Zsa Zsa – My Story

Hello, My Name is Miss Zsa Zsa, I didn’t have the best start in life as I have been a puppy farm breeding doggy until the age of six. For some reason I was imprisoned from birth by these humans who wanted me to make lots of puppies. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to do this to me. The conditions of my captivity were pretty horrible. I was very lonely; each and every day I longed for someone to show me some kindness and give me a little cuddle, and maybe even a kiss. I just wanted some attention and given some proper food to digest. However, affection of any kind was non existent there. I did wonder – were all humans like this? I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.  I gave birth to my babies and they were taken away from me when they were too young. I don’t know what’s happened to any of them.

I remember lots of times trying to imagine what there was beyond the walls of my prison. Was there something better waiting for me out there, or was I destined to remain here for ever? I only had a little space to exercise in and that was full of poo and nasty smells. How I longed to breach those walls and run free, away from my miserable existence! 

Finally, after six horrible years in captivity, someone for some reason took me away from the farm and handed me over to these people who work for a rescue centre based in South Wales. I was very nervous and worried – what was to become of me? Leaving that awful puppy farm was wonderful and I didn’t miss it for one moment but what was going to happen to me now? 

I was taken to a person called a vet to be checked over. Sadly most of my teeth had to be extracted. My ears were really sore too – they were very red and inflamed. The vet told me in fluent woof that I had mites. Yuk!!!

When I was living as a puppy farm doggy nobody looked after me at all. I could be in real pain for ages but no one seemed to care and did absolutely nothing about it. My vet told me that I was in a pretty poor state because of overbreeding, poor nutrition and a lack of basic veterinary care. Apparently I weighed only 4.3 kilos which must be some sort of record for an adult Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Surely there can’t be too many doggies of my breed out there lighter than me!

It was lovely to be cared for and fussed over by all these wonderful, caring humans at the Rescue Centre for the first time in my life! My goodness, I thought, there are actually people who do love us furry things after all. I was beginning to think they didn’t exist.

Then, one day I was taken to a foster family who really looked after me well. Jan was my foster mummy and she was very kind. She had three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels of her own and it was great getting to know them. However, I was still very sad – I had a feeling that my foster family would not keep me for long. They explained to me in fluent woof (how impressive is that???), just like the vet, that they were waiting to see if a suitable family was available to look after me for good.

After some time at the Rescue Centre I arrived at my foster home

After about a week I was told that two humans from a place called Norfolk were very interested in seeing me. I shall never ever forget that day! It was Thursday, July 16th 2020, now known as ‘Gotcha Day’. Just before they arrived I was very nervous and kept pacing up and down. What were they like, I wondered? Were they going to be nice to me? Would they give me loads of cuddles and treats? 

I needn’t have worried. As soon as I set eyes on them I began to relax. They showered me with kisses and cuddles, and seemed genuinely really happy to see me. There was even a friendly black and tan Cavalier to greet me as well who I was told later on was called Pupstar. He was really huge by the way; next to me he was like a Great Dane! Sadly Pupstar is no longer with us and is now at Rainbow Bridge.

Then, before I knew it I was off to start the next stage of my life! It was really strange because my new pawrents drove me away in the biggest vehicle I had ever laid eyes on – they told me it was called a motorhome!

During the journey I sat on my mummy’s lap the whole way. I couldn’t believe what was happening! There were so many sights and smells to get used to! There were some things even bigger than my new pawrents’ motorhome that overtook us on the journey. Wow, this world already began to look far more exciting than the one I had been brought up in! I was so fascinated by everything that was going on that I didn’t shut my eyes once during the six hour trip to Norfolk. 

When we arrived in Norfolk, which seemed like the other side of the world to me, my new pawrents opened the front door of their home and I began sniffing out all the new smells immediately. I went dashing about from room to room in a mad frenzy and ran out into the garden eager to explore. I had never ever seen this green stuff called grass before! Wow, it smelled really good!

I have been living here in Norfolk for nearly four years now – the time has really flown. My life has changed completely for the better – it is so exciting!

My pawrents have given me a new name. I never had a name before but they gave me one at the Rescue Centre – it was Opal.  Now I am known as Miss Zsa Zsa Gapaw. I then discovered that my new brother, Pupstar, was Editor of his own online newspaper called ‘The Barking Bugle’. Apparently he had three other brothers before called Frodo, Gizmo and Will-i-am who used to help him a lot, but sadly they are at the Bridge now. I wish I had got to know them – they were great characters and so full of life according to Pupstar’s many stories.

