Note:Many old comments were lost in a database crash in 2008. Some conversations may seem to make less sense than they would have. A few will make more sense now.

1. 
   Rita Xavier 2007 02 03 at 4:34:26 pm

   Bye Zekey. I Love You. Grandma

2. 
   embee 2007 02 03 at 4:44:59 pm

   What a beauty. Rest in peace, Zeke.

3. 
   miguel alondra 2007 02 03 at 5:09:43 pm

   ah, well. he had a good run, didn’t he?

4. 
   JeffL 2007 02 03 at 5:09:53 pm

   Goodbye, Zeke.  You will be remembered and loved always.

5. 
   kabbage 2007 02 03 at 5:12:14 pm

   Beautiful tribute picture, Chris. 

   It’s raining here for the first time in 2 weeks.  Coincidence?  I think not.

   Peace to you and Becky.

6. 
   bdaggerlee 2007 02 03 at 5:13:07 pm

   Dog Death Tanka (for Zeke, Chris & Becky)

   
   Hold breath in love pain.
   Grey dog, going to forest.
   DOG is light! More light!

   Breathe out, relief. Dog gone dark.
   Gone back to whole wide light world.

   
   Sending Love, B. Dagger Lee

7. 
   winna 2007 02 03 at 5:17:03 pm

   My deepest sympathy.

8. 
   Lesley 2007 02 03 at 5:17:56 pm

   What do we say when there are no words and words are all we have? 

   I believe we don’t end, that the spirit has weight. That we are more. That those who pass merely shed old shells and move on.  That they are whole once again and near.

9. 
   Sylvia 2007 02 03 at 6:00:01 pm

   Goodbye, Zeke.  We send our love wherever you may go.

10. 
    Space Kitty 2007 02 03 at 6:07:55 pm

    Bye, sweet puppy.  I’m glad I had the pleasure of meeting you.

11. 
    Heraclitus 2007 02 03 at 6:11:52 pm

    I’m terribly sorry to hear this, Chris.  All my best wishes to you and Becky.

12. 
    leslee 2007 02 03 at 6:14:08 pm

    I’m so sorry. He’s resting now. And I hope you guys will be able to also. What a great happy photo. Perfect choice.

13. 
    the_bone 2007 02 03 at 6:27:11 pm

    Best.  Dog.  Ever.

    Good night, Zeke.

14. 
    Natalie 2007 02 03 at 6:29:11 pm

    Words fail…. how I hate having to finally face saying goodbye to Zeke. My heart breaks knowing what you two are going through and I can only wish you peace in time from knowing that you did right by him from the first moment to the last, that you were the ones who rescued him and gave him the freedom and love that allowed him to be the incredible dog he was meant to be.

15. 
    blondie 2007 02 03 at 6:38:30 pm

    What can you say when someone who’s lost their best friend? 

    I’m so sorry.

16. 
    Sheila 2007 02 03 at 6:47:03 pm

    My deepest condolences.  Somehow he blessed us all.

17. 
    Elayne Riggs 2007 02 03 at 6:48:54 pm

    {{{hugs}}}

    Deepest condolences, Chris.  Thank you for sharing him with us.

18. 
    Nanette 2007 02 03 at 6:54:55 pm

    I am very sorry. He was, and will continue to be, a very good and much loved dog.

    My best to you and Becky.

19. 
    CaseyL 2007 02 03 at 6:58:32 pm

    Ah, Zeke.  Rest you gentle; sleep you sound.

20. 
    debbie 2007 02 03 at 7:06:19 pm

    I’m so sorry for your loss.  From your posts, I can see that Zeke was a very special dog.

21. 
    Renee Perry 2007 02 03 at 7:12:53 pm

    That’s a picture of a happy dog. 

    bye Zeke.

22. 
    Charles 2007 02 03 at 7:35:20 pm

    Dear Chris and Becky,

    Please accept our deepest and most heartfelt condolences.  You are in our hearts this weekend.  Please, take care.  And thank you, again and again, for sharing your friendship with Zeke with us.

23. 
    Charles 2007 02 03 at 7:36:13 pm

    ps:  I love the picture.

24. 
    jason 2007 02 03 at 7:42:08 pm

    I’ve cried about this often, and I’ll continue doing so each time I read a bit of what you’ve written or see a photo like that one.

    At least he’s not suffering, Chris. All he knows now is peace.

    I hope you and Becky take the time needed to weep—truly weep—and mourn your loss while not forgetting to celebrate Zeke’s life. He’d want it no other way.

    Please know my heart and thoughts are with you both.

