Transport to forever home.

A lot has happened since I last updated…

The adoption process was complete and the family in NE was approved. They’re a wonderful family with experience in Shar Pei and blind dogs-a match made in heaven! The next step was to set up the transport. Due to Zelda being blind or at the very best having limited vision, neither the adoptive family or myself felt comfortable putting her on a plane. Luckily, our Eastern Regional Coordinator had seen an advertisement for a transport company called We Move Pets, LLC based out of TX. I gave them a call and spoke to Sissy and was more than pleased with her and how the company operated. The adoptive family also gave Sissy a call and was so impressed with We Move Pets, LLC that they hired them to transport Zelda from VA to NE.

Things were starting to moving fast! We weren’t sure when We Move Pets, LLC was coming to get Zelda but we knew it was going to be the second or third week in May. I asked the adoptive family to send me some t-shirts with their scent on it so I could “introduce” them to Zelda before she arrived. I set up an appointment for Zelda on May 13th to get her eyes checked one more time and for her health certificate to travel– thank you Drs. at Pet Care Veterinary Hospital for donating the fee for the office call and the wonderful discounts you give NASPR. Thankfully, Woofie’s groomer is flexible and only needed a few hours notice before I could bring Zelda in to get “spiffy” for her trip-thank you Nikki of Golden Paws Grooming Salon for donating Zelda’s grooming fees.

On May 16th, Janet from We Move Pets, LLC arrived at my house around 11:40 AM to pick up Zelda for her ride across the country. Janet had another adult dog and 2 puppies with her, so Zelda was dog number 4 in the van-this is the most they will transport at once. I had Zelda’s things together, so all I had to do was bring them out and get Zelda’s crate (provided by We Move Pets) set up with her blanket and the adoptive family’s t-shirts. By 12:15 PM, Janet was headed west with some very precious cargo on board and a little piece of my heart too. Janet had 2 stops (Missouri and Kansas) to drop off the puppies before getting to NE for Zelda to meet her new family…

On May 19th, Janet arrived in NE at the adoptive family’s house with their precious “package” – Zelda. As Janet introduced Zelda to her forever family, Zelda’s tongue started wagging to give her new family kisses. We think that Zelda recognized them from the scent on the t-shirts they sent to VA for her. Zelda had one more surprise waiting for her and that was to meet the resident Shar Pei, Tessa. Zelda and Tessa greeted each other as all dogs do, with lots of sniffs and tail wags. Once the introductions were successfully completed, Janet gave Zelda one last kiss and was on her way to CA, her last stop before heading home to TX.

This weekend Zelda is spending her first of many holidays with her forever family. Zelda and Tessa are becoming best friends. The adoptive family is extremely pleased with Zelda. Zelda is adjusting to having a family that actually wants her…life is good for Zelda

Adoption pending :)

Zelda has an adoption pending with a wonderful couple in Nebraska. They saw Zelda on the internet and fell in love with her sweet face. The distance has not deterred them and we’ve almost completed the adoption process. Check back for more details later this week…

Until next time, sweet Zelda kisses to you :)

The last eye check and learning how to play :)

We took another trip into the city today for the vet to check out Zelda’s eyes and the first thing Dr. Fisher commented on was how sweet Zelda is as Zelda was covering him with kisses! As far as Zelda’s eyes go, there really hasn’t been any change since she was checked on 4-6. At this point, the most important thing as far as Zelda’s eyes are concerned is that we don’t feel that Zelda’s in any pain. Zelda’s eyes are very deep set but the eye lashes are not rubbing on the eyes themselves. Zelda does not rub her eyes but her eyes do occasionally tear. Zelda can probably see light/dark and some movement but after that, who knows what she can see! The basic conclusion Dr. Fisher and I came to is that Zelda’s blind, she’s not in any pain and there’s nothing else to do with her eyes. As I said on 3-27, Zelda is what she is…sweet as can be and ready for her forever home.

