A Rottie with a roof over her head: Zena’s story

Leaving a gift in your will won’t cost you anything in your lifetime, but could change everything for the dogs in our care; dogs like Zena.  

Three-year-old Rottweiler Zena was handed over to our Leeds centre in January 2024. At just 18 months, she’d spent her whole young life being kept in a small yard with little food, care or human interaction.

A member of the public eventually noticed what was happening and tried to help by giving her food and company when she could. She knew something needed to be done and spoke with Zena’s owner. They admitted they couldn’t look after her and thankfully agreed to hand her over to us.  

A new-found hope: Zena arrives at our Leeds centre  

As soon as she arrived, it was clear that Zena had little experience of the real world. Being shut away from reality had left her frightened of everything and wary of people. She’d become overwhelmed in wide open spaces with everyday goings-on, and loud noises and traffic frightened her. She was unsure about other dogs, having had no experience with them, and would pull away and become increasingly stressed.  

Our training and behaviour team at Leeds quickly put together a behaviour modification plan to start building her confidence. They knew she had a long way to go before she’d be available for adoption. But Zena showed so much promise and they knew she’d succeed.  

The team worked on building her confidence with new people by using a special introduction plan to help her recognise that new people weren’t a threat. After a few hands-off meetings, Zena started letting people into her circle of friends. This quickly showed that Zena just needed the time to slowly build trust.  

As time passed, Zena’s circle grew wider and wider. This meant different handlers could continue working with her on other skills. Zena proved to be very strong, so teaching her loose-lead walking was a must. Being able to stay focused when out and about really helped her confidence.  

Zena then aced her muzzle training, meaning the team could work on her dog reactivity. Through gradual desensitisation, she improved massively and even ended up making some doggy friends to walk with.  

Dipping a cautious toe into the real world  

Zena’s anxiety around the busy, noisy world took much longer to work through, proving difficult to mirror real life in a rehoming centre. But by taking her for short off-site walks, the team could start getting her familiar with scenes and situations she’d experience in a home.  

It took many months to get Zena to the point where Leeds staff could confidently put her up for adoption. She needed a very special home with adopters who were confident and capable with large, very strong dogs. We knew they’d also need to live in a peaceful area, well away from traffic and with very few visitors.  

Before adopting Zena, her future family would need to come and meet her many times at the centre to bond and learn the relevant training techniques. And this would then be followed by multiple home visits to start preparing Zena for a whole new way of life. 

Zena had to wait longer than most for the right people to come along – 580 days to be exact. But in June 2025, the right match was finally made.  

Her new adopters were happy to take everything at her pace and very quickly fell in love with her. Along the way, our team were sharing training tips and preparing Zena and her new family for the massive change to come. 

After almost two months of meets, visits and preparation, Zena was officially adopted and left us to start her new life.  

The months that followed naturally threw up some challenges. Zena needed lots of support and care to help her settle in. But her new family were in it for the long haul and refused to give up. After seeking help from our post-adoption support team, our team at the centre continued to work with them. This helped to keep building Zena’s confidence while adjusting to her new life. 

We’re only able to support families like Zena’s thanks to legacy donations. If you’re thinking about giving a gift in your Will, the impact you could make, and the love and care you could leave behind is immense. All without having to spend a penny in this lifetime.

Zena found the hustle and bustle of the real world to be the biggest challenge, causing some previous behaviours to return. Our Leeds team supported by inviting Zena and her owners back on-site weekly to use our off-lead facilities. They’d also do on-site walks to keep her dog reactivity under control. Zena began to make progress again and, while she’s still learning, her adopters are sticking by her and helping her continue to grow.  

“After a difficult start followed by 580 days of care from Dogs Trust, Zena is now beginning to learn how to be part of a family,” say Zena’s family. “The transition wasn't without its problems but the support we received from Dogs Trust Leeds both before and after the adoption was invaluable.”  

Happily ever after

“She’s a very loving oversized lapdog who loves her home comforts and is happy just being by our side,” Zena’s family tell us. “She’s enjoying her walks and is gaining confidence every day.”

Zena spent her first Christmas in her forever home in 2025. The way things are going, it looks like she’ll be spending many more with her loving forever family.