25. 
    Graham 2007 02 03 at 7:44:00 pm

    He loved and was loved. He enriched your life and you enriched his.

    He was a good dog and he had a good life.

    This may be cold comfort now, but it will comfort you in the years to come.

    Bye Zeke. I feel like I know you.

26. 
    Maud 2007 02 03 at 7:52:28 pm

    ...Great heart,
    great human heart, keep loving me as you lift me,
    give me your tears, great loving stranger, remember
    the death of dogs…
    How could there be enough? I have given
    my life for this, emotion has ruined me, oh lover,
    I have exchanged my wildness—little tricks
    with the mouth and feet, with the tail, my tongue is a parrot’s,
    I am a rampant horse, I am a lion,
    I wait for the cookie, I snap my teeth—
    as you have taught me, oh distant and brilliant and lonely.
        —Gerald Stern

    I’m so sorry.

27. 
    Nikki 2007 02 03 at 7:53:03 pm

    Bye Zeke.

28. 
    Paguroidea 2007 02 03 at 7:57:25 pm

    I’m so very sorry. Thanks for sharing Zeke with us in all those posts.

29. 
    Natalie 2007 02 03 at 7:59:25 pm

    Jeff and I made a donation today in Zeke’s memory at the Berkeley Humane Society in hopes of helping other dogs find as wonderful a home as Zeke did. Our pup is a shelter rescue as well and we cannot thank the shelter who took him in enough for saving his life and granting his care to us.

30. 
    stinger 2007 02 03 at 8:08:03 pm

    Happy trails, Zeke.

31. 
    kathy a 2007 02 03 at 8:09:40 pm

    portrait of zeke, as a young dog. 

    my dad’s voice still pops into my head sometimes.  he says, “zeke.  he was a helluva dog.  just a helluva dog.”

32. 
    Azkyroth 2007 02 03 at 8:10:28 pm

    :(

    I’m rather poor at condolences, but have mine anyway. x.x

33. 
    Hank Fox 2007 02 03 at 8:36:35 pm

    We had one short meeting, Zeke and I, and I only got to give one brief hug to his bony ribs – not on one of his better days – but I’ll still miss your beloved old Beast, whom I’ve grown to love through your words.

    We all have to go through these things. But some of us have to tell the stories too, and I realized lately that ... focused as we are on finding the words and interpreting the meaning of the event, delving into the depths of it, it becomes much, much harder. I think the eventual healing, the growth and the learning that comes from it, is greater. But in the moment, it’s very hard.

    Chris, the Zeke story you’ve told us over the past several years, and the beauty with which you’ve told it – well, I think there are few of us who could bear up under it.

    I will always admire you for your strength, and the rare beauty of who you are. I think of the state of the world today, the way we so stupidly often make heroes of soldiers and cops, the heroes of force and violence and death, and the counterpoint of your example – a hero of tireless love and caring – is huge and poignant.

    I can only wish there might be more like you in the world. Maybe ... by being you, and being here, you help make that happen.

    Zeke could have no better memorial than that he caused caring to take root in the world, and flower into love.

34. 
    dragonet2 2007 02 03 at 8:42:07 pm

    I’m so sorry.  What a good dog, what good friends he had to care so much for and about him.  That kind of love goes on.

35. 
    RedMolly 2007 02 03 at 8:42:13 pm

    Much love to you and Becky—three generations of the Newman family have been following Zeke’s story. Knowing something’s going to happen doesn’t make it one bi easier when it finally does, does it?

    I’m so sorry.

36. 
    Linda 2007 02 03 at 8:47:52 pm

    Our sympathy and caring for you. Goodbye sweet old darling Zeke. Great photo for his last tribute.

37. 
    Barry Leiba 2007 02 03 at 8:56:34 pm

    [[hug]]

38. 
    JohnM 2007 02 03 at 8:57:08 pm

    ODDJOB, A BULL TERRIER

    You prepare for one sorrow,
    but another comes.
    It is not like the weather,
    you cannot brace yourself,
    the unreadiness is all.
    Your companion, the woman,
    the friend next to you,
    the child at your side,
    and the dog,
    we tremble for them,
    we look seaward and muse
    it will rain.
    We shall get ready for rain;
    you do not connect
    the sunlight altering
    the darkening oleanders
    in the sea-garden,
    the gold going out of the palms.
    You do not connect this,
    the fleck of the drizzle
    on your flesh,
    with the dog’s whimper,
    the thunder doesn’t frighten,
    the readiness is all;
    what follows at your feet
    is trying to tell you
    the silence is all:
    it is deeper than the readiness,
    it is sea-deep,
    earth-deep,
    love-deep.

