Thoughts

Zuzu is curled up on the couch next to me. She is sleeping and probably dreaming doggy dreams. It is just us in the living room. I can see her by the light of the christmas tree and my computer, and we are listening to christmas music. My family decorated our christmas tree tonight. We have to be careful not to put any breakable ornaments on the bottom part of the christmas tree, because Zuzu will knock them off.
It occurs to me that she has no idea that she has been the subject of my blog for the semester. She doesn't even know what a blog is. Well, obviously she doesn't know what a blog is; she is a dog.

A little out of season...

I know that it is now December, and Halloween is the farthest thing from everyone's mind. However, I just wanted to post this picture of Zuzu in her ladybug costume, that we forced her into this Halloween. This is her model pose, as you can see the whole costume. 

My sisters and I got her this costume while shopping for Halloween costumes for ourselves. We noticed a costume section for dogs in The Halloween store (yes, that's the real store name) and we knew we had to get something for Zuzu. We looked at lots of different options, like a piece of corn or a flapper, but we eventually decided to go with the ladybug costume. I think we made the right choice.

I made it!

Okay, this is a post of relief. My family went away for a few days this week, leaving me in charge of all of the animals, including Zuzu. I was nervous that I would feed her the wrong thing or that she would run away. I am not sure why I was so nervous, probably just because my mom usually is her primary caretaker, and I have never been solely in charge for two days. Anyway, nothing very exciting happened. I walked her a lot, so she got all of her energy out. I fed her twice a day. Everything was fine. Boring even.

Complaints and Puppy Memories

My parents are thinking about getting another dog in the not-too-terribly-distant future. Even though I say not-too-terribly-distant, it will still happen far enough into the future that I won't be living at home anymore. This is annoying, as I have been asking if we can get another dog for years. They say that they want to get a puppy, which obviously makes it even worse, as puppies are super cute. 

I remember when Zuzu was a puppy. She was pretty cute, although she chewed everything. Nothing was safe. Our boot bench still has teeth marks and wooden chunks missing from it. The worst was when she chewed off the eyes of a stuffed dog belonging to my seven year old sister, Anna. Anna cried for days over her mutilated stuffed animal. 

I guess one plus of not getting to live with the new puppy is that my stuff will not be chewed up.

Walk in the Park

Today I walked in Hubbard Park with my mom and Zuzu. My mom tries to walk Zuzu in the park almost every day, because if she doesn't then Zuzu has way too much energy later, and will not stop barking and running around. I walk in the park with my mom and Zuzu a lot, and today was especially nice because it was so warm. 

When we were in the park, we noticed that most of the dogs we passed had bright cloth attached to them. This is to make sure that hunters don't accidentally shoot them, as it is hunting season now. Even though it is against the law to hunt in Hubbard Park, most dog owners figure that it is better to be safe than sorry. Anyway, as I saw all these dogs in their bright colors, I came up with a brilliant plan: Whenever, we take Zuzu in the park for the rest of hunting season, we should put her in her halloween costume! This year we got her a ladybug costume. It is very bright, and would certainly stop anybody from confusing her with a deer. Plus, she looks totally adorable in her costume. So, if you are walking in Hubbard Park and you see dog dressed as a giant ladybug, you will know who it is. :)

Email Address

I got my first email address when I was in the fourth grade. As you may remember if you have been reading my blog since day one, my family adopted Zuzu when I was in the fourth grade as well. So, it only made sense for me to name my email address after my new puppy. So, for about eight years, I used the very cool email address of zuzudogpal@yahoo.com. It didn't matter too much, because I mainly used my school email for academics and facebook messaging for social things. However, it did cause me some embarrassment when I had to give out that email for signups and newsletters and such. Eventually, I had to give out my email address for work purposes, and decided that having an email named after a dog was not only embarrassing, it was unprofessional. I got a new email address that is much more practical and boring. I still have my zuzudogpal account, but I don't check it very often.

Pickiness

Zuzu is a very picky eater. Even though she is a dog, she doesn't like her dog food. If we try to give her plain dog food, she won't eat it. She just looks at us like "Seriously?" So, we have to mix in leftover turkey or ham. She is ridiculous.