In my life I have had a wide range of pets from dogs, cats, rats, a parakeet, and an owl.  I even had ducks for pets.  When they died, I grieved for them and moved on.  I did not replace them but adopted another to love.  There was one dog that I had named Zora.  She died a few days before the Harvey Flood which was seven years ago.  Zora was my die-hard garage dog.  She loved hanging out in the garage and when I went for a drive, she insisted on going with me.  The Bug was her car, she loved riding along in the Bug.  After seven years I still grieve for her.  Like that song Bojangles, after twenty years he still grieves for his dog. I guess that will be me in 13 or 14 years; still grieving for a silly dog named Zora. 

On Valentine’s Day 2005, I buried our dog, Annie.  Annie was a South Carolina Yellow Dog which are descendants of the Australian Dingos.  After slave trading became illegal, the ships that transported slaves to America had to find a new gig to stay in business.  Some went to Australia to import unique animals.  Port Customs would not let the dingoes into America, the ships went down the coast and released them in South Carolina.  Those were the ancestors of our dog Annie.  We adopted Annie from my nephew Jake.  His family could not keep her any longer due to their travels. 

Soon after I buried Annie, I started looking for another dog to adopt.  I have always wanted a Husky so that narrowed my search.  I found an ad in a local paper for Husky puppies that were six weeks old.  One afternoon we all went to see these puppies.  The mom was a husky, but the dad was unknown.  I later believed the dad was a chow. The puppy I was drawn to was a black-haired husky-looking dog.  Jennifer, however, was drawn to the light brown-haired husky-looking dog.  I would have taken them all home, but we could choose only one.  I have always trusted Jennifer's instincts, so the light brown-haired husky came home with us.  I had decided earlier that her or his name would be Zora.  I wanted that name because the father of the V-8 Corvette was Zora Arkus-Duntov.  So, she would be Zora. 

Zora and I bonded instantly.  I took her everywhere.  One of her traits that I thought was interesting, she did not want anyone to watch her go to the bathroom.   She would go behind a tree or, while in the yard, run to the other side of the garage.  Since I was unemployed, I would pick up Will and Allison at the end of the school day.  Zora tagged along with me.  Many times, I would get out of the car and sit under a tree or walk closer to the building to wait for the kids.  Zora was at my feet the entire time.  When the school bell rang, some of the Jr. High kids wanted to pet Zora, especially the young girls.  When Allison walked up, she would pick up Zora and carry her to the car. 

Not long after we adopted Zora, Jennifer got her a dog, a Cocker Spaniel she named Ginger.  Then I found a young Black English Lab running along the freeway.  I stopped and Bella jumped into our lives.  We tried to find Bella’s owners but could not find anyone to claim her.  Now our backyard had a small gang.  It was funny how all three were so different, but they got along well.  Not one tried to become the Alfa. Zora and Bella were about the same age.  Ginger was a few months older than the other two. 

One afternoon I took Zora and Bella to a field nearby that had a small lake.  I threw a stick into the lake and Bella without hesitation took off after it.  She was a natural in the water.  I threw another stick before Bella made it back to the shore and Zora jumped in after it.  But Zora did not float. Her thick fur pulled her under the moment it got wet.  The only thing above water was her nose.  I kicked off my boots ran in after her and helped her to shore.  I had no idea that Huskies could not swim.  I found out later that because they have multiple layers of fur, when that gets wet, the dog becomes heavy in water.  So, no more swimming for Zora.

As the three dogs grew up Ginger and Bella would bark at neighbors walking by in the afternoons.  Zora had no bark.  She really wanted to bark and tried her best, but it sounded more like a goose.  She worked on her bark for the rest of her life and eventually started to sound more like a dog and less like a goose.  If someone stopped by to see what I was working on in the garage, Zora would be protective of me.  She would go nuts behind the fence while I stood on the driveway talking to those who stopped by. 

One day while working in the garage, I heard some noise that I could not figure out what it was.  I walked over to the fence to see Zora pushing a brick around the patio with her nose and then barking at it.  I thought that was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time.  I think she was trying to perfect her bark by doing this.  She did this almost daily for the rest of her life.    She would flip it over with her nose and bark.  Then she would push it along the cement and then stop to bark at it.  There was one brick that she preferred to use and over time it started to show wear.  Many times, while in the house we would hear her.  We would say, “….it is just Zora and her brick.”

When Will started to drive, we bought him a 1973 VW Beetle.  Then for High School graduation, we bought him a Mini Cooper S.  I then inherited the Bug to play with.  I would take it for drives in the afternoons and Zora would sometimes tag along.  There were times when I was going for a short drive or to the auto parts store, and Zora would run along the fence back and forth letting me know she wanted to go with me.  She watched me drive away looking sad that she could not go.  When I got back, she never held a grudge, but was glad to see me.

A few years later, I was home recovering from my kidney cancer surgery.  A friend from high school told me about his recovery time at home after cancer surgery.  He said the best thing he did was take daily walks in his neighborhood.  He said to make the following day a little longer walk until I could walk around the perimeter of our neighborhood.  Our neighborhood is exactly a mile walking the road that circles our neighborhood.  Zora went with me each day.  Doing that walk with Zora built up my strength so I could return to work after six weeks of recovery. 

As Zora got older, she slowed down.  I took her on drives in ‘her’ Bug.  I think she claimed that car as hers since every time I started it she insisted on going with me.  I remember clearly the last drive we took together.  She was in the passenger seat, she laid her head on my lap and looked up at me.  I could see the love in her eyes.  I think she knew her time on Earth was short.  That was the only time she laid her head in my lap while we drove, she was always interested in watching everything as we drove past. 

I came home one day from work and Zora was in pain.  She was in the middle of the backyard squirming in pain.  She passed away soon after that.  Will and Allison helped me dig Zora’s grave.  We put her to rest behind the garage near where she would sit to watch me work in the garage.  I placed her brick on top as a marker. 

Zora was a unique dog.  I called her my clown dog. She was always entertaining.  She always looked like she had a smile.  I don’t think she ever had a bad day in the 12 years she was with us.  It took me a long time to get to where I could write about her.  I decided it was time but still this was not easy for me to write.  If dogs could re-incarnate, I would say she came back as Paisley.  Paisley has the best bark and can run fast.  Zora could not run fast even though she tried.  Paisley loves to go on rides like Zora.  I plan to drive her in the Bug like Zora, and I did, most every day. I will always think of Zora.  I miss her.