The beginning of a new life - Zed's story

So the introduction of Esa to “Frank” went well and he came home with us on Sunday. Zed tested the waters when he got to our house – ie, he peed in the house. We immediately took him outside and when he came back in, he could tell he was in trouble – his ears were back and tail between his legs. Of course, about an hour or so after we brought Zed home, Dan had to go to work so it was me and the pups for the evening. 
That evening, Zed would not let me leave his sight. I did figure out that he knew “on your bed”. I pulled out one of Esa’s old beds (that she had torn a hole in) and he loves it. Whenever he thinks he’s in trouble, he heads for a bed (his or Esa’s). He’s a smarty – I went downstairs to get the laundry and told him stay (on his bed). Next thing I know, he’s down the stairs and I say “what are you doing?” and he goes running back upstairs. When I came upstairs, where is he, but on his bed!
Wednesday was Zed’s vet visit. My suspensions of Zed being something besides a Chihuahua mix and less than 10 years old were confirmed. Chrissy, our friend and vet from Companion Paws, believes he probably is more Jack Russell Terrier than Chihuahua, with everything else mixed in! As for the 10 years old, unless he has had a lot of dental work lately, he is probably more 6 years old than 10 years.
Zed has a VERY bad yeast infection – almost every other day he stinks. The treatment is topical unless it doesn’t get better and then it will be an anti-fungal medication. He has ear drops, mediated shampoo & conditional (2x a wk), and ear wash. So far so good - He has been itching less. We can also use Benadryl 2x a day also if needed. His blood work was good so if the topical meds don’t work, it’s the anti-fungal. He’s really good at letting me put the drops into his ears.
Zed is beginning to learn the schedule and is warming up to Esa. All Esa wants is for Zed to play with her. Of course Zed didn’t know what to think when Esa took her paw and slapped him! He growled at her. Zed gets overly excited when the leash comes out. For the last couple of days, he has learned that he needs to sit and wait when it is time for a walk.
We gave him his first bath on Wednesday after his doctor’s appointment and he did wonderful. Today was his second bath including an ear wash and he did great again.
Zed did play with Esa a little yesterday when Dan was outside with them. As soon as I pulled out the camera though, forget it. He was more interested in me.

Introducing the latest addition to the Wentz Family

"Official" annoucement that posted on Facebook & send out in E-mail

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Franklin Zednik Wentz (Zed for short)

Zed was adopted on Sunday, May 2 from the Loudoun County Animal Shelter. “Frank”, as he was known at the shelter, was estimated to be a 10 year old Chihuahua mix. Zed had been at the shelter since the end of February and won Ronalyn’s heart at the Thursday night mobile adoptions at Petco where she has been volunteering.

Zed came to the shelter as a stray (picked up by Animal Control) and was (and still is) in bad shape. He was skinny and missing fur on his ears, belly & tail. We are happy to say that he is on his way to getting his health back. He gained weight at the shelter and we have started to treat his VERY bad yeast infection. With the help of our vet and friend, we are estimating that Zed is about 6 years old and that he probably is more Jack Russell terrier and a Heinz 57 mix than a Chihuahua mix. We are excited to see what he REALLY looks like once the infection is under control – he might look like a totally different dog!

Sister Esa is ok with him. She wishes that he would play with her more than just hang out with her. Zed has already made himself at home and is learning the routine. We are VERY happy to figure out that he was already house broken and knows some commands (sit, stay, lay down, on your bed).

Oh – and yes, he’s named after a hockey player (and former Capitals player).

The weekend so far

Friday night, we were “required” to go to the Northern Virginia Urban League dinner. We had to go last year also. I was not looking forward to it. I definitely would rather just go home especially on a Friday night!
I check in and what table are we sitting at – Table 9.

It wasn’t as bad as expected. The Master of Ceremonies was Leon Harris from Channel 7. Funny guy! Definitely looks different in person than on TV.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Steve Perry. What a great motivational speaker for education. It felt like he was just preaching away at the podium. The other award recipient was Eric Aldolphe. What a story of accomplishment.

At the end, I hightailed it out of there and got home about 10 pm.

Since I didn’t really have a Friday night, Saturday morning was getting ready for my Creative Memories get-together. I cleaned some and ran to the store for snacks. Then it was time for lunch at Roy Rogers and then visit Frank at the shelter.

The visit went well. Dan fell for him. We did get to see his anxiety at the shelter – it seems to be set off by all of the other dogs barking. We took him outside and he was calm. Today we will bring Esa up to meet Frank. We know that it will all be up to Frank since Esa loves everyone.

The Creative Memories get-together went well! I was excited to have 7 people show and I got enough in sales to get the special price on the host package - which is what I wanted to scrapbooking until about 9:30 p.m.

Last night, I didn’t sleep too well. In the evening, it hit me – what are we thinking getting another dog! That’s what woke me up during the night too. I didn’t even sleep in this morning. I win at Wintergreen (the scrapbooking retreat I went to)! After the show, it was 3 of us was up at 6:30. I know I’m just anxious about it, but I know that if the meeting works out and Frank comes home with us, he will be a good dog. He’s smart and picks up the training fast. He’s just anxious at the shelter, but who wouldn’t be after being there for over 2 months?