Tragedy to Triumph

Touching Story of Why Zeddicus Was
Born to Help Dogs

When I was a kid, we had a Lab mixed dog that my father named after the star of the TV show, “The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin.” Since my siblings were too young to pronounce Tin Tin, we started calling him Tan Tan instead. Like most Labs, he was always goofy, hyper and all over you.

Unfortunately, we had to leave town for a few days and weren’t allowed to take him us. So my dad in last minute arrangement, asked one of our neighbors to watch him for us. This neighbor agreed he’d drop by to feed and check on our dog while we were away.

Just like a typical dog, or your typical lab, Tan Tan would act hyper every time our neighbor dropped by to feed him. He kept jumping all over him and his kids.

Well, one of these times, his unruliness resulted in them almost getting knocked down. He got fed up from his kids getting dirty, muddy and scratched up. So he grabbed our shovel, and hit Tan Tan across his skull. This blow was so severe that it caused a hemorrhage in his brain.

When we arrived, we were surprised. None of us could hear Tan Tan’s usual happy yips and yelps. He was known to scratch and jump at our gate impatiently every time he heard our voice and footsteps.

My dad tried to push the gate open and noticed it was stuck. With a few more attempts, he finally managed to push it open only to find Tan Tan’s lifeless stiff body pressed against our gate.

Poor dog wanted to see us so badly, that he somehow managed to drag himself from the center of our yard to the gate. That’s where he died waiting on us.

I remember his paw prints in the snow… which half way became sliding marks. We couldn’t stop crying. Our loyal dog did whatever it took to drag his half-dead body just to see us one last time.

That was the first time I ever saw my dad cry. Another neighbor told us later how hard it was watching Tan Tan suffer. He witnessed him pacing back and forth, whimpering and howling day and night. They weren’t sure whether his barking was due to being sad, or if he was in physical pain. They saw his dish full of food, just how we left it. Folks, our dog was slowly dying from physical pain and sorrow.

You can imagine how devastated we were. As a kid, it affected me. At first, I thought of our neighbor as an “evil, cold-blooded person.” I know now that he obviously got fed up with our dog constantly jumping up on him and his kids.
And when

I think about it today, the whole sad and senseless loss of a dear pet could have been avoided with a little training and teaching it manners.

Man’s Best Friend – A Myth or Reality?

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Dog is a Man’s Best Friend”. After all, just look at how your dog greets you every day.
Do your loved ones greet you like that? Doubt it. It is real genuine love that is impossible to fake.

After losing Tan Tan in such a tragic manner, I developed a strong love and devotion towards all dogs. I found myself reading about them, rescuing them, volunteering in shelters, adoption agencies, and fostering those in need of loving and responsible pet owners. There are thousands of dogs being put down every hour all over the world and in Amercia. Most are due to their training method. That’s right. Using food to train dogs always backfires or don’t get you long lasting resuts. So people are forced to get rid of them.

Every YouTube video, every pet store clerk, every dog book, every group dog obedience class, every pricate trainer recommends the bribery nonsense. It is insane!!!

How Can They All Be Dead Wrong? Sadly, They Are.
Don’t Believe Me? Just Visit a Few Local Shelters. Ask For the Number of Killed Dogs on a Daily Basis. 

Another great tale is the story of Hachi. The owner of a loyal Akita who took the train to work daily. Every day the dog would walk all the way to the train station, and wait until his owner returned. The family tried to keep him locked in the yard, but Hachi always found a way out.

One day, the dog sensed something and continued barking to keep his owner from leaving for work. Well, that also was the day Hachi’s owner died of a sudden heart attack.

The family decided to sell the house and move to another city. The daughter of the family tried to adopt him, but Hachi always kept getting out and found his way to the train station, going to his favorite spot, waiting patiently for his owner’s return.

This went on for days, weeks, months and even years. Yes, folks. To be exact, it went on for ten long years. Here was a dog barely moving, old, stiff and living in the streets, but no matter what, he always made it to the train station hoping to see his owner somehow show up once again….

Shocking Photo: Poor Dogs that Had to Be Killed in Shelter. Nobody Wanted to Adopt These Dogs Due to Their Behavior, Lack of Space or Lack of Staff. Please. Spay, Neuter and Get Your Dog Trained For Dog’s Sake. We Have Too Many Unwanted Dogs in This World. Zeddicus King

… Some of you already guessed what’s coming next; he died waiting in his favorite spot. Wow. If that is not loyalty, I don’t know what is. Richard Gere gave an outstanding performance in the movie about Hachi. So did the dogs. You really see life from a dog’s point of view and the facial expressions of the dogs even caught me by surprise.

I haven’t had the pleasure of reading the book yet. But if you want a good story, one that will have you choking up, a real tear jerker, hands down, this is one of them. (I have nothing against Marley, but this too was a true story, and far deeper.)

Now, I don’t advocate everyone buying or adopting an Akita. Just as I didn’t understand when everyone started buying Chihuahuas after that Taco Bell commercial.

Many fans of Game of Thrones fell in love with the wolves of the show and started buying Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes or any Hybrid (Mixture of a German Shepherd with Wolf, Malamute or a Husky) and then started dumping them in shelters and adoption agencies.

Ironically, all three of these breeds are very difficult to manage and train especially for those of you who are first time dog owners.

They pull you on walks like a mule, shed like crazy, dig holes, are escape artists and make lousy guard dogs.

I also fell in love with Jack London’s books. He truly related to dogs and understood them in a much deeper level. Part of the reason London described dogs and their loyalty so well, is because at one point in his life he was homeless and literally lived with stray dogs on the streets and under bridges.

Trust me; it would be impossible to describe the love and loyalty of dogs in such great detail without being involved with them on a personal level. You always can spot a true dog lover. That is how I felt as I read Jack London’s books—as if I were in the company of another individual who understands and agrees that dogs truly are a man’s best friend.

Sadly, All These Dogs Are NOT Sleeping But All Dead. Yes. That is Harsh to See for Most of You But That is the Reality if You Don’t Get Your Dog (Properly) Trained or Decide to Drop it off at Your Local Shelter.