From the moment that Zeus came into Jessica’s life, their mutual love of fun and adrenaline-filled adventures saw them form a tight bond. As a puppy, people did a double take when they saw his tiny face poking out of Jessica’s backpack as she skateboarded to her son’s school. And as he grew into a large, lanky boy, he took great delight in towing his favourite human along. They spent their evenings snuggled in bed together, and life was awesome.
But one day, the intuitive Zeus knew that something was wrong.
He started sniffing Jessica’s heart intently, and laying on top of her every time she felt unwell. At the time, Jessica was facing continuous stress and sadness which had her turning to alcohol, and she had no idea what Zeus was doing. She later learned that her blood pressure was dropping to dangerously low levels. Zeus would faithfully stay draped over her until her blood pressure had returned to normal and she felt much better. This went on for over 6 months.
Then, one terrible day, Jessica’s heart failed.
Needing to be rushed to hospital, and then facing a long stint in rehabilitation which saw her lose her home, her job, and heartbreakingly, her family, Jessica knew that losing her best friend would be the final straw. With no one to turn to, her support worker reached out to us.
Meanwhile across Melbourne, Deb had just had her own heart broken in more ways than one.
Her beloved dog Tiger had passed away a few months prior, and she missed him terribly. Then Deb suffered a heart attack which saw her rushed to hospital for triple bypass surgery.
A wonderful foster carer for Pets Of The Homeless, Deb didn’t think twice when she got the call to see if Zeus could stay with her. She needed some joy in her life, and this “big kid” was about to bring plenty of it in the form of a 2-year-old goofball with a zest for toys and life.
Deb never could have known that underneath that cheeky persona, Zeus' intuition would again lead him to her heart.
At night, Zeus would stealthily place his nose under the doona at the foot of her bed and would wriggle his way up until he was lying between Deb and her husband.
Placing his head on Deb’s heart, it was as if he knew that her heart too needed healing. What he did for Jessica, he was now doing for Deb.
During his foster stay, we provided support for Zeus in the form of nutritious food, toys and surgery to remove some malignant growths on his face. True to his name, he handled it with courage and bravery, making a full recovery.
After 69 long days apart, Jessica secured a new home and was ready to welcome back her best friend.
The weather was wild with gale force winds that day, but their heartwarming reunion really blew us away. The moment that Zeus laid eyes on his person, he was beside himself with joy. And the feeling was mutual.
Jessica told us that she was overwhelmed by the outstanding kindness of Deb and the team at Pets Of The Homeless.
“I am so thankful to you for helping my beautiful boy,” Jessica said.
"I can’t believe that there is an organisation out there that is so generous. I couldn’t afford Zeus’ surgery, and to have him back looking so happy and healthy, with the vitamins and other supplies, means so much. Even his table manners have improved!”
Jessica and Zeus are now back in the swing of things, going for walks and snuggling in bed together.
“You helped make a very trying and worrisome time a bit easier knowing that I wasn’t going to lose Zeus,” Jessica said. “You really did save my life.”
