*XIA* IN A NUTSHELL: Very sweet adult that has had a rough go of it so far, but she's still trusting and seeking affection from people. | |||||||||
We receive countless emails each and every day, asking for help for dogs slated for euthanasia at kill shelters. Sadly, we can't possibly save them all, but this girl ... something about her caught our attention. Her shelter notes read, "I've attached Xia's kennel card, which includes any notes we have on her behavior and medical history. We got her out into playgroup this week, and she did very well. She frequently sought attention from the handlers in the yard and was polite with the other dogs. We'd love to see her go to a rescue that can find perfect placement for her!"
She looks to be in poor condition physically, which indicates that her life has not been easy, but she is still standing proud and seeking affection from people. Thanks to our facebook angel, Kathy J, who said that we might very well be Xia's only hope, we couldn't ignore her plea for help. We plan on changing her life for the better!
Xia will be picked up at the shelter this Saturday and will be enjoying the hospitality of Husky Camp in California until we can arrange transport to Arizona. We're not sure if she is spayed yet or not but will find that out once she is safe in our hands.
UPDATE 8/3: Xia is out of the shelter and on her way to Husky Camp! According to Chuck, "She jumped right in like she knew we were coming. She rides very nice, weighs 61 pounds." According to Jon, "Very polite and gives kisses."
UPDATE 8/14:
Sweet Zia has arrived in Phoenix! She will be taking up temporary residence at White GSD Rescue where she will be encouraged to put on a few much-needed pounds before her spay surgery on the 29th. UPDATE 8/29: Zia saw our vet today for an exam, rabies vaccination, microchip and spay. She weighed in at just under 64 pounds -- a 9 pound weight gain since her shelter weight in late July of 55 pounds. All went off without a hitch EXCEPT, the vet (although there was NOT a spay scar visible), could not find a uterus! We all had a good chuckle over that one (all except Zia, of course, who was recovering from the anesthesia). Zia also had a nail trim. UPDATE 8/31: Zia had her first practice introduction today. She did very well with the adults and had no problem approaching them for treats or just some petting. However, it was apparent that she had not been exposed to young children -- we had one toddler and one preschool -- as she surprisingly did her best to avoid them. When the kids bumped into her or reached out for her, she showed no aggression whatsoever, but she definitely was not interested in allowing them to come too close. When they weren't paying attention to her, she snuck in for a good sniff, but that's as close as she was comfortable allowing herself to be. Once Xia is out of her e-collar, in about a week, we will be doing cat introductions with her to see if she could live in a home with felines. UPDATE 9/11: We are heartbroken to report the unexpected passing of Xia. When she awoke yesterday morning, she was unsteady on her feet -- we thought possibly she had ingested something she shouldn't have but we searched and searched, but could find no evidence of anything out of the ordinary. Everything else about her was normal, except her lack of coordination so we decided to give her some time to see if she could improve -- and she did slightly later in the day. We watched her all through the night as she progressively became less active and this morning we made the extremely difficult decision to let her go. All we can say is that she didn't die unwanted in a shelter but in a home in the company of her other furfriends and people who loved her. We're sorry we were unable to find your forever family; we did our best.
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