Obituary of Zelly Waddell

Zelly died peacefully today from an apparent heart attack. It seemed she went to sleep and just didn’t wake up.  Not a bad way to go.

She was always ready to go wherever I was headed, even it was only to the next room.  Last Monday we were going to obedience class.  (She tagged along to her brother’s classes, just because she liked to go and still liked to do the exercises.)  She was so excited to go and wasn’t looking where she was going and ran into the wall.  On Wednesday of this past week, she got to tag along for agility practice and go over a few low jumps.  She still remembered the tunnel, but didn’t bank the sides this time. She was happy just to get a short turn on the field and a few treats.

Zelly and Dave took a cross country trip to attend the 2019 Keeshond National.  (I didn’t have much time off work, so I had to fly.). She won High in Trial at the KCA agility trial that year.  She’d finished her first MACH (Master Agility Championship) a week earlier.  She finished her second MACH at the end of 2020 and was inducted into The Keeshond Club of America HOF.  She didn’t upset by me wearing a mask when we attended trials during the pandemic, as long as she still got treats.  

She celebrated her 13th birthday in September.  She was diagnosed with kidney disease in April, 2023.  She also had a heart murmur.  

She earned her breed championship at just under 18 months and her Grand Championship even though she was a bit undersized for her breed.  She was very sound - in body and mind.  Nothing much phased her.  Kristen Jackson Dowd bred a wonderful bitch. Thank you Kristen.  She earned OB and Rally titles, in addition to the agility, along the way and a few other titles (32 in all).  All of those allowed her to be awarded a VersatileKeeshond Excellent parent club title by KCA.

Her most important job was being my buddy.  We had a special relationship, she was very much my dog, although Dave loved her too.  She apparently waited at the door for me to come home when I was away. She often slept on a bed where she could see me come up the sidewalk.  She joined me in the sewing room, slept on the end of the couch when I took a nap or watched TV, and loved to roughhouse a bit and roll around on the bed and scratch her back.  

She knew when Dave came to bed she had to sleep in the crate and waited for him to pick her up off the bed.  She learned not to jump off on her own.

Give your dog an extra hug, they never live long enough. 

RIP Zelly September 1, 2011 - December 15, 2024