Zenda – A Pup in Chains

Support International Spay Day

On Valentine’s week, there is one question all dogs might ask if they could speak and that would be ‘How much do you love me?’ Most people love their dogs and care for them very much, but the way some people treat their dogs is just heartbreaking.

We’ll never know just how terrified poor Zenda was or what really happened to her. What we do know is that Zenda was locked and chained, starved, irresponsibly bred from, neglected and ultimately abandoned. Zenda had never known love.

Zenda was ruthlessly thrown over the fence at Fort Dog, Saga’s animal shelter, in the middle of the night. Her body, reduced to skin and bone and weighted down by a chain far heavier than herself with a padlock securing it in place was tossed casually, like a bag of trash, and left with no explanation.

When staff arrived in the morning to discover her frightened, shivering and nearly dead, they were horrified. They tried to remove the chain, but it had been padlocked tight around her skinny neck, so the first thing they did was give her some affection, food and water. Then they called in reinforcements – a kind volunteer with a bolt cutter came in and helped to free Zenda so that so that she could take her first wobbly steps into a new life.

The first thing everyone noticed about Zenda was her spirit. Behind those broken and sad eyes was a shining light of hope. Zenda wanted to be loved and clearly would fight for her life to make sure that she got that love. But it wasn’t to be that simple because Zenda was sick – very sick and so the battle to save Zenda began.

Aside from malnutrition, anemia and severe dehydration caused by starvation and lack of access to water, Zenda had a terrible case of tick fever. While tick fever can be treated easily and cheaply, if left untreated it is often deadly. You would think that would be enough for her to cope with, but no. Zenda had clearly been bred from irresponsibly and now had the sexually transmitted disease, TVT. TVT is a killer, it is a contagious viral cancer that dogs get from breeding with other infected dogs. It’s horrific to think what happened to her puppies.

Even though it might have been tempting to put Zenda out of her misery, the SAGA team was determined to give her a second chance – a chance to have a life and a home where she would learn what it is like to be loved. And so the battle continued – to save poor Zenda.

Zenda’s determination, sweetness of spirit and personality has won the hearts of everyone who has dealt with her. Despite the terrible abuse and neglect she suffered in her short life, she gets stronger every day, wagging her tail enthusiastically at anyone who smiles at her, hoping for someone to love her forever.

The 17th Annual International Spay Day is on the 22nd of February. If Zenda’s owners had loved her enough to spay her, she may not have been such a burden on them and she certainly would not have contracted the deadly TVT virus. In honour of International Spay Day, SAGA has given away six free spays and neuters to needy pet owners in the San Pedro community and for the rest of February will be offering a special ‘I Love My Dog This Much!’ discount on all spays and neuters for cats and dogs.

So if your dog could talk and asked you ‘How much do you love me?’ The best answer you could give this month would be ‘I love you enough to spay or neuter you because I don’t want you to end up like Zenda’.

If you would like to find out more about spaying or neutering your dog call SAGA on 226 2366 and they will arrange an appointment for you and your best friend.