Isaac P. Zollinger - The Best Dog in the Universe!

Many of you already know that we had to say goodbye to our furry son last week. I can't even type this first sentence without getting teary. Words cannot express how much we miss him. It seems like everything we did involved Isaac. Coming home, leaving the house, making all meals, going to bed, watching TV, eating popcorn, eating bacon, eating ice cream. He was the reason we took walks everyday. He was the reason I was constantly vacuuming. He was such a huge part of our life, our home, and our hearts. Many of our friends and family have lost close pets so we are not alone and it has brought us comfort to have so many people thinking about us. We know time will heal the hole in our hearts. Having Lily helped us through this tough time. She seemed to be the only one who had it pulled together and made us smile when we thought we couldn't. She even commerated the day as the first time she rolled over from back to front so we have a happy reason to remember July 11th. Thank you Lillian.


Just some quick stats. Isaac was born most likely in a barn in West Virginia during the summer time of 1995. Ben picked him out b/c he was the biggest puppy. People often asked us if he was a Newfoundland, but no, his mom a Golden Retriever, his pop, a black Labrador Retriever. On the left you can see how big he was. Isaac was keeping Lily warm when I was about 7 months pregnant. He never left my side. He was 110 lbs at his largest.

He's been Ben's faithful companion for 13 years. Through several deployments, moves, and changes, the one thing that was constant was Isaac. I often asked Ben how he got him to not bark very much, not lick you in the face, or hold his own leash when we walked him and the answer was, He's always been that way. It was so amazing to witness how much Isaac was like Ben. He'd picked up so many of Ben's personality traits, gentle, always ready to have a good time, and loved cheeseburgers. Issac a reflection of Ben and Ben a reflection of Isaac. Many of those that know me well, know I wasn't a big fan of dogs, not owning many while I grew up. Isaac changed all that! We were together all day everyday. He'd hop in the car or truck with me when I went shopping. He excelled at scaring the FedEx man or someone selling something door to door. At night I'd brush him and Ben would normally leave a trail of treats for him to sniff out and find. Then Ben would sneak up on him and stalk him on all 4's and hug Isaac. He loved it! When we first moved into this house I wasn't too crazy about having Isaac on my wool/silk Persian carpet or our new leather furniture. That soon changed as you can see from the pictures above! Everyone loved Isaac. He was the only animal our nieces and nephews trusted. He was a hit at his groomer. They always wanted him to stay. Our neighborhood knew Isaac as the wonder dog that walked himself. He had even squeezed his way into my mom's heart and that says a lot being a true cat person.

Isaac P. Zollinger thank you for 13 long and happy years. You will never be replaced and always be remembered with laughter and smiles. We love you!