Zappa

Zappa is named both for the great Frank, and for the even greater Mexican revolutionary, Zapata.

I am watching you, buster ... don’t try nuttin’...

After the loss of our dearly departed Fire in 2010 (she lies in state in the small cherry orchard with a stone carved by the Prop) a replacement was found in Australia. Same breed -- Staffordshire Bull Terrier, but a chap this time. And an abandoned dog too, from the Staffy Rescue place near Windsor.

Actually , he was not so much found as thrust himself upon us, and after a brief acquaintance, nailed the job as Vineyard Dog.

He’s a funny kind of Staffy: he looks tough, but is pretty much scared of everything. Including other dogs. All that we know about him was that he was 24 hours from termination on death row, before he was rescued. Before that he’d been picked up, unmarked and unidentified in the roughest part of west Sydney. Best guess would be that he was maybe supposed to be a gang dog or similar, but proved to be such a softy that he was deemed unfit for the job of scary guard/attack dog. People often make that mistake with Staffies, but they are generally gentle and humble dogs for all their menacing looks.

Nevertheless, should you be considering pilfering a bottle or two of one of the
world’s great Pinots, pause first. If he did suddenly turn into a guard dog, fulfilling some kind of preordained role as vineyard guard dog, and sank his gnashers into your bum, you might have trouble walking for a year or two. Good luck.