    The silence
    is stronger than thunder,
    we are stricken dumb and deep
    as the animals who never utter love
    as we do, except
    it becomes unutterable
    and must be said,
    in a whimper,
    in tears,
    in the drizzle that comes to our eyes
    not uttering the loved thing’s name,
    the silence of the dead,
    the silence of the deepest buried love is
    the one silence,
    and whether we bear it for beast,
    for child, for woman, or friend,
    it is the one love, it is the same,
    and it is blest
    deepest by loss
    it is blest, it is blest.

    Derek Walcott

39. 
    boltgirl 2007 02 03 at 9:04:18 pm

    Good, good dog
    Well loved, loving in return
    Running forever, tongue lolling
    Tail wagging.
    Forever happy.

    Peace to you.

40. 
    CJColucci 2007 02 03 at 9:18:15 pm

    The lifespan of dogs, one of God’s bigger mistakes. Your pain is over now, Zeke, bit the love lives on.

41. 
    RavenT 2007 02 03 at 9:18:26 pm

    Chris and Becky, I’m so sorry to hear the news.

    Thank you for sharing your and Zeke’s story with all of us. I wish there were something I could say or do to help.

42. 
    craig 2007 02 03 at 9:20:44 pm

    best dog.

43. 
    Trinifar 2007 02 03 at 9:21:40 pm

    Hank Fox said it all.  Thanks for sharing your experience with the rest of us, Chris.  You are a rare human being.

44. 
    Cathy 2007 02 03 at 9:35:49 pm

    Chris,

    I’m so sorry.  What a great picture of Zeke!

    Take good care of yourself and Becky.  I’m thinking of you.

45. 
    Laura 2007 02 03 at 9:42:41 pm

    Gentle journey Zeke.

46. 
    Jane 2007 02 03 at 9:48:20 pm

    We are so, so sorry Chris & Becky.  Zeke will always be a helluva dog.  We are so lucky to have met him even one time. 

    All our love and wishes for peace to you both.
    Jane & Nadine

47. 
    Bob C 2007 02 03 at 9:49:10 pm

    Sorry.  My cat, Wacky, is just about ready for the “long sleep”  also.  After 20 years , it’s hard to say goodbye.

48. 
    Coral 2007 02 03 at 9:51:22 pm

    Bye, Zekey.  We love you.
    Hugs for Chris and Becky.

49. 
    Chromosome Crawl 2007 02 03 at 9:57:18 pm

    “Well Zeke, I guess we found out where your stick got to.�

    So Sorry for your loss Chris & Becky - what can be said except that this is the time in pet ownership that sucks, the dark flipside of the joy that you felt when you first got Zeke.

    If only they could stay healthy & 2 years old forever!

    My condolences

50. 
    treepeony 2007 02 03 at 10:03:07 pm

    Blessed be the dogs and the people who love them.

51. 
    Kate Smith 2007 02 03 at 10:27:44 pm

    Oh, Zeke, you gorgeous boy, rest in peace. Chris, Becky, I am so so sorry.

52. 
    Scott Eric Kaufman 2007 02 03 at 10:38:12 pm

    I’m sorry, Chris.  Best to you and yours.

53. 
    steven 2007 02 03 at 10:59:41 pm

    I’m sorry for your loss, Chris. His was a beautiful spirit.

54. 
    decrepitoldfool 2007 02 03 at 11:02:40 pm

    Deepest sympathy, Chris.

    I just closed the cover, finishing Susan Jacoby’s Freethinkers, which ends with the eulogy that Robert Ingersoll gave for Walt Whitman, and opened my computer to learn this sad news.  What a strange and melancholy moment.  But somehow though I only met Zeke through your photos and writing, it seems to fit.

55. 
    Sherwood Harrington 2007 02 03 at 11:21:11 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing Zeke with us.

56. 
    Mike Peterson 2007 02 03 at 11:39:31 pm

    Sorry, Chris. As you know, I just went through this a few weeks ago. It’s not much fun.

57. 
    John H. 2007 02 04 at 12:09:30 am

    Goodbye, sweet dog. Condolences to you, Chris.

58. 
    Abbie 2007 02 04 at 12:15:01 am

    *hug*

    Everyone who has owned a pup is crying for you now.

59. 
    Cat 2007 02 04 at 12:57:00 am

    I’m sitting in front of my computer, reading about Zeke, hearing tears drip on my shirt.

    I’m so very sorry for your loss.

