Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

Love can't be replaced

A premarital hex can't stop a must-love-dogs union between kindred spirits.

PALMA CEIA - Late on a Wednesday night, Deborah Zusman and Scott Wolfson huddled at a computer arranging seating for their wedding, just four days away. They were probably finding a table for Uncle Charlie when the phone rang.

It was their builder, frantic with terrible news: The house ... fire ... come quick. The couple raced five blocks to see the burnt shell of their dream home in Palma Ceia.

"It was surreal, a total loss," Zusman said. "The fire was so hot it cracked the cement block walls and pitted the foundation." The windows blew out and the glass melted.

The fire marshal launched an arson investigation, which continues.

There was little time for tears and anger. In four days, March 6, the couple expected 100 guests for their wedding on St. Pete Beach, behind the Holiday Inn.

"I cried for two days. Then we didn't want to talk about it too much," Zusman said.

During the ceremony, Rabbi Richard Birnholz of Temple Schaarai Zedek spoke of marriage as a new beginning. The bride and groom couldn't help but think of starting new construction.

When they returned from a 10-day honeymoon in Hawaii, the rubble had been cleared and the builder was ready to start over.

Wolfson, 41, grew up in Flemington, N.J., son of the late Harriet and Irving Wolfson. His mother was a teacher and Flemington's first female mayor; his father taught history at Irvington High School. Wolfson graduated from Rutgers University and became a certified public accountant.

For the past 16 years, Wolfson has worked in accounting-related positions at MetLife in New York City, Charlotte, N.C., and, since 1999, Tampa. He earned a master's of business administration at the University of Tampa.

Zusman, 42, moved from Buffalo, N.Y., to Beverly Hills, Calif., when she was 12. When her father, psychiatrist Jack Zusman, became director of the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida, he persuaded his youngest daughter to move to Tampa.

Her mother, Rhoda, started Project Return in Buffalo in 1971 to help people with mental illnesses reintegrate into the community. When the family moved to Los Angeles, she launched a sister program in 1979. She brought Project Return to Tampa in 1983.

With a bachelor's degree from USF and an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston, Deborah Zusman moved back to Los Angeles until the Northridge earthquake in January 1994 scared her back home. She followed her mother's path, eventually succeeding her as executive director of Project Return.

She quit in 2002 "to do some soul searching," she said. And possibly find a soul mate.

In September 2003, she posted a profile on JDate, an online personals Web site for Jewish singles.

She sent along a picture of herself with Sam, her 11-year-old bichon frise. Wolfson, who was widowed the year before, responded, writing about his two black Labrador retrievers, Max and Cheyenne. Both came from the Tampa Bay Humane Society, where Wolfson is a board member.

"He was witty and smart and the only e-mail I answered," said Zusman, who also owns a Maltese poodle named Rio.

"Our dogs are as important as children to us," Wolfson said. Chatting online and e-mails led to phone calls, which led to dinner and a fast friendship.

The four dogs, however, were as much a limitation as an attraction.

"Someone always had to go home to take care of dogs," said Zusman, by then a real estate agent who was helping with her family's 100-apartment rental business, Zee Management.

Eventually, the dogs became their own Brady Bunch and wanted to be together as much as their owners.

"We go to dog beach and we look like a double-stuffed Oreo, two black Labs with white fluffies between them," Zusman said.

Wolfson surprised Zusman by proposing at dinner before an Eric Clapton concert in June 2004.

"We go to a lot of concerts," she said. "Scott's a walking music library."

Soon they were juggling wedding arrangements, selling their homes and designing a new one. They found their builder when artist Stacy Rosende stopped by their garage sale and mentioned that her husband, Cezary Bykuc, owned Element Construction.

He turned their dream into a blueprint.

Of course, their two-story Mediterranean home would be designed with their dogs in mind. The master bedroom, dining room, kitchen and family room open to an interior courtyard, which becomes a shared outdoor space. The courtyard opens to a pool, dog run and dog shower.

The house should have been finished in June. Because of the fire disaster, they're hoping for a December move-in.

"Cezary says he's thinking of naming our house the Phoenix," Zusman said. "He promised it would rise from the ashes."

To pass along tips to Amy Scherzer, reach her at 226-3332 or scherzer@sptimes.com

AUG. 19: Heartbeat Oriental Express cocktails and auction benefits Heartbeat International; 7 p.m.; Higgins Hall; $75 in advance, $100 at the door; 243-8769.

AUG. 21: Dine with the Devil Rays dinner auction benefits ALS Association of Florida and the Rays of Hope Foundation; 6:30 p.m.; St. Petersburg Yacht Club, 11 Central Ave.; $125; 888-6900, ext. 24.

AUG. 28: Brides Around the World benefits St. Joseph's Women's Hospital; high tea and bridal fashion show; 2-5 p.m.; Hyatt Regency Tampa; $35; 872-0979.

SEPT. 1: Centre for Women's 14th Gourmet Feastival; tastings from 40 restaurants; age 21 and up; Tampa Convention Center; 5:30-9 p.m.; $40 in advance, $50 at the door; 251-8437, ext. 225.