Pupstar was absolutely super during these past few weeks. Due to my sad upbringing I was never educated properly and knew nothing about the alphabet, reading and writing. He was very patient with me and trained me up to become a repawter for the Barking Bugle. He typed this whole feature himself as I woofed to him what to write, mainly because my typing skills were pretty terrible then. How kind was that!

My first proper assignment was to introduce myself and tell all of you wonderful furry creatures out there about my story. I have also been taught how to write posts on this thing called Facebook. I can hardly believe what has happened to me in such a short space of time! For six years I was doing absolutely nothing apart from giving birth to puppies in vile, cramped, smelly conditions, and now I am going to be a repawter. Who would believe this could be possible?

I have been given some of the tastiest treats I have ever gobbled. I receive cuddles and kisses whenever I want them. I sleep on a huge bed next to my mummy and daddy and even have my own pillow. I have little steps to help me get up to the bed on my own whenever I feel like it.

I go out for lovely walks. I am so lucky because I live near a sandy thing called a beach. And there is blue stuff called water to go paddling in – and all of this is within a stone’s throw from my new home! I never knew what these things were before! I have been mentioned on BBC Radio, I have had my picture in doggy calendars and articles written about me in ‘Chat’ magazine and various canine magazines. I have been interviewed on ITV and BBC News, including a feature on the TV programme ‘Countryfile’. I have also visited Crufts as a repawter and have met the King and Queen. Wow! Not bad, eh? It’s incredible!  My life has changed so much for the better – I really wish ALL doggies in the whole wide world could have a wonderful life like mine is now.

I must tell all you furry friends out there that puppy farmers are not very nice people at all. They breed puppies with absolutely little or no regard for the health and welfare of the puppies or their pawrents. Their sole intent is to make as much money as possible. The dogs are neglected and are not cared for at all. There are many welfare problems associated with these puppy farms, including long-term health and/or behavioural issues, as a result of the squalid conditions they are bred in and a lack of socialisation. It is a cruel and evil practice!

Lucy’s Law, named after a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who herself was puppy farmed, has banned the sale of kittens and puppies from third parties in England from Spring 2020, making buyers deal with breeders directly. However, sadly many barbaric puppy farms continue to operate throughout the UK.

We at the Barking Bugle really hope that more and more dogs can be adopted from rescue homes – it is such a rewarding experience and the sheer joy of giving a dog a happy home is incredibly satisfying. I should know – my pawrents keep telling me this. Our dream would be for many many furry friends, not just dogs, to be adopted and given the chance to lead a happy and stimulating life like I am now experiencing. We continue to hope that puppy farms around the world cease trading – please, please, please do not buy an animal from such an evil place. By doing so you are merely propagating this evil practice!

I would just like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have sent me their love and best wishes for the future. It really is overwhelming and I cannot thank you enough. I am now the Editor of the Barking Bugle and my skills as a repawter are improving all the time. I also have two sisters who are twins, Ziggy Bear and Clara, both Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Ziggy is a gobby black and tan doggy who likes to sing and howl a lot, and Clara is a much quieter Blenheim. They can be very annoying at times but I do love them and have been training them up to be intrepid repawters too, just like Pupstar trained me. If I can be just half as good as Frodo, Gizmo, Will-i-am and Pupstar, I will be a very contented little doggy. 

Thank you all for reading my story. I hope I have touched some of you with my tales. As I have already woofed, I pray that one day there will be no puppy farms and that all doggies throughout the world will be loved, cherished and worshipped by their human pawrents.

Woofs Miss Zsa Zsa X

Follow my adventures on Facebook!

To follow the daily adventures of the Barking Bugle team of K9 Repawters visit our social media sites.

For a totally pawsome holiday make sure you sniff out The Barking Bugle’s ‘Doggy Tourist Guide to Norfolk’. It’s packed full of all the information you need to ensure you have the pawfect vacation.  For details of the very best dog friendly  beaches, days out, tourist attractions and places to stay… click here!  Woofs Miss Zsa Zsa – Canine Editor

Please share with your doggy friends