She is one of those dogs whose life has touched so many, that would couldn't even count if we tried. Her name is Emma Zen and like many fortunate dogs she was adopted from our local animal shelter to keep a human busy. See my name is Debra Jo and my husband had been working out of town and the house was so cold and lonely without him, enter Emma. I was so happy! So happy! I took her to puppy class, dog class, trail school, canine hiking club, bird school, Frisbee games, agility course, draft dog games, therapy training and finally school for stage and film. (Yes I said that.) I purchased collars and leashes, t-shirts and hiking shoes, blankets and personalized sweat shirts and finally a Harley Davidson sidecar. (Yes, I actually said that too.) I was living! Yes, I was finally living! Living that is... with one spoiled dog. My life is about her life and it is about her. I have the luxury and the time to literally spend every single day with my dog. It is the best time I have ever spent in my life.
We celebrated her arrival and had for the first two years have had fantastic birthday dog parties as grand as anything you would throw for your own child. (She is only 2 1/2) and her third Birthday party is already planned. We take her to all family gatherings. She has her own stationary for correspondence. She opens her own gifts at Christmas time. She is an equal family member. Yes, we have a notable individual living in our home and it is our dog!
We have a lot of fun and along the way of trying everything we found three aspect of life that she excelled in. That is the trick to becoming yourself you know, just throwing out everything you are not. Emma is a therapy dog, a canine model and a biker dog extraordinare. She leaves you with the same feelings, that she brings when she comes. I wish more humans were as she is...
Emma Zen belongs to Bright and Beautiful Therapy Inc. and P.A.W.S. Pets Are Wonderful Support a program sponsored by the SPCA. She works with Alzheimer Patience, Convalescent Programs and Special Needs Children. She also participates in promotional events which have included cancer awareness, animal support programs and the Special Olympics. She comes alive at these events. She turns it on! She is not as good at sitting on the sidelines letting someone rub her head as she is standing right next to them and helping them participate. Our little motivator... It's just who she is and it pulls at your heart strings.
And then there is: Emma the Canine Model (or ham whichever you'd like to call her) Her incredible list of training aside she is nothing more than a diva. During Stage training it was said that modeling was the most difficult part of the industry. For a model needs to listen better than an actor. They need to be able to sit or stay for long periods of time (I mean really long periods) and you have to be able to approach them move a nose or a paw and have them stay there looking to the left while the chicken and kids or something you don't expect moves around on the right. Everyone was amazed at her ability and her human never let the cat out of the bag. (Emma was just extremely lazy!) But her photographs have shown up on the internet, advertisement flyers, a calendar, baseball cards, books, a coffee label and a few other places we would have never expected.
In comes the third and final stage, the real and most comfortable of selves, Emma Zen the Canine Ambassador for Biker Dogs! Okay so this story, in and of itself, is a book but the short of it is: leaving her at home was not an option, a side car, lots of traveling and over 10,000 miles under the tail in two years. Plus a wake of smiles and laughter that continue to roll over the human spirit far after she has passed you by. You can't get three blocks from home and fourteen cars have already pulled up to take her picture. She is famous in the hearts of so many people and every now and then these story's catch up with us and we are, as always, forever grateful to be part of this great dogs life.
She has a website and a facebook, a youtube and an a email. She hands out postcards to those that she meets every day. We never leave the house without our dog and we never go anywhere we can't bring her. We do a lot a traveling and she gets to go and sometimes we pick the destinations just for her. I have started talking in "the dog" (sort of like talking in the third person) when replying to all her portals and I have become a member of my dogs life instead of the other way around.
I am most proud of Emma Zen. I am most proud because I see the smiles, I see the tears. I get the emails and the posted comments. I open the snail mail and retrieve the texts. They love her, so many people, they love her. She has done what God wanted us to do here on earth. She has lived with constant devotion to others and always with abundance of compassionate. She is one of those dogs would have touched so many.
My old soul, Emma Zen Chiapuzio.
www.emmazen.com
www.facebook.com/emmazen
www.youtube.com/thebikerdog
