Zel has really come a long way since Pat took her in after Christmas. Dogs who have been confined too long as she was in the Sewanee Pound will be prone to fight or flight and Zel was the former. But with steady attention, good digs, lots of food and playmates, Zel has blossomed into a very cool dog. I wish I could keep her, but she is a rough houser and would break Monk in half. So I'm still on the search for a good forever home for this dog.
Her best play buddy is Pat's mountain cur Kane. Kane is her size, caramel and black brindle like coffee ripple ice cream, and quite the shy guy. But these two love each other. Not only has Kane helped Zel calm down, but Zel has helped Kane be more outgoing. He went on his first leash walk yesterday...a real first...as he has never been able to tolerate a leash. I brought a harness so we didn't have to use a collar for him and off we went, Kane and Zel, Pat and me. He used to just go berserk if you put a leash on him. Not any more.
A couple weeks ago I took Zel to the St. PAWtrick's Day Dog Walk in Chattanooga. I was ready to bail if things got bad but they just got better and better. We parked at Bone Apetite on the Northshore and walked across Walnut Street Bridge to Ross Landing where over 100 people were crowded with their dogs waiting to push off on the walk. I introduced Zel to Lisa Putney of Bone Apetite who had her two boston terriers. Everything was fine. We moved on into the crowd. Everything was fine. Zel was a little excited and kept jumping on me for reassurance, but she soon calmed. We started talking to Lizzy Duff, a former Sewanee student walking her huge rottie Rex. The following extremely short videos show as well as possible (heck...I had Zel's leash in one hand and an Iphone with a cheap video app in the other) how many people were on this walk and how well Zel was doing in the mix. I mean, this dog had never seen a city, a big river, a bridge, so many people, cars, buildings or dogs, or a glass bridge. Good girl, Zel.
I would like to find a home for Zel with someone who walks or runs. She is the greatest companion on long, long walks. We walked from Bone Apetite on Frazier all the way across the river to Chestnut and Riverside, up to the Hunter, across the glass bridge (undaunted, mind you), back across Walnut Street to Frazier Ave. She could have done that 10 times, I'm sure. She's great in the car too. She likes to rough house with dogs her size, loves attention, is love driven, and is reasonably clean and neat (though she likes "perfume"...what girl doesn't). She needs an able bodied adopter, a fenced yard, and plenty of attention (don't we all?). She was spayed last week, so she's ready for her forever home.
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