Zuca was found heavily pregnant, wandering the streets alone. She was taken in by animal control then sent to a foster home where she had her litter of puppies. All of her puppies found homes of their own, but Zuca waited and waited. Then five months later, a woman who worked with an animal rescue saw her picture and knew right away that Zuca was the dog for her. What she didn't count on was how much Zuca would give back to other deserving souls in life.
Ronda, the Oregon based foster mom and rescuer, remembers the day she first saw Zuca. "I remember seeing her for the first time: all the other dogs were going crazy in their kennels, but she just sat quietly, wagging her tail the tiniest bit. I started crying when I saw her; I just knew," she said. Ronda adopted Zuca, brought her home, and to her delight, Zuca fell in love with all of Ronda's cats.
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There was one cat in particular that Zuca became best friends with: Stout. These two buddies were inseparable until Stout passed away. "Stout was Zuca's cuddlebug until the day she passed away. Zuca was really depressed so we thought about fostering again," Ronda explained. So Ronda brought the first foster kitten, Monkey, home in 2015, and Zuca immediately bonded with him.
"I was concerned at first about having a 50lb pitbull mix with a tiny one pound kitten who was trying to nurse, so I made sure everyone was safe, but Zuca was so patient and gentle with her," Ronda said. At that point, Ronda realized that Zuca had a calling to help foster kittens.
This sweet dog is patient, loving, and caring with every kitten she helps foster. "She puts up with so much! She lets kittens crawl all over her, bite her, scratch her, jump on her face, you name it. In exchange all she asks is to clean their face off after dinner," Ronda said.
Whenever Ronda brings a new litter of foster kittens home, Zuca goes right to work. She can understand and communicate with the kittens, and she attends to their needs. "The thing I find most interesting about Zuca is that she seems to know exactly what each kitten needs when they need it. She can read them. She knows how to lay perfectly still and avoid eye contact for the feral kittens while approaching and going in for the kiss with the super social kittens. It's amazing," Ronda marveled.
Zuca is now twelve-years-old and has helped foster over one hundred kittens. She treats each kitten as if it was her offspring. "If kittens are recently separated from their mom, it's great to have something big, warm and fuzzy to cuddle up with," Ronda said.
With Zuca's mothering, many of these kittens also have a better chance at being adopted into homes that have dogs. "Having Zuca around makes the kittens more adoptable to people who have dogs. Many of my adopters have told me they chose my foster specifically because they saw how the kitten related to Zuca, and they wanted that in their home," said Ronda.
Follow along with Zuca's adventures with her beloved kittens on Facebook and Instagram. Then share this loving dog's story with your friends and family.
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