a dog of super high intelligence, I’ve figured out that any time she packs a tutu for an event it’s my cue that I’ll be tagging along with her. I can hardly contain myself…my whole body wiggles, and my magnetic personality kicks into high gear!

For as many places as we go though, there are occasional times that I’m not allowed to go with my mom because some cities don’t like the type of dog that I am, and they have banned dogs like me from visiting. They have determined that a dog should be banned, or killed, simply because of the way that that they look, and unfortunately I have to stay behind on those days, no matter how much I beg. I just know that they would love me if they would only give me a chance, so in the meantime, my mom says together we’ll continue to spread positive awareness and advocate for the rights of all dogs, and the people they share their lives with. She says that we will try to get laws changed so that no dog will be judged, or killed, simply because of the way that they look, and we’ll spread our message positively with everyone we meet. And I believe her!

So there you have it. I love to be with my mom, and she loves to be with me! We’ve become inseparable and on the days that I’m not working with her, I like to spend my free time hiking, chewing on bones, (and occasionally shoes), destructing my toys, jumping on the bed and playing with my adopted canine siblings Bear and Pirate.

Bear’s a beautiful American Bulldog and she’s been with my mom since she was a puppy. She’s also deaf, since the day that she was born, but my mom talks to her just like she does with me. Bear also knows how to communicate by sign language, and because of her, I’m learning sign language too!

Pirate was adopted, just like me, and came from Salt Lake County Animal Services in Utah through my friends, the SLCo Pit Crew, which is an awesome group that works extra hard to save pit bulls. Mom says that one of these days Pirate will be able to accompany us when we go to events, but first he needs to learn how to focus on her better when they go out in public. He is super great at agility, and he’s ultra smart, and knows a bunch of tricks too. My mom hides things around the house and tells him to go look for them, and he finds them every time! Plus, he’s super handsome!! OK! Focus, shmocus…whatever! Back to my story! 🙂

I have a Facebook page called Zoey Says Stick It To Canine Cancer where I share articles about canine cancer, stories with my friends, updates about all of the places that my mom and I visit to raise money for canine cancer with the Love Adds Up stickers, and our experiences on our way to reaching our goal of one million stickers.

So that’s my story so far, but of course things will change. I’m still a youngster, and the world stands before me inviting me to make my mark on it! I’m working very hard to help find a cure for canine cancer and on being the best ambassadog that I can be.

My mom says all of our lives have great purpose and every day I continue to remind her that life is for living and love carries on.

Love, Zoey ❤

Parent: Kelly