60. 
    kelly g. 2007 02 04 at 2:14:08 am

    Chris, I am so sorry for your loss.  I’m not a regular reader of Creek Running North, though that’s only because your stories of Zeke were just too beautiful to bear.  Happy or sad, they always brought a tear.  I wish you and your wife well.  Your love for him is overwhelming, and it’s clear that you and Becky gave him a wonderful, happy life.  Rest in peace, Zeke.

61. 
    The Rev. Jenner J. Hull 2007 02 04 at 2:34:59 am

    If only we all could have lived like Zeke…

    Three cheers for a good dog.

62. 
    Amanda Marcotte 2007 02 04 at 3:32:46 pm

    Rest in peace, Zeke.

63. 
    Xopher 2007 02 04 at 4:16:54 pm

    I’m so sorry for your loss.

    May he walk in joy in the Isle of Apples;
    May he find peace in the Summerland.

64. 
    CharlieC 2007 02 04 at 4:50:18 pm

    Chris,  It’s a cold, crisp, sunny day in Kentucky with a couple of inches of fresh snow last night.  A good day for a hike with our dogs, Tucker and Niki, up to the rockcastles in the hills behind our house.  You and Becky and Zeke were with us.

65. 
    Cascadian 2007 02 04 at 5:31:23 pm

    I’m a reader of your blog who has never met you, and I never got to meet Zeke, but thanks to your writing I was able to know him a bit. Zeke was and will always be a good dog.

    We are all, both human and animal, largely defined by the lives we impact and the memories we leave with our passing. You made Zeke’s life so much fuller. Through your stories, your life and his have impacted mine. You are a good human.

    I am so sorry for your loss.

66. 
    sabotabby 2007 02 04 at 5:34:50 pm

    What a beautiful dog.

    Rest in peace, Zeke.

67. 
    MikeG 2007 02 04 at 6:23:25 pm

    Chris, Thanks for sharing Zeke with us.
    Best wishes to you and Becky.

68. 
    norbizness 2007 02 04 at 10:28:34 pm

    So sorry, Chris. Cheers to Zeke and his long, full life and the people whose lives he touched.

69. 
    Lesley 2007 02 04 at 11:56:37 pm

    Just thinking of you folks and the Zeke tonight. I hope you’re holding up.

70. 
    R.H. 2007 02 05 at 12:51:34 am

    I lost my poor old border collie about two years ago.  He was eighteen. There’s no forgetting.

71. 
    ALotOfCatsAroundHere 2007 02 05 at 1:00:51 am

    Chris and Becky,

    Our condolences and sympathy again from up here. As I’ve been following CRN for the last coupleof weeks, snippets of the last month of Buck’s life, when the finiteness of his days was within our sight, have come back to my mind.

    While Buck wasn’t always very social with his peers, I like to believe that he’s made some progress in the fifteen years years since he went off to the Dog Star. May he and Zeke find one antoher there, good dogs that they have been.

72. 
    Steve 2007 02 05 at 3:07:33 am

    These two short compositions by one of my favorite Zen teachers have been a great comfort to me.  May they comfort you at least as much.

    http://www.beliefnet.com/story/113/story_11310.html
    
    http://www.beliefnet.com/story/113/story_11309.html

    For you, Becky, and Zeke:

    May you always be safe.
    May you always be healthy.
    May you always be happy.
    May you always be prosperous.
    May you always live with ease and be at peace.

    Metta.

73. 
    Martin Wisse 2007 02 05 at 4:21:36 am

    My condoleances.

    I hope in time the memories you’ll have of your time together will soften the pain of his loss.

74. 
    Rob G 2007 02 05 at 6:30:36 am

    Farewell, noble spirit.

75. 
    RobW 2007 02 05 at 7:56:08 am

    Thanks for everything you’ve written here about Zeke, Chris. It was quite wonderful, as indeed was he. My condolences and best wishes.

76. 
    Shelley 2007 02 05 at 9:37:20 am

    Holding you in the Light during this time of need…

77. 
    emily 2007 02 05 at 10:21:41 am

    Godspeed.  Good wishes to Zeke, a good dog, and to you all.

78. 
    Amanda 2007 02 05 at 11:33:38 am

    Dear Chris,
        With much love, I cried each time I checked in to hear an update on Zeke.  I cried with happiness with each post that let me know he was still with you, and I cried as much with the knowledge that the end of his many, many love-filled years was coming into focus.  Now I cry for you and Becky.  While I want to be one of those scores of great folks who say “My condolences” or “Thinking of you,” I somehow feel compelled to add something else.

