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In memory of Zorro
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Zorro was born on June 1, 2008 and joined our pack when he was 9 weeks
old. He departed this world on May 20, 2022, 12 days shy of what would
have been his 14th birthday. There is so much to say about the happiness
and joy Zorro brought us during his life, we'll miss our little bomb
more than words can express.
Zorro earned the nickname "the bomb" by the time he was 6 months old. When he wanted something or wanted to get someplace, he would do it with extreme enthusiasm and intense focus (sometimes too much enthusiasm and focus, haha). Thus, the bomb, as we would laugh that he was "bombing to get what he wanted". The nickname stuck his entire life as his personality matched the name perfectly. | ||
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In the spring of 2010, Brad decided to take up skijoring with Max & Zorro. On Zorro's 3rd skijor outing, he busted the gangline (attached from Brad's waist to Max & Zorro) due to exerting extreme force. Most ganglines last 100s of outings and 1000s of miles; but Zorro busted one after three outings. What a (wonderful) bomb!!! We started skijoring seriously the winter of 2010/2011 and Zorro blossomed into an incredible athlete. Despite being on the small end of the Siberian Husky spectrum (he weighed about 40 lbs), Zorro was all power and could keep pace with any sled dog you paired him with. His skijoring career: 1,274 days on the trails covering 9,353.3 miles with an astonishing 1,043,975 feet of elevation climbed! |
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Zorro LOVED snow and was the happiest when his toes were on snow. He first touched snow in October of 2008. From that point on, he touched snow at least once a month for the remainder of his life. At almost 14 years old, that was 164 straight months that Zorro touched snow! It was a challenge some summers, but we never let the streak end as we had some interesting Augusts/Septembers hiking to what snow remained on the top of Colorado peaks. As soon as we approached a patch of snow in summer, he would get excited and bomb to get onto it. What a (wonderful) bomb! Zorro loved to go to restaurants with us. A simple picnic table in a park or a real restaurant with dog-friendly patio; both were restaurants to him. He'd settle perfectly at our feet and await his treats that he would get as we ate, talked & laughed at the table. He remembered EVERY restaurant he visited and would try and turn into any place he had been before if you tried to walk by. What a (wonderful) bomb! |
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Zorro's last picnic: 05/19/2022
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At 9 years old, Zorro became a certified therapy dog with Brad and they spent years helping kids improve their self confidence and reading skills at the local library and elementary school. When Zorro was 1 year old, Max was already a therapy dog and, one day, a librarian asked Brad when Zorro would join Max for this work. Brad laughed and said, "Oh my, never, he's way too much of a bomb for therapy work!" Well, eight years later and the same librarian was there when Brad brought Zorro in for one of his certification evaluations. She laughed and said, "Never, huh?" Sure it took Zorro a while to mellow into therapy dog status; yet it was one of our proudest days when he passed the tests with flying colors! But, becoming a therapy dog meant Zorro could now visit a whole new class of establishments (not just restaurants). He expanded his repertoire to include every building he had been invited into to perform therapy work. When walking past ANY such location, he'd try to turn and re-enter every place he'd ever been. What a (wonderful) bomb! |
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When Max unexpectedly passed in 2017 it was traumatic for all of us, including Zorro. He'd never been without a brother or two his entire life (Max & Cisco as a puppy and then Max). Zorro could not settle at home alone and we knew we had to expand our pack. So, October 2017 and puppy Jack entered our pack and then March 2018 puppy Rudy came too. Once Zorro accepted the puppies (which always took a few days, puppies are so annoying, haha), he became an unbelievable mentor and best buddy to both of them. We cannot thank Zorro enough for the model citizens Jack & Rudy grew into under his tutelage. He was an unbelievable mentor who will remain in our thoughts and dreams FOREVER. We miss you so much our wonderful little bomb. We have lived a very fun and active life; but we believe we can say that our "Max & Zorro decade" may have been our most enjoyable of all. You made our lives SO happy, rewarding and enjoyable - have fun rejoining Max over the rainbow bridge. You will never fade from our memories. |
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