Posted By Kelly Harding | 8 comments

I have done several posts, sent many tweets and posted lots of pictures on my Facebook page of pets looking for their furever homes.

Some of those pets have been lucky enough to have found that someone special to take them in and care for them.

However, I don’t hear about their lives afterwards.  I wonder about them; are they happy, have they settled in alright, do they now have other furfriends to play with?

So I decided to find out!

I asked my friends who have found homes if they would share their stories with me. The response was so overwhelming that instead of doing one post, I will do a weekly feature telling their stories.

You will hear of how they came to their new home, struggles they may have encountered, how it changed the lives of both the pet and the humans involved.

Week 2

Zelda’s Story

Originally when Kristen and her husband Brian thought about adopting a dog, they were thinking of a Boston Terrier, although both of them had a soft spot for pugs.  They received an email about a pug named Tucker who needed a home, but after waiting a couple of days to deliberate, when they called about Tucker she had already found a home.  There was another pug though, Princess, she was about 2 years old and her current family already had 4 pugs and 4 children so there was just not enough room for all.

They arranged to meet Princess and made a 3 hour journey to do so.  When they arrived, Princess was brought out and placed in Kristen’s arms and she fell in love instantly. Princess was small for a pug, only 11 pounds, and it had been apparent to Kristen that the conditions in Princess’s home weren’t great.  Princess’s owner handed Kristen and Brian the papers, and Princess went home with them that day.

It was decided to rename Princess.  Keeping with the princess theme, they went through the list of Disney princess and video game princesses until they settled on Zelda!

Although Zelda was small she had attitude.  It was clear she hadn’t been socialized with people or other dogs.  Zelda didn’t like visitors, especially men.  Zelda chased visitors around the house, barking constantly, and had a habit of “going nuts” around other dogs while on walks.  Because of these issues they enrolled Zelda in obedience classes.

The first sessions where rough, Zelda was terrified of the trainer and other dogs.  Zelda wouldn’t even take treats from the trainer.  Over time she warmed up to the other dogs and the trainers.  Kristen and Brian worked with her at home and after making it through the beginning set of classes, Zelda was enrolled in intermediate classes. It was here that Zelda began to “shine”. She was top dog in every class, mastering the stay, wait and more!  She started to settle down when guests came over.  The turning point was when Kristen’s sister adopted a boxer/sharpei mix and they instantly became friends.  It’s was then they knew Zelda had adjusted to her new life!

Kristen and Brian say that rescuing Zelda was not easy.  It took time and resources to train her.  Their life’s changed dramatically now that they had Zelda to care for everyday, but they love having her in their home, making them smile when she plays with her owl, doing “pug sprints” and  when she cuddles with them on the couch.

After Zelda, Kristen and Brian adopted Peach, a 4 year old Boston Terrier from a puppy mill.  Zelda and Peach are great friends, happily chasing each other through the house.

Kristen and Brian say they would rescue again, as they love to be able to provide a home for dogs who need extra love and attention, although 2 dogs is more that enough for them right now!

Side Note: Inspired by Zelda, Kristen, the author, began writing short stories based loosely on Zelda’s adventures.  She has published “The Adventures of Zelda: A Pug A Pug Tale” in August, 2013 and in January, 2014, she released “The Adventures of Zelda: The Second Saga”. Kristen has plans to publish “The Adventures of Zelda and Peach” in the summer of 2014.  Information about these books can be found at http://kristenotte.com/books/ or on Amazon