    First, I realized that all of my comments to date have said “and Becky” as though she was a polite afterthought.  I have been where you are, and I have been where Becky is.  From what you have shared, it sounds as though Becky has been a rock through these times, bolstering support for you as you did the same for Zeke.  My own experiences tell me that she has watched vigilantly as she lost not only Zeke, but also a part of you - her own partner.  Your own grief and pain is obvious through your writing, and yet I know there is a beautiful soul who has been standing by you through this and hurting, not just for Zeke, but for you as well.  Please give her a hug for me and let her know that us in the blogosphere, though distant, do so appreciate her love and support of both Zeke AND you.

    Also, I want to echo what others have said here and there:  with time, the good memories will rise to the top and the harder ones will slowly sink and fade.  There is no forgetting, but everything comes in balance.  I’m glad you were able to have so many wonderful memories of Zeke, and he of you.

    Peace and Love,
    -A-

79. 
    ronniecat 2007 02 05 at 11:39:29 am

    He looks so happy.

    Thank you for sharing him with us.

80. 
    Stuart V 2007 02 05 at 11:55:52 am

    Goodbye Zeke… you will be missed.

81. 
    Cyndy 2007 02 05 at 11:58:23 am

    Chris and Becky - long time lurker who is so sad for you both today. You had a wonderful companion, friend, family member share your life with you and he obviously loved you as much as he was loved by you. How lucky you all were to find each other!

    Zeke lives on not only in your hearts and minds, but with the rest of us who have been privileged to peek in on your times together via your writings. Thank you for sharing him with us.

    My thoughts are with you, Becky and Zeke today.

82. 
    Sheelzebub 2007 02 05 at 12:46:23 pm

    Chris, I’m so sorry.  I know it was time, but it’s still hard.  Zeke sounded like a great dog.

    You are all in my thoughts today.

83. 
    kevin Andre Elliott 2007 02 05 at 12:52:07 pm

    Chris, my deepest condolences.

    Best wishes to you and your family.

84. 
    Patty 2007 02 05 at 1:07:00 pm

    From Carl Dog’s (1/2 Newfoundland & 1/2 Australian Shepherd; turns 17 Valentines Day 2007) human to Zeke Dog’s humans:

    Your grief will subside and be replaced with stories that make you laugh out loud and your heart sing.  When you’re ready, read MARLEY & ME by John Grogan.

85. 
    Charles 2007 02 05 at 1:21:22 pm

    Wow, Amanda, your comment in #103 was beautifully written.  I hope it’s OK if I “me too” what you said.

86. 
    yankee,transferred 2007 02 05 at 1:36:09 pm

    Here via Robin Andrea and Roger.  Peace to you.

87. 
    Jim Strain 2007 02 05 at 1:38:51 pm

    I’m so sorry, Chris.  I hope you’ll take some comfort in knowing you gave Zeke a good life and the kind of love that all creatures deserve.
    . . . jim strain in san diego.

88. 
    belledame222 2007 02 05 at 2:13:00 pm

    I’m so sorry, Chris.  You were a wonderful friend to Zeke, I’ve no doubt, and he, you.

    rest in peace, good soul.

89. 
    Grimmstail 2007 02 05 at 4:07:08 pm

    So sorry. Your updates on Zeke have been very touching.

90. 
    Pygmy Loris 2007 02 05 at 8:40:41 pm

    Chris,

    I’m just a lowly lurker who checks your blog from time to time usually for news about Zeke.  I’m so sorry to hear he’s passed away.  My deepest sympathy to you and Becky.

91. 
    Bill Hooker 2007 02 05 at 10:18:56 pm

    I am so sorry for your loss.

92. 
    Amanda 2007 02 05 at 10:51:05 pm

    Dear Chris,

    I write once again as your family crosses my mind.  I wonder whether you have read all the comments here.  I would understand if you felt it wasn’t yet time, or if it was in fact not bearable at this point.  All the same, I hope that each and every one of these thoughts that are sent your way are enveloping you with the spirit, the good vibes, and the love with which they were written.

    What wouldn’t I give to be as lucky as Zeke to have been adopted into such a loving home?  And I would perhaps give even more to be blessed by the love of Zeke in my life. 

    All my love to Becky and to you, from 2,700 miles away.  I hope you two are hanging on tightly to each other with one hand as the other grasps those roller coaster bars.

    Love and Peace,
    -A-

93. 
    Ben Alpers 2007 02 08 at 11:19:55 am

    Oh Chris….I just saw this a moment ago.

    I have a much loved dog who’s in serious decline right now, so I have some sense of what this must feel like.

    My thoughts are with you!