When Seneca Krueger started fostering dogs twelve years ago, she knew this decision came at a cost. She was likely to bond so much with the foster pups that she couldn’t give them up when they would be ready for adoption.
However, over all these years, she never experienced such a situation. She was always happy that her fosters would go to a loving, forever home. She enjoyed the journey of helping rescue dogs trust people again. Until she met Zelda.
Krueger, a marriage and family therapist from Saint Paul, Minnesota, took Zelda the dog in last year. Zelda was not an easy case.
“She came with anti-anxiety medications,” Krueger told The Dodo. “Zelda paced. All day long she was either pacing or hiding.”
Krueger noticed that Zelda looked slightly more comfortable when on a leash, so she started tether training her, and, little by little, the dog started to open up. At first, she would hide or pace non-stop, but then as time went by, she started getting out of her hiding place and even started to socialize with the other two family dogs Krueger owns.
“Over the course of two weeks of tether training, I had also weaned her off of her anti-anxiety medications, and the pacing had decreased. She was even willing to come out of hiding on her own for brief periods of time,” Krueger said.
When Zelda had mostly overcome her anxiety, Krueger knew it was time to let her go. After all, it was for the better- she was going to her forever family.
So, when the time came, Krueger drove Zelda 40 miles to her new home. But, unlike what she had previously experienced, she just found it extremely hard to say goodbye to this dog.
“I had to pull over to the side of the road because I couldn’t see through my tears,” Krueger said. “For the first time in my 12 years of dog fostering, I felt like I had given away my dog.”
And it seems it wasn’t only Krueger who had bonded so strongly with the dog, but the feelings were mutual.
Ten days after Zelda arrived at her new home, she slipped out of her leash during a walk, and she just disappeared.
Her new owners started searching for her but to no avail. When Krueger found out about the dog’s disappearance, she started looking for her too- she just had to find her.
At the time, temperatures had dropped below zero and it was crucial to find the missing dog. Zelda never gave up and, after two months, she received word that Zelda had been seen halfway between her new home and Kruger’s.
That’s when she realized Zelda had been trying to get back to her all this time.
Eventually, the adopters also surrendered Zelda to the organization where they signed her adoption, and Krueger was ready to be her mom officially- if she could find her that is.
After three whole months of searching, she received a call that a scared dog that looked like Zelda was near her home. That was it, Krueger rushed at the spot and was able to hug her beloved dog again.
“It was a miracle, and what else do you do in the face of a miracle? I sobbed,” Krueger said.
Now she’s officially her mama and they’re both back home living the good life!
We’re so happy for these two! We’re sure they’re going to have lots of adventures together!
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