Zazu – My First Floofy Shadow

The one who saved me.

I had just lost my dog Nala, my whole world, only two months before. Her death shattered me, and I truly thought I’d never heal.

Then one night, my son walked through the door, unzipped his jacket, and whispered, “Mom, do you want him?” Out peeked a tiny ball of black fluff—rescued from a thorn bush. My heart cracked wide open.

A few days later, the vet told me he was about seven weeks. Counting backwards, that meant he could have been born on my birthday. So now, we share a birthday—another bond that makes him even more my heart.

We named him Zazu, to keep the Lion King theme alive—Nala (my dog), Simba (my son’s cat), and now Zazu. From that first night, he curled on my chest and licked my chin like he was stitching me back together.

Now he’s my 14-pound chonk, full of fluff and love, still my shadow, still my heart.