Today I wanna write about Zozo, our Irish wolfhound. She died last year at the age of 11, and since days constantly she comes to my mind. Now she is laying under the earth on a hill, side by side with Mikroula, her best dog friend.
Sixth month old, she stood on the roadside and wanted to cross the street. But she did not know how, as there was a strong traffic. So my friends´ sister took care of her, and since then Zozo belonged to the family and her garden.
There, Zoso felt the need to deliver a great job. She turned out to be the protector of the property and of the three cats which were living in it. She gave strangers the feeling they have to show their passport in order to enter, or at least Nikolas, her beloved owner, must like them. Then Zozo welcomed the foreigners.
She was the most communicative dog. When Nikolas arrived daily with his car, she barked in very high, excited tones. "Woof, woof, my owner is coming. He is coming!!! Woof!", and joyfully she greeted him at the door. Then she run back to me, telling me in her dog language: "Woof! You must come and see. He is here! He is here!" Her job was not done, because she informed Nikolas about the fact that I was sitting on the other side of the house. With her head, she pointed towards me and told Nikolas excited: "Look! My mistress is sitting there! She is sitting there! Woof!"
She run back and forth, and sometimes she could not help herself with all her joy and threw her hedgehog toy in the air. This little textile laid mostly around the palm tree and only Zoso played with it.
Zoso loved Mikroula! This creamy fur mongrel was a bit smaller than her and arrived later in the garden. Zoso wanted to possess her, and Mikroula often gave us this kind of questioning and annoyed view: "Yes, I allow her to spring on me, otherwise she doesn´t let me go. When does this end?" Zozo snuggled with her, and the possessive time was over.
Both were protectors, and no foreign animal had a good time in our garden. In my theory, they even protected the food of our cats. That might have been another reason why they killed one night a foreign cat.
When the gate was open, Zozo never ran away, except one time. "Dogs are running away when they have a chance, that´s what I am doing now", she seemed to say. Two minutes later, she returned into her territory. How can she leave her garden, who would take care about it! After walks, it seemed that she was happy to arrive at home again. There she was the ruler, with all her kindness and loyalty and stubbornness.
In my book "Who is the coach here?" Zoso discovers a strange intruder in our garden: it´s a snake, which finds her way to our porch. "How did I miss it", Zoso wonders, "I almost always watch to make sure no strange animals come in here." Zoso and Mikroula and the cats follow this intruder. Zoso is looking for her owner Nikolas. He has to see this animal! "What's up, Zozo?" Nikolas asks her. "Woof! Come!" She barks and points with her head towards the corner of the house. He sees the young snake and tries to drive it away with a stick. She wants to help her master, but how does she chase this thing? "Out!" he says in a sharp tone. The creature swiftly slithers away and disappears into the next bush, and from there into the neighbor's garden.
Zozo enjoyed her life until one month before she died. She couldn´t eat anymore because of an incurable stomach problem.
Irish wolfhounds once were hunting wolves. If you want a four legged companion, who is intelligent, communicative and family loving, this kind of dog is a good choice.
Rest in peace, Zozo!