I miss Zowie so much.

She was an asshole. But she was my asshole.

Stubborn and snuggly. You don’t get the snuggly without the stubborn — they’re a package deal. Zowie had both in abundance. She tried to fight the postman every single day. Every day. No matter what I said. I’d be standing right there saying “Zowie, no,” and she’d be going absolutely feral at the door like she’d spotted the literal enemy of the state.

Daily vendetta. Never quit. Never reconsidered. The postman was enemy number one and that was that.

We didn’t let our dog maul a human. Regardless of his job. But the principle? The principle was ironclad.

I was going to take a handful of her ashes and blow them into his face. Blind him for an hour. Settle that score. She would have approved.

Three months and it still aches. That’s what four years buys you — a hole that doesn’t close.

Stubborn to the end. Vindictive from beyond. The postman never stood a chance.