Left and Bereft

Sailor here.

I am bereft. Zoe left with her dad for Cape Cod, which Mom says is a terminal moraine on the East Coast. We live on the Left Coast. These two coasts are very far apart. Zoe is riding in the back of Katy and Erik’s dog car and says the trip will take seven dark-sleeps and a good many daylight-sleeps.

My Mom packed a box of stuff for Zoe’s trip. I watched her fill the box with all sorts of traveling supplies:

A brand new Chewman in the shape of a big ball, so I guess this is a Chewball
A red Kong, lots of small cookies, spray cheese, and some Pounce for stuffing
A biscuit ball to hide cookies
Zoe’s harness so she will be safe on her trolley tie-out at the Cape
A Buddy Bowl, this nifty water bowl that won’t spill even if Zoe turns it upside down
Some plastic bags, a bag of rags, and some Nature’s Miracle (just in case)
A large towel for the bottom of her wire travel crate that can be cooled in water or frozen and draped over her crate on hot days
A small jar of powdered eggshells to add to ground meat in case raw meaty bones are not easily found
An emergency I.D. tag with Erik’s cell phone and the Truro house phone number on it
A jar of Musher’s Secret to help prevent blisters on Zoe’s feet if the rest stops have only asphalt and no grass or dirt (or in case Zoe has to walk far on ice)
Zoe’s slicker brush and shedding blade because she is always shedding and may at some point need a bath
Some powdered ginger in case Zoe gets an upset tummy from all that fast food or even faster water

The first day on the open road, Zoe was puzzled by all the driving and stopping and sniffing and peeing and then back into the car and doing it all over again. Erik said that eventually, her daily routine was finalized into measurable segments as Zoe tried on various new personalities:

Pop Up Dog for the first twenty minutes
Sit and Look Out the Window Dog for the next 30 minutes
Sleep in Crate Dog for quite some time
Pop Up and Out Dog, Pee and Sniff Dog for not long enough
Back in the Car Dog, reluctantly balking for fifteen seconds
Lift Zoe into Car Dog for two seconds
Drive-Through Dog at fast food restaurants
Do It All Over Again Dog for an indeterminate length of time
Dark Time Dog after supper
Motel 6 Dog which was bliss because she slept on Erik’s bed with Erik at night
Sunrise Dog first thing the next morning followed by
Run, Relief and Repeat the Previous Day Dog

At the end of five days, Zoe emailed me to tell me all about her new adventures.

“Guess what, Sailor,” she wrote, “I live in a car now. It’s kind of cool except when it’s hot after a rest stop. Utah was boring; the wheat fields wave, and Chicago smells funny. I love raw hamburger!”

Zoe is sure going to be surprised when they arrive in Truro and stay for a while. I wonder what she’ll think when they get back in the dog car and do it all over again in the opposite direction. I wonder how many states Zoe has peed in. I wonder what new smells she will write home about and if she will see fireflies and swim in the ocean.

Maybe my Mom will take me out to our dog car and feed my raw hamburger, too.