Immigration: Law Office Sponsors www.tailsofcourage.org

My law firm sponsors a dog and puppy rescue organization known as www.tailsofcourage.org.  This is a true story about one of the recent dogs that was rescued by Tails of Courage.

Zena is a 3-year old female dog turned into NYCACC, which is a high-kill shelter in New York City.  Her owner had become severely ill and lost his home.  Zena was taken away and ended up in the NYC shelter.  One of the volunteers there read the small history that they received on Zena, and immediately called Tails of Courage.  Could Tails of Courage take Zena?  The answer was an unequivocal “yes”. 

You see, Zena was a very special dog.  She was a therapy dog specially trained to detect seizures.  Zena is able to alert her master before a seizure occurs, so that her owner can prepare for the seizure.  When Zena arrived at the Tails of Courage headquarters, she was very thin.  All her ribs were visible, and she was very confused.  When the kennel worker gave her a bowl of food, she gobbled it so fast.  Her owner had been so very ill that she hadn’t been properly fed in a long time.  She was placed on a free-food diet; meaning that when her bowl was empty, it was refilled immediately. 

Living in New York City with a sick owner, she hadn’t been taken outside very much towards the end.  At TOC she was placed in an indoor/outdoor kennel run, so that she could spend some time outdoors in the fresh air.  But,  Zena just sat by the doggie door, waiting to go back inside; constantly searching for her master.

Her story was placed on www.facebook.com/tailsofcourage.  Almost 700,000 hits came in from around the world.  Tails of Courage had no idea that so many people were in need of a service dog.  The cost of service dogs is astronomical.  Many people cannot afford one.  The stories that people shared were amazing; each one more heartbreaking than the next.  Everyone wanted Zena.  Zena’s story sparked an inspiration at Tails of Courage.  With all the rescue dogs that are constantly saved by Tails of Courage, and all the people needing service dogs, why couldn’t a new program be created to put the two “needs” together?  The program called “Zena’s Saintz” is now in its infancy stages.  “Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the Saints.”  James 5:14.  To learn more about Zena’s Saintz  visit www.tailsofcourage.org under the Heroic Paws heading.

As for Zena, out of the many applications received by Tails of Courage, one application stood out under the Heroic Paws Program which donates service dogs, free of charge, to active service men and women and veterans. 

One day, the TOC kennel worker walked up to the kennels and opened Zena’s door.  She looked up at him questioningly.  He put a leash around her neck and she followed him obediently and quietly down to the reception area.  There was a man sitting on a chair.  Suddenly, Zena’s ears perked up and she looked directly at the man.  She stood taller than we had seen her thus far, walking right over to the man, and sitting down beside him.  He stroked her fur, and she did not leave his side.  She recognized the seizures that she had been trained to detect.  She knew she was finally home.

Zena was adopted by a retired Sgt. in the US Army, 101st Airborne, who served in Vietnam.  He is 100% disabled, uses a crutch to move, has PTSD, seizures and diabetes, amongst many other conditions.  He goes to a VA hospital every week.  Zena walked with him outside.  He said that he thought he would never be able to walk outside again.  Zena was gently and careful as she got used to her new master who needed her.  The retired Sergeant has suffered with medical issues for over 40 years.  His doctors believe that Zena will significantly help him.  Everyone needs a place to call home.  Zena has found hers again.