Who are drug addicts hurting? (The story of Doro and Zena)

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Who are drug addicts hurting? (The story of Doro and Zena)

Drug abuse blogs often speak of how drug addicts are hurting themselves. How drug addicts are playing Russian roulette with every “hit” and of the consequences surrounding their use. But this time I want to talk about the whirlwind of devastation that drug abuse can have upon others and how it’s not always obvious just how far the whirlwind of doom reaches. Let’s use my story as an example.

My girlfriend and I have two dogs named Zena and Doro. They were an inseparable pair and together 24/7 since the day they met. Best friends would be an understatement regarding their relationship to one another. There was a bond between them that was like none I have ever seen. That was until I let my drug use separate them.

I few years ago I was on the tail end of my 15 year addiction to crack cocaine. What I didn’t know however was that I was just 2 years from hitting full blown recovery. But not yet, I didn’t want it bad enough. Like many addicts, I wasn’t quite ready to give up my drug of choice for anything or anyone, and I would soon find, not even for my dog. But I was ready to give this thing called “sobriety” a try, or 2, or 20 tries until I would someday get it right. So in an effort to get some much needed help outside of my home, I moved to California where my twin brother Rock Star and his then girlfriend would be able to send me to rehab.

I packed up my things and high-tailed it out to the west coast thinking that the geographical change and the support from my brother would be the answer I was looking for. I would soon find that it wasn’t. Alongside me, my dog Doro would come with. I just couldn’t be without her. She had to help me through this.

Moving to California would eventually spark a career in music, speaking, and writing for me but before all my dreams were to blossom, I had to get clean. Soon after arriving in Malibu, California with Doro in tow, I would soon throw out the idea of staying clean. The drugs were even easier for me to get than back home and cheaper too. I quickly wound up in and out of LA’s dirtiest crack houses and started to my zombie like hunt for more drugs. There was no stopping me.

That’s when I started neglecting the basic necessities that Doro needed. Water was the only thing I was often able to provide for her. The money I did have to feed her went towards feeding my habit instead. I don’t know why I wanted her to go with me. I couldn’t even take care of myself. I was at a point where I was so taken by my disease that I wouldn’t even take the time to walk her outside to go to the bathroom. At this point I started to allow my dealers to do her walking, completely jeopardizing her life all in order for me to “stay high.” I was sick and because of my behavior, my dog also started to become ill.

To make a long story short, after 20 or 30 relapses and a stint in rehab, I had enough of the drugs. I was going to get clean and stay that way. Of course getting and staying sober should be first and foremost for oneself, but I never stopped thinking about what I had done to my dog Doro. How I had deserted her and how I selfishly took her from her best friend Zena. I had to stay clean this time, I had to reunite them.

Approximately for two years, I worked and worked at my recovery, never wavering from doing what I know I had to do. Doro never gave up on me, and I was not going to give up on reuniting her with her best friend Zena.

One of the gifts of sobriety is to become strong enough to make things right. My sobriety has been earned, moment to moment, and perhaps has been my greatest adventure. Doro and I moved back to Chicago and I made things right. She is here with me, and has just been fed, laying next to me, and is waiting to go to the park a little later to run in the fields with her best friend Zena. No longer does she have to wonder if I would be coming home to feed or walk her. She’s happy now and so am I. But if you are an addict and you are reading this, please consider those suffering around you. Some of them do not have a voice, their pain cannot often be seen, but they do feel something and it hurts them. Its time to get sober and stop the hurting, for everyone involved.

Here is a video of Doro and Zena, I hope it moves you just as it had moved me making it for you.

About me: I am Super Star (yes, that is my legal name). I have earned that name – and accomplished what many people would consider impossible – because I chose to stay sober one day at a time. I left the crack houses to mingle with Hollywood’s elite, ending up working with all of my childhood musical heroes, and have now found my purpose in life after surviving an almost 15-year battle with the disease of addiction.

Currently, I am an advocate for kids in recovery from substance abuse (and prevention as well) in Malibu, California, as well as from my home in Chicago, a sober companion to many, director of a non-profit that helps those struggling with recovery, and passionate speaker to kids about the issues of drugs and addiction.

I am also a musician who has just wrapped up the recording of Serenity, a first-of-its-kind CD created in conjunction with my twin brother Rock Star solely to combat addiction. It was produced by a Grammy-winning producer and features many of our musical heroes, who have come together to help us tell our story in an effort to help others through their own addiction struggles. Guests on our CD include current and former members of bands such as Kiss, Heart, The Goo Goo Dolls, Dokken, Trans-Siberian Orchestra as well as many more. It rocks – musically and inspirationally – and can be found here

Pass this on if you feel it can help someone and feel free to visit us at www.rockstarsuperstarproject.com