Fostering is a wonderful, selfless way to help animals.

According to Petfinder, “When you foster, you agree to take a homeless dog into your home and give him or her love, care, and attention, either for a predetermined period or until the dog is adopted.”

Zelda, a six-year-old German shepherd mix, found her foster mother 30 miles away from her adopted family.

Zelda first arrived at the Wags and Whiskers Animal Rescue from an overcrowded shelter in Texas. Like many shelters, a large number of dogs are fostered to make room for more dogs.

Zelda chose to remain with Seneca Krueger.

Krueger is well-known for her foster abilities.

She has previously fostered 30 to 40 dogs. We can’t imagine how difficult it would be to care for and let go of that many dogs.

Zelda had only been with Krueger for seven months. She discovered her bark at that point and reverted to being a true dog.

She had made enough progress after seven months to find a forever home.

A family 30 miles from Krueger fell in love with Zelda and decided to adopt her permanently, or so they thought.

Krueger, it turns out was missing Zelda a lot. She mentioned to KARE 11,

“Out of 30, 40 foster dogs, what happens is you love them, and then you let them go and you take the next one. And with Zelda, I adopted her out and spent three days crying. I felt like I had lost my dog.”

Zelda, it turns out didn’t like her new home either, as she left after about ten days.

Krueger decided to join the search committee after learning of Zelda’s escape.

“Three times a week I was out for four or five hours,” she shared to KARE 11. “The days where it was 30 below were the days I was most worried about her. I was out all day trying to find her so that she could be warm.”

Social media was buzzing with Zelda sightings, but she couldn’t be found.

That’s when Krueger discovered Niki Taylor and Kathy Brunner’s START for Dogs.

It’s an organization made up entirely of volunteers who look for lost pets.

After a few weeks, the leads went cold and the photos ceased.

“We thought she could be in the lake and didn’t make it,” Brunner mentioned to KARE 11.

Then a photo appeared 51 days after Zelda’s escape.

The START team contacted Krueger to inform him of the development.

Zelda had returned to the Krueger neighborhood. She was only a couple of blocks away, somewhere.

The dog wandered into the alley behind Mike and Susan Willis’ house in early May.

“I just started feeding her right away,” Susan Willis says with a smile to KARE 11, “because that’s what Susan’s do. They feed.”

Zelda appears to have made the correct decision. The START women planned to set a trap for Zelda with some food inside a cage.

After being apprehended, Krueger received a call at 4:34 A.M. to come and confirm that it was indeed Zelda.

Zelda looked a little different after 97 days on the road and traveling 30 miles. But she had arrived safely in Krueger.

Naturally, Krueger adopted Zelda and the former adopted family was glad to give her over.

Sometimes the dog chooses the person.

Indeed, this happy ending story is all about love and we are all grateful.

Watch the video below of this amazing homecoming!

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Sources: The Animal Rescue Site, Petfinder, YouTube – KARE 11