Gold Medal Zoey

Corey and I adopted Zoey Christmas of 2011. Since she used to be a client of the daycare, I knew that she came with some baggage. Fair enough. She was a rescue dog from a puppy mill in Idaho. She is a skittish, shy little thing that howled endlessly when left alone. Her past owners reported her chewing through leather furniture and eating a car’s headrest. I knew we had a task ahead of us but we knew we couldn’t let her go to another home.  Since she became part of our little family she’s enriched our lives in ways I am very thankful for. As we taught her to be comfortable she taught us patience and another level of love and understanding and given us and endless about of joy. I can't even begin to explain how many times she's made us laugh (or cleared the room. Zoey toots are the worst) and smile. She may be a dog with some issues but I wouldn't trade her for the world. Not only is she a constant companion, she's one of my motivators to get up and out of the house on days where exercise doesn't seem very enticing. Her extreme joy Corey and I get to see when she's running full tilt off leash is next to amazing. Now if only the world could be as happy as that!

I’m proud to say that after a few years of challenges with leaving her at home, Zoey had made it! We have successfully left her at our suit for up to five hours with no howling or destroying things. I couldn’t be more proud at her progress. It was a slow and rough start with a number of bumps and setbacks but with each setback came learning. We learned that she found comfort sleeping in a crate but it wasn’t the best bet for leaving her alone. We learned to tire her out before leaving her alone works the best. We learned so much from her and in return we gave her the security to be home alone for short stints of time.

Prior to this going out was a challenge unless we were able to drop her off at either of our parents but now with this accomplishment under her collar we are living easier now. I’m glad we were patient but as with all things, I wish we started sooner.

Thank you Zozo, I’m proud of you!