If you were about to tell me that Zaire has officially been renamed The Democratic Republic of the Congo, please allow me to spare you the trouble. Full well do I know that Zaire existed only from October, 1971 to May, 1997.

I prefer to say Zaire (Zie-EAR,) simply because it’s more musical.
My refusal to acknowledge the blah-blah-blah republic triggered a bit of an international incident in 1998, resulting in that nation recalling their ambassador and closing their embassy in the Rabbit Hole. A more diplomatic dog would have said “Zambia and Zimbabwe” on the previous page and thereby avoided an awkward moment, but beagles are not known for their diplomacy.

It was an unpleasant little embassy, anyway.