Zeus was born on December 9, 1999 in a litter of two. His father was a standard grey and his mother was a mosaic... he takes after his mom since he is also considered a mosaic. He's mostly a silvery grey, but he has a dark patch on the middle of his back and his face is darker, and there's a white stripe on his side. He also has black fur around his arms that look like sleeves. He has beautiful extra long salt and pepper whiskers, greyish pink ears and paws, and a white tip on his tail. He also has a notch in one ear - probably a souvenier from his sister.

When we first met Zeus at the breeder's place, he was just a little ball of fluff and he sat very still in my arms while Odie was jumping all over the place trying to discover everything. I think Zeus was just scared of the whole world. He cried in the car all the way home and every time we looked at him for the first two days we had him. When we let them out for playtime he would run under anything he could find and just sit there until we fished him out and put him back in the cage. He finally came around with lots of love and raisins, but he will still run and hide when you open the cage. If you dig him out of his hiding place he'll tolerate your attention, but he'll express his displeasure by leaving a pile of poopies in your lap. He grew to love playtime and gets peeved if you're late, but he's much more subdued in his play than Odie and after awhile is content to sit back and watch Odie's antics until it's time to go back in the cage.

Zeus's love of treats overpowers any fear of people that remains. If you have a raisin, dried fruit, or a crunchy, he'll come investigate and perhaps accept your offering grudgingly after a good sniff. If you have almond slivers, you are definitely and immediately his best friend, and he will sit in your lap - even hold your hand! - to make sure you don't go anywhere before every last almond is in his tummy.

You can tell he doesn't miss many meals by his root-beer-barrell stature, but surprisingly Zeus is a picky eater. He doesn't care for any fresh foods at all... when we offer them, he sniffs once then shoves it away with his hands. If he really doesn't like what you have, he'll even wipe his nose after smelling it. He's content to eat Mazuri chin pellets for every meal, but don't forget those treats after playtime! I don't have a scale so I don't know his exact weight, but compared to Odie he is a considerable amount more to hold. Just check out his pictures and you'll see!

If Zeus was human, I think he would be the book worm type that doesn't socialize too much, and would rather be a fly on the wall at a party than a participant. He's an observer. That's fine with me though... we understand each other perfectly. :)

Webmaster Note: Sadly, Zeus is no longer with us. He died of unknown causes in October 2002. I miss my little buddy terribly and will update this page with a proper eulogy soon.

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