A man was on a road trip with his girlfriend’s dog when the couple broke up. Bitter, he dumped the woman’s dog halfway across the country alone, ignoring his ex’s calls. That’s when a stranger stepped up and taught him how a real man handles things.
Zach Holt became an internet sensation when the Marylander stepped up to do what another guy should have done. Zach used to work at the Caroline County Humane Society, where his girlfriend was still one of the animal control officers. When the shelter found themselves in the middle of a problem, Zach was the man with a plan.
The Caroline County Humane Society staff had found a pit bull mix, which was thankfully microchipped. When they traced the dog back to his “mom,” they quickly realized reuniting the two would prove to be a problem since the woman lived in Wichita, Kansas.
Sadly, she lost her dog Zimba when her boyfriend took him on a trip to Maryland. While the boyfriend was away with the dog, the couple broke up, and the bitter ex abandoned Zimba, refusing to return his ex-girlfriend’s calls. Although Zimba was found, there was still an issue standing in the way of reuniting him with his rightful owner.
Zimba’s owner was, of course, thrilled to find out that her dog was safe, but she said she couldn’t drive the 1,000+ miles from Kansas to Maryland because of her job and kids. The shelter tried contacting airlines but failed to find a suitable solution. Enter Zach Holt.
When his girlfriend told him Zimba’s story, Zach decided to show the world how a real man handles tough times — and it doesn’t involve abandoning a dog halfway across the country after a bad breakup. If you haven’t guessed, Zach volunteered to do what the bitter ex should have done. He drove Zimba home, all the way to Wichita.
“I’m a bartender,” Zach tod WJZ, explaining he strictly works weekends and Mondays. “I have Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday off. And, four days is plenty of time to get to Kansas and back, so I said, ‘Why not?’” he furthered. So, that’s what he did.
Indeed, Zach took Zimba’s horror story and turned it into a feel-good one, road tripping with his new buddy and sharing their journey along the way on social media.
The two hit the road on a Tuesday, and Zach admitted, he was loving every minute of it. Saying Zimba was a great road trip partner, sleeping most of the way the first day, Zach added that he loves driving and the road trip was “the easy part” of the story.
Taking the limelight off of himself, Zach heaped praise on the person who found Zimba and got him help. “It was just as easy for them to just ride on by and be like, ‘Oh look, there’s a stray dog,’” he said.
But, this was more than just a road trip to Zach, who has his own dog, a German shepherd/Shar Pei mix named Forrest, and a cat, Sullivan. “I can’t imagine my right-hand man being gone that long,” Zach said as he prepared to take off. “It’s going to be great, I mean, it’s going to be lovely,” and from the looks of things, it was.
Zach credited the shelter for finding Zimba’s owner and getting in touch with her, but the shelter said Zach wasn’t giving himself enough credit. “Zach is doing this strictly as a volunteer, asking for nothing,” the shelter wrote, adding that they were “incredibly grateful.”
As both Zach Holt and the shelter chronicled “Zach and Zimba’s Great Adventure” on Facebook, people rallied around them and cheered them on. In less than two days, Zach and Zimba reached Wichita, where the pup was happily united with his family.
A lot of people could learn a thing or two from Zach, but the one who needs the lesson the most is the immature “man” who let Zimba behind. Breakups suck, but you don’t mend your heart by causing heartache for someone else. Taking out your hurts and frustrations out on another living being is never the answer, either.
Luckily, Zach Holt stepped up where another man failed, showing the world how a man should handle tough situations. A real man isn’t spiteful but rather helpful. He doesn’t cause problems, he becomes the solution. He doesn’t mistreat an innocent animal but goes the extra mile — or 1,000 — for them. The world certainly could use a lot more men like this.