Support Zoey's Journey to a New Life

Good morning/afternoon/evening!

Urgent plea to save Zoey.

I am hoping to raise this money for a sweet, healthy, and super smart dog rescued with less than 24hrs to live. The result will be amazing for Zoey and all the donors. You will be part of creating an amazing journey for one of the many dogs that do not deserve to be killed because of overcrowding and shelter trauma.

Zoey has run out of options, save for one, which is why we are desperate to raise the money to prevent her from going back to a grim ending. Here is some background:

Zoey was rescued in early 2021 during COVID as a puppy. Then when all opened up, she was returned. Her owner gave her glowing references. She was adopted a second time but after a few more years, the 2nd owner returned her citing landlord/financial issues.

Zoey was unfortunately returned to a high kill shelter and was unable to get the attention, walks, and interaction she desperately needed. To get her exercised, Zoey was put in with a bunch of dogs to "play". She was attacked and bitten. As the months passed, she became depressed and more anxious, with no healthy stimulation or challenges. She became defensive, as a result. They then put her on the euthanasia list because those are the choices made every day at LA Shelters. If a dog is not perfect they have a slim chance. A Rescue was the only way to save her, they pulled her and we took Zoey in. We worked daily to help her decompress and be more calm. Zoey now needs professional training and placement in the right space with an owner she can finally bond with.She needs to get there soon as the longer she is in her current environment the more she is being provoked by her triggers and circumstances beyond our control.

That is where Working Dogs of Nevada comes in. They are a 501(c) 3 and by sponsorship only, they take in dogs like Zoey who need more than a few obedience classes. Zoey will go to a ranch and have her own space to truly relax and reach a calmer state. WDON are partnered with a training facility and a matched trainer will then start to assess her training needs. Eventually they ensure they match the dog with the right owner and the new owner must bond with Zoey through a 2 month training program.

We were quick to realize that we could only help her through part of her initial decompression and anxiety and worked on making her comfortable with our other dog and a few others as you will see in the video.

We were hoping that she could become part of our family but that cannot happen. This is what a professional certified behaviorist told us after a training/consult in our space:

Zoey is in an extremely high triggering environment. Too many dogs and people walking by constantly and other environmental triggers that unfortunately cause her anxiety to be heightened because she feels trapped, especially when she hears dogs running and barking above her and she feels confused and afraid.

Add to that our senior dog does not want to have any interaction with her as a playmate.They can walk together and chill in the same room, with restriction on her, but she is a young vibrant 4 year old dog that loves to play.He is a 10 year old senior dog with severe orthopedic impediments caused by those who tortured him in 2017.

After consulting numerous professionals including his vet and the behaviorist ,Zoey needs to be the only dog or with a dog of her same vitality and age.

Zoey can have that by going to Working Dogs of Nevada. I spoke with one of the owners and she gave me a complete breakdown on the process and how they not only help dogs who are having issues due to fear/anxiety like Zoey but they also assist those in the military who have to be deployed/moving and cannot take their dogs. I am going to use the description as explained by Vassela a fabulous and kind woman, whom with her husband Mark, go that extra mile to help dogs.

So to all the generous and kind animal loving donors this is what your donations will allow to ensure Zoey's success:

"Working Dogs of Nevada are a rescue and training facility, specializing in difficult dogs with behavior issues.

Their team of 20 experienced trainers work with every dog in their care for a minimum of 4-6 months before matching the dog with an appropriate adopter.

Each potential adopter is required to enter their 2-months training program, work with the dog, get to know him and learn how to address any triggers.

Only when the trainers feel completely confident with the potential adopter, the dog gets adopted to them.

They stand behind every dog in their program and welcome it back to their facility if an adoption falls through for any reason.(This prevents dogs from landing back in a shelter)

Accepting a dog into their care comes with a $5000 sponsorship.

The amount in this GoFundMe includes all administrative fees and transportation cost from Los Angeles to Nevada.

Zoey's /tests and exam through our vet all came back normal and she is a vibrant healthy 4 year old dog. She has a mix of the following breeds: Australian Cattle Dog, American Pit Bull/Staffordshire and a smidge of Boxer and Bull Terrier. Her health analysis of 237 potential gene issues came back clear . Zoey has no bite history. She loves chest and belly rubs and playing with her tug rope and chewing her Kong and collagen chews. Here is some of the feedback regarding her character:

From the shelter: "We only had positive experiences with Zoey at the shelter." Zoey is affectionate, sweet and eager to please" Does well in a playgroup of more gentle dogs and is social, tolerant and playful".First owner stated she is: "sweet, protective, energetic and did well with children and their bunny"

Our experience of her has been exactly that, but she needs the help of professionals over a period of time so she can get back to her balanced playful self and be matched with the same dog energy she enjoys!

Please spare any small amount for enormous success and joy for a dog that just wants to live. Your kindness and compassion would be greatly appreciated by Zoey. We hope to place her there by next week. I am able to send along her toys ,that she loves so much ,along with her favorite treats too, that I have already purchased.I will keep this post updated.

Thank you all in advance for being Zoey's angels and heroes.

Thank you to the following people who have helped or returned my email or call in the last 4 weeks, a small percentage of the many,many calls and emails I have sent:

Katherine and Tracey, understanding ,compassionate ,helpful neighbors

Rusty Barnes , Rose Moller, HARTT Rescue, Dr. Sinnott, Portlands Best Dog Trainer, Best Friends Animal Society of Utah, Vessela Mulcahy, Mark- 911Rescue Trainer, Susan at WDON, Beyond Rescue, Nhut of Redemtion Tails, [email redacted],Emma@Sandy Dog Rescue, Tyler Wilson and Or.