On the way back from the vet, we stopped at Dog-n-Burger to pick up lunch for hubby. I always put Zelda in a crate for transports; she does very well in the crate and today was no different. When I leave Zelda in her crate in the SUV she never barks, she just waits to hear the locks open and then she’ll start wagging her tail at me. Once I got Zelda out of the crate at hubby’s job, Zelda knew where she was and started searching for the popcorn lady! The popcorn lady did not let her down and had some popcorn ready for Zelda. At this point, Zelda has to sit for any treats and she got lots of practice today!

Zelda is starting to show her playful side or maybe she’s just learning to play, but she’s having fun with a softball in her room. Zelda prefers to bat the ball around the laundry room but she really doesn’t want me to play with her. This probably has more to do with the fact that she can’t see me rolling the ball at her so it startles her VS Zelda finding the ball on her own and playing with it on her terms. Zelda does not do well with stuffed toys unless you consider un-stuffing them a good thing!

Until next time, sweet Zelda kisses to you all :)

Eye recheck #2 and finally full!

Zelda took another trip into Virginia Beach last week to get her eyes checked at Pet Care. Dr. Fisher is pleased with how her eyes look but wants to continue with the steroid drops for a couple more weeks with hopes of more of her vision returning. We’re pretty confident she can see out of her left eye but the right eye is still iffy at best. If my cat is close to the fence, she can see it’s a cat but if my cat is across the drive way (more than 10’ from her), she can’t see him. When I went to put her in the Expedition to take her to the vet, the SUV was on her right side and she ran into it :( I think it’s safe to say Zelda has no peripheral vision on her right side at all. On the bright side and one more time, she greeted everyone she met at the vet’s office with kisses :)Zelda’s a funny little thing and will get her tongue wagging in anticipation of it touching someone long before it ever meets anyone’s skin!

On the way back from the vet’s office, we stopped at hubby’s job to have lunch with him. Even though Zelda’s always had limited vision, she’ll follow my voice so it’s not a big deal to take her somewhere unfamiliar to her. This was Zelda’s second trip to hubby’s job, so she had a general idea of the layout of the offices and acclimated quickly to the surroundings. My hubby also has an assistant that works in his office that has a popcorn fetish…Zelda remembered the popcorn lady! Needless to say, once the popcorn lady came in with her freshly popped popcorn, Zelda was her best friend! Zelda’s not obnoxious about it, but she is very food motivated and we’re working on “sit” :)

Today (4-6-08) was a really good day for me with Zelda because she’s finally full! Zelda’s been with us about 5.5 weeks and until now has always INHALED her food. This is pretty typical of a rescue dog just coming in because they don’t know if they’re going to be fed or not, so they eat like it’s going to be their last meal. I feed in a specific order with the foster dog being last to get their bowl. For the last 5.5 weeks, by the time I gave Zelda her food and got to the gate in the laundry room (about 8’) to go back into the main house, Zelda was just about done with her food. Today, not only did I get out of the laundry room, but Zelda was just finishing up when I went to pick up my dogs bowls-at least 3-5 minutes! Zelda’s finally full and she knows she’ll be fed again later today…my heart is warm :)

Until next time, sweet Zelda kisses to you all :)

Zelda says thank you all :)

First and foremost I want to say thank you to all the people that have donated to help out with Zelda’s medical expenses. The response that NASPR has gotten to help this little blind girl has just be tremendous-sweet Zelda kisses to you all for your generosity :)



Now onto the important business, Zelda’s vet visit today! I took Zelda into the city this morning to have her stitches taken out and I’m pleased to announce that she has gotten some sight back :) We don’t know how much she can see and we don’t think she can see out of her right eye at all, but she can see some things. When I walked her into the vet’s office today, she didn’t run into the door like she did last week! When I had her outside in her part of the yard, I waved a kong at her from the doorway and she came running to see if it had a treat in it for her-it did :) I take her for a walk around our property at least once a day and if it’s on her right side, she’s running into it :( If it’s on her left side she’s smelling it unless it’s my cat and then she’s chasing him to the end of the 25’ flexi-lead :) Her eyes are pretty badly scarred so we’re trying some steroid drops for the next week to see if that helps her any. There’s no more surgery for Zelda, her eyesight may or may not improve with the drops and she is what she is…sweet as can be and ready for her forever home :)

Until next time, sweet Zelda kisses to you all :)