Waggin' Tails Pet Rescue - Saving Pets, One Paw at a Time

In 2003 I decided that I wanted another dog and I convinced my family (parents and siblings) to let me look for a small dog. My best friend told me about petfiner.com and I was instantly hooked on navigating all the dogs that were available. My mother had always wanted a Shih Tzu so I naturally gravitated to them on the site. I found a few Shih Tzu's that were adorable, but there was one the stood out, one that when I said her name in my head or talk about her to my friends her name just created this warm feeling in my heart, so in late October I put in to adopt Chelsea and another Shih Tzu named Tweety (just in case one didn't work out, I was interested in another). After waiting a week to hear of anything from Pocono Pet Rescue / Wag N Tails, I was getting frustrated and wanted to know if I was getting either of the girls I had put in for. So, what I decided to do was to call around and see whom I could get in touch with, well I called Wag N Tails and I spoke to a lady who was a tremendous help and seemed to know the Shih Tzu's that were at Pocono Pet Rescue and said that after a conversation with me she could call Cathy and remind her of my application. While speaking with this lady she asked if I had seen Chelsea and if she was one I had put in for and I said "yes". Through many phone calls I had made to inquire about the girls, each person I had talked to insisted that I look at Chelsea, and I told each one of them that I put in for her. Eventually one of these many phone calls helped me get in touch with the lady who surrendered Chelsea and her friend who might be looking to give up some of their breeding dogs if Chelsea or Tweety did not work out. I even went to visit Chelsea and Tweety's breeder's friend and met another Shih Tzu who instantly did not take to me and I knew in my heart that she was too shy for my house, my friend and I left with a little disappointment, but we knew she was not for me.

A week or so later, Cathy from Pocono Pet Rescue got in touch with me, she said that Tweety would not be a good fit because I had another dog, Sandy ( a yellow Lab) and Tweety a) could not get fixed because of a problem with anesthesia and b) she did not like other dogs, but Chelsea would be a great fit because she was a sweetheart. Cathy then told me about Chelsea, how she had only a half of a tail and how when she was groomed or pulled too hard she would poop and not know it, meaning she would probably leave little poop balls around. I was a little concerned, but I knew I had to meet her. So Chelsea's foster mom came over to bring her for a visit, Chelsea went in my arms and I knew she was my baby girl. Her foster mom loved her to pieces and almost did not want to give her up, but she saw how natural Chelsea just fit in my house. A couple of weeks later, she was mine, a new member of the Giustra house. I kept in contact with her breeder and found out that my little girl had 7 litters before up until she was given up in October of 2003 when she was 3 (almost 4). She was never housebroken, nor could she ever climb steps. Well when I picked her up from getting fixed at the vet, she had an umbilical hernia which the vet fixed and when she came home, not only did she do the steps but now claims the sofa in which she sleeps on all day.

All I know is that if it was not for the help of the people at Wag N Tails and Cathy and Celia at Pocono Pet Rescue I would not have my special little girl today. Chelsea and Sandy really are the loves of my life and feel as thought Wag N Tails and Pocono Pet Rescue helped my family receive a new, precious, NOW VERY SPOILED, little girl.

The picture of her alone is a little bit after we got her and the other one is with her new best friend, Sandy.

Chelsea