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.

Doggy Adventures

A little over a month ago, my sister was home alone and saw a black lab walking around our neighborhood. Not seeing any license or collar, she assumed it was a stray and brought it into our house. She fed it some of Zuzus' food while she waited for my mom to get home so she could show her the stray. When my mom got home, she recognized the dog as the pet a family that lives a few houses away. She called his family, and someone came to pick the dog up.

Unfortunately, this dog seems to have fallen in love with our dog food. He has shown up at our doorstep several times since my sister fed him. He always whines outside of our front door and scratches at it, until we call his family to come pick him up.

Today, he showed up once again. It was pretty early in the morning, and my father and I were the only ones home. I called his family and told my dad to leave him outside and they would pick him up soon.

"But look at him." My dad protested. "We should bring him inside until they get here."

My dad opened the door, but before he could call the dog inside, Zuzu burst out the open door. Both dogs bounded away.

Barefooted, in our pajamas and bathrobes, my dad and I ran out the door after Zuzu. Excited by her friend and her freedom she bounded down the street, ignoring our calls. We chased her down the street and into the woods behind our house. After running around in the woods for a minute, she grew tired of her adventure. I called her and she came to me. I took her back inside. I then called the other dogs family and told them he wasn't here anymore, but that he had run in the direction of there house so they should see him soon. All is well that ends well.

Dinner

Besides Zuzu, we have three cats. These cats like to sit by my dad's chair every night at dinner, because he always surreptitiously drops food on the floor for them. My mom hates when my dad feeds the pets from the table. The cats have gotten very good at sneaking over to my dad's chair without my mom noticing. They pad silently under the table, and wait until he pushes some meat off his plate.

Zuzu noticed this, and she tries to be like the cats so she will get food. Unfortunately, she is about three times as big as the cats and a billion times less sneaky. She can't fit between the chairs, and so she has to plod around the table to get to my dad's chair. Alas, she always gets caught by my mother before she can get any food. Such is the fate of the big and noisy dog.

Thunderstorms

It rained today. Not a thunderstorm, just rain. Zuzu is terrified of thunderstorms. I was going to write a blog post about Zuzu's fear of thunder, but then I remembered that I actually wrote a poem about it last year for a class. The assignment had been to write a poem starting with "I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warning" (We had been learning about Bob Dylan.) I do not really consider myself a poet, but I do have a fondness for rhyming things. Here is the poem I wrote:



I Heard the Sound of a Thunder, it Roared out a Warning



I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warning.

The power went out in my room.

I doubted that it would be back on ‘til morning.

The house shook with a mighty “boom”.




I felt so alone, my family was out,

I curled up in a ball on my bed.

Though I knew they were safe, I still felt some doubt,

my stomach was knotted with dread.




A whimper was followed by a scratch on my door.

I made my way toward the sound,

trying not to trip on the clothes on my floor

or the textbooks that covered the ground.




I opened the door and Zuzu was there

she lay on the floor made of wood.

I could tell that she had had quite a scare,

for she seemed to be stuck there for good.




I pulled on her collar, she lept to the bed.

I lay down there next to to her.

I soothed her, petting her body and head,

and I smoothed her ruffled fur.




With her next to me I didn’t feel cold,

nor did the storm seem so frightening.

While it cannot be said I felt super bold,

I no longer screamed at the lightning.




I heard the sound of a thunder it roared out this warning:

“It may seem the storm will not end,

the lightning will flash, the rain will be pouring,

so it’s better to face with a friend.”

Introducing Zuzu

This is my family's dog. Her name is Zuzu. My dad came up with that name. When we first adopted her, about eight years ago, my parents told me and my two sisters that we could name her. One week, 100 names, and 500 arguments later, my parents decided that maybe it wasn't the best idea to leave the naming to the kids. So my dad interrupted our fighting and announced that she would be named Zuzu, after George Bailey's daughter in It's a Wonderful Life. As a consolation prize, we were told that all of our top choices could be middle names for her. So, technically, her full name is Zuzu Sarah Muffin Princess Kazoo Elisabeth Butter Cupcake Minnie Happy Scoppettone.

Zuzu is part german shepherd and part beagle, although we think she has something else (we aren't sure what) mixed in. Because she is part shepherd, she loves to herd things, especially other dogs. The beagle in her really shows when she is on a scent. She will run around with her nose on the ground and it is nearly impossible to break her concentration She loves running in Hubbard Park, where she can meet lots of dogs and smell lots of smells. People who see her in the park are always surprised to learn that she is nearly nine years old, because she still has the energy of a puppy and can keep up with almost any dog she meets.