We named her Xena because she’s a warrior princess – rescued from the meat markets of China, she is brave, resilient, curious, sweet and sensitive.

When Xena came to us she was very shy around new people. It took hours and lots of cheese to gain her confidence. But with patience and a lot of love, we have truly bonded. She greets us with smiles and wags when we come home, first thing in the morning, and pretty much anytime she hasn’t seen us in more than five minutes. We get down on the floor and give her hugs; this has become our ritual.

We are very active people who love to hike, and we weren’t sure how she would deal with the big, wide open, but she’s a natural. She loves, loves, loves bounding through the forest and leaping over logs. She was even a trooper on our camping trip, sleeping in the tent and hanging around the campsite. Her first creek crossing was a bit scary (for her), but once we convinced her to cross (i.e. pulled her through) she’s like, “I got this!” When we came to the next creek she dove in like she’d been doing it all her life.

She is very smart and picks up on things quickly. She is still a bit standoffish around strangers, but she is getting better. She loves other dogs, so we have become dog park regulars. She’s picky about who she plays with, but once she finds a BFF they run around like little tornadoes (I have learned that this is called “zoomies”). We are trying to teach her to fetch, and with the help of fish skin treats, she is starting to pick it up. Unfortunately, we discovered that she has really bad teeth. Apparently, when she was a puppy, she had distemper, which caused her enamel not to develop. The result is that her teeth are fragile. She’s had a dental, but will require a procedure that puts a coating on her teeth so they don’t collect plaque as quickly. The good news is, she gets all the canned food she wants (though she is very fussy, which drives her mother crazy).

Her personality emerges a little more every day. Everyone who meets her falls in love. The woman at the pet store can’t stop saying, “She’s so friggin’ cute!” Most of all, we are smitten by her sweet personality. Every day she makes us feel special, with her joyful greetings. Thanks to everyone at Golden Bond for rescuing her and letting us be her “doggy parents.”

Xena was adopted on May 25, 2019

Posted in Success Stories