Ode to Zipper

Zipper is the reason I fell in love with my darling husband, Clint. Let me elaborate just a tad. Rather, let me elaborate quite a bit.

Zipper is a Jack Russell Terrier with a huge personality and a zest for life. He is very handsome and has a long tail that wags to his own patented rhythm. He will play catch probably right up until the moment that he falls over dead. He is very caring and wears his feelings on his sleeve ...if dogs wore sleeves. I guess some dogs do wear sleeves, but Zipper doesn't. He's too cool for that. Well, except in the winter when he has to wear his winter coat while chasing cows out of the barn. But on a regular day, no sleeves for Zipper.

He spent many hours napping on my bulging belly while I was pregnant with Blaze. I had so many dreams and warm thoughts of Blaze and Zipper growing up together and creating a bond like the kids in "Marley & Me" did. I fight back tears often when I think about Zipper. I wonder what he's doing, if someone is taking care of him and loving him as much as we did, if someone throws him a tennis ball. Or giving him the occasional Cheeto. Cheeto's were his favorite.

When I say Zipper is the reason I fell in love with Clint, I mean that the bond between Zipper and Clint made my heart melt. It would only seem right that I fell in love with someone that loved animals like I did and I saw that with them two. That's saying alot coming from a cowboy that grew up knowing that dogs had a job and were dispensable.

They were inseparable. They were buddies. They were loyal to one another. He went to work with Clint every single day. Everybody loved him too. Zipper loved riding on the console in Clint's truck and he perfected his lean around sharp curves to stay upright. It would have probably taken a tornado to knock Zipper off that console.

He knew his role in life and he followed rules to the point that it made him nervous. Let me elaborate on that a bit too. Here are two of Zipper's simple rules:

1. No getting in the arena when there are horses in there.

2. No chasing the barn cats.

Simple enough. Zipper concentrates really hard and takes his rules very seriously. When a cat walks by, Zipper freezes and shakes as if he stunned so he makes sure not to break his rules.

In April, someone in our neighborhood took it upon themselves to "clean up the neighborhood." Zipper was outside playing with the neighborhood kids when this person called Zipper into his vehicle. I even went to that person's door with a flier the next morning after not sleeping a wink hoping that I would hear Zipper finally scratch at the door to come inside, and that person told me that he hasn't seen him. He then took Zipper to Fort Worth the next day and dropped him off on a busy road. I found out all this information through hours of feverish investigation. If I would have known that Zipper was in that house, I would have knocked the door down.

We went to the neighborhood where we were told Zipper was dropped off and called for hours, posted fliers on every light pole we could find, pleaded with dozens of people to call with any info, placed ads in all the papers and called every dog shelter and animal control in the area to no avail. I feel sorry for that low life of a person that took a part of our family. He must have it really bad to be so hateful and awful.

We have still not found Zipper. My heart breaks everyday for him. In a moment of weakness, I break down in tears to mourn him. I still put ads in the paper every now and then. I can only hope that he has found his way into a loving home. So this post is to keep Zipper in our memory and hope that one day he finds his way back to us because we miss him deeply.

We love you Zipper and always will!

-Kaci