Adopted Dog Walks for 97 Days to Get Home to Adoptive Mom
Animals, especially dogs, have ways and personalities all their own, and anyone who says differently simply doesn’t have enough experience with either dogs or other animals in general. One of the most endearing qualities that dogs happen to possess is their incredible ability to bond and form relationships with those in their families and others they may have affection for. And the ways they communicate! The canine species will go to incredible lengths to get their to point across to the people in their lives. Sometimes the things they will do are funny, some are startling, and others seem to be downright frightening. In any case, our ‘best friends’, the canines, grab our attention and hold on to it fast like no other house pet around.
Zelda the Dog
Recently, both the bond and the knack for communication one dog had managed to take her all the way home to her adopted mother – 97 miles home, to be exact! A German Shepherd-mix pooch named Zelda found herself being adopted by a family from Chanhassen, Minnesota, a town 30 miles from the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Her story actually begins when Zelda found herself under lock and key at ‘Wags & Whisker’, an animal rescue shelter facility located in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Previously, Zelda had been in a shelter in Texas, but was transferred. After arriving at Wags and Whisker, Zelda was placed in foster care, landing in the home of Seneca Krueger of St. Paul. Krueger had previously taken in between thirty and forty rescue pets in the past and was familiar with the ins and outs of the process, but she didn’t bargain for the affection and determination that her new foster pet, Zelda the dog, truly possessed.
A Bond is Formed…and Not Forgotten
The rescue pet spent around seven months in Krueger’s care, but during that time she was very timid and sketchy…basically scared of her own shadow. But Seneca felt a bond with the dog, a bond she hadn’t felt with a foster pet in some time. She saw something in Zelda that others seemed to have overlooked. But soon Zelda was adopted and relocated to Chanhassen. Seneca Krueger found herself missing the forlorn and frightened girl.
Needless to say, Seneca’s special bond with Zelda made the separation almost unbearable, but there was little she could do to rectify the situation. Zelda, however, didn’t see things the same way. By the next day Zelda had accepted the fact that she simply couldn’t bear life without Krueger, and though she stayed a total of ten days with the family, Zelda found that she couldn’t bear to stay another moment with the family. The dog then began the long, arduous journey back to St. Paul and the foster mother she had come to love so much.
A Trip to Remember
After Zelda ran from arms of her new family, Krueger was told of the missing dog and immediately began to share posts online and put up flyers requesting information on the missing German Shepherd mix. She also requested that anyone seeing a dog even remotely resembling Zelda snap a pic of the dog and send it to her for identification. Soon, the pictures began pouring in, and before long it was obvious that the dog had a purpose: She wasn’t simply running…she was traveling in a very purposeful direction, moving intently along on her way BACK to Seneca Krueger’s location in St. Paul.
So, Krueger searched and she worried, through long days of below-zero temperatures she looked for the pooch with great concern that the dog was suffering in the cold. Eventually, the sightings of Zelda grew more scarce, and Krueger was concerned that the old dog would be lost to her forever. But then, miraculously, there was a Zelda sighting only two lots away from where Krueger and her family lived.
The Homecoming
Needless to say, Zelda the dog showed up at Krueger’s residence after the trip, which took a total of ninety-seven days, or just over three months, for the determined dog to complete. Krueger has stated that she has no idea how Zelda navigated the trip, survived the elements, or managed to sniff her way home, but the most important thing is that Zelda is back home with her, permanently, where she belongs. While it seems to be an incredible story, the fact is that it’s true, nonetheless. According to Theirfo.com, there have been several cases of dogs (and other animals, though it is rare) navigating their way back to their owners and loved ones, sometimes traveling incomprehensible distances to find their way home. A solid explanation for the phenomena has not been pinpointed, but scientists who have studied it claim that it quite possible has something to do with a sense that is closely akin to extra-sensory perception, or ESP.
What Do You Think?
The story of Zelda the dog traveling 97 days through freezing temperatures to find her true forever home is an incredible one, to say the least. But how did she get there on her ‘own, with no GPS or anyone to help or feed her? Is it ‘ESP’, or is it something much more simple, something based on nothing other than love and trust? What do you think? With animal rights being such an issue at the current time, the answer is something to consider. Do you feel a bond with a rescue pet that you are fostering? Do you dread the day that dog is adopted and taken from you forever? If so, chances are you should really consider keeping the pooch with you and your family. Who knows? Perhaps you will be saving it from one of the longest trips of its life, and maybe the most dangerous. The fact is that these animals were wired with a strong sense of who they are and exactly where they belong. The bottom line, and the final choice, of course, is up to you.