It’s the holidays! The time of year for families to gather together to celebrate traditions, share old memories, and make new ones. This year, as you surround yourself with family and friends, both two-legged and four-legged alike, remember there are millions of dogs in shelters, patiently waiting for a family of their own.
For some, this won’t be their first, second, or even their third Christmas behind bars.
It’s our Christmas wish that every __dog in rescue would find a home for the holidays, so we’ve selected 12 special dogs from around the country that have been overlooked time and time again. Some are senior dogs, some have special needs, and some are passed over for reasons we simply can’t understand – but, they all deserve to spend the holidays with a family of their own.
We’re calling this the 12 Dogs of Christmas. The Dogington Post along with our friends at Wellness Natural Pet Food have joined forces to introduce you to 12 needy dogs in hopes that they’ll finally get noticed…and maybe get a home for the holidays!
Meet Zeus!
Name of Shelter or Rescue Organization: Friends of the Escambia County Animal Shelter, Pensacola, Florida
Type/Weight: Neutered male Pitbull, roughly 60 lbs. Age: 5 years
How long in rescue: In and out of the shelter system since 2013. Confiscated from his owners and brought to the shelter for the final time in November 2015. Zeus has been in foster care with us since June 2016.
Zeus’ Story:
Zeus is only 5 years old, but he has had a rough start to life. He was Escambia County Animal Shelter’s longest canine resident in June 2016 when we pulled him from the shelter. He had been there since November 2015 and in and out of the shelter system since 2013. Zeus spent 8 months in the county shelter waiting for a home that never came. Most days, when we would visit him, he could be found in his kennel with a rubber squeaky toy in his mouth and his tail wagging furiously. It’s hard to imagine the trauma he went through before ending up at the shelter and it’s even more amazing how sweet, loving and resilient he is despite his abused past.
Zeus was found hanging upside down on a fence from a wire tether.
Evidently, he broke loose from his tether and jumped the fence, but the tether got caught on the fence, causing it to slip down around his back legs and torso. It’s unknown exactly how long he hung there, but it was long enough to cause deep wounds around his legs and torso. He still has visible scars around his stomach and back from the tether digging into his skin. Luckily, the neighbors were able to push Zeus back over the fence, get him dislodged and call Animal Control. When Animal Control arrived the next day, his owners were treating the significant wounds with only hydrogen peroxide. Zeus was confiscated that day.
As you can see from his pictures, his ears have been cut almost all the way off. Zeus spent several months in the shelter as a legal hold in order to make sure he never went back to his previous owners. Given the condition Zeus was in when he came to the shelter last year, it is no surprise he is heartworm positive. His heartworm load was severe, so he spent the first three months in foster care being on antibiotics and steroids to help decrease the inflammation around his heart and lungs. He is currently undergoing slow kill heartworm treatment in order to not add any additional stress to his body.
We are very fortunate to have a wonderful foster who has been able to teach Zeus about living in a home environment (and not tied in the back yard) and happily co-existing with his canine siblings. We would love to find the right home for Zeus – we know there is one out there. He needs a slow introduction with any other dogs in the house and should not be adopted into a home with cats. His ideal home would be in a house with experienced __dog owners where he could spend his days napping on the couch, going for walks in the sunshine and being loved.
Zeus Likes:
Durable chew toys, snuggling, leashed walks, hiking, car rides, sitting in your lap. He is curious and loves to explore. He is protective of his person, very loyal and wants to please.
Dislikes:
Cats, loud voices (does not handle yelling well at all), feeling confined.
Special Considerations:
Zeus is currently undergoing slow kill heartworm treatment and will need to continue the treatment until heartworm free. He needs slow introductions with other dogs, but is currently living in a home with several dogs of various sizes and has done well.
Zeus’ perfect family or home:
The perfect home for Zeus would be with experienced dog owners who understand his past and will have time to take him on walks, engage in family activities with him and allow him to be an inside only dog. A quiet home would be best for him.
Does Zeus sound like a perfect fit? Here’s how to begin the adoption process
Our website is www.ecasfriends.com and our email address is [email protected]. Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/ecasfriends. The direct link to Zeus’ application is https://www.jotform.com//?formID=62772567085163.
Zeus’ adoption fee is $150. A home visit, background check and vet reference is required. All other animals in the home must be altered. A signed application is also required, specifically acknowledging that if the adopter can no longer keep or care for Zeus, he returns only to Friends of the Escambia County Animal Shelter and is not re-homed or taken to a shelter.
Will Zeus finally find his forever with you?
The great folks at Wellness Natural Pet Food have a mission to help you provide your pet a healthy, happy, long life through the power of natural nutrition. With that goal in mind, they’re making a generous donation of premium pet food to each rescue that’s cared for these amazing dogs for so long. And, if you adopt one of our “12 Dogs of Christmas,” they’ll send you 3 months worth of food for your newest furry family member, too!
About Wellness:
At Wellness®, we do whatever it takes to create the healthiest foods for the pets that depend on us. Food feeds their souls, sustains their lives and protects their bodies. That’s why our diverse team of animal lovers, nutritionists and vets has only one mission: To help you provide your pet a healthy, happy, long life through the power of natural nutrition. For each of our recipes we never compromise—selecting nature’s finest ingredients and combining them in exact proportions to help support your pet’s health and wellbeing. Because we’re passionately picky from the first step to the last, we guarantee our products will deliver the Wellness Promise.
