Zelda Wisdom; Portland, OR, USA

Zelda sits in front of the Heathman a hotel famous for its treatment of pets.
Photo: Zelda Wisdom Facebook Page

Happy National Dress Up Your Pet Day. Yes, that's an actual day in the United States! I'll be using it as an excuse to talk about the statue of Zelda Wisdom in Portland.

If you don’t know Zelda by name you’ll probably recognize her face. Zelda is a bulldog celebrity. Really, she’s a model, famous for her work in greeting cards and calendars, and her manager/publicist/writer is Carol Gardner.

It makes the most sense to talk about Carol before we get to Zelda and her statue. Carol Gardner was an advertising executive, who went through a tough divorce at 52 and her lawyer joked that she should either get a therapist or get a dog. She chose the latter and brought Zelda, a four-month-old English bulldog into her home. Zelda proved her worth immediately by improving Carol’s mood, but her appetite was huge. When Carol heard about a contest at a local pet store giving away a year’s worth of free food she entered. Her entry was greeting card with a photo of Zelda dressed as Santa and a quote straight out of Carol's life. “For Christmas I got a dog for my husband. Good trade, huh?”

Carol Gardener “Traded her husband for a dog.” The rest is history.
Trademark: Zelda Wisdom.

An early Zelda card, check the end of the post for more.
Trademark: Zelda Wisdom

After the card won the prize she sent copies out to her friend’s and family. When she received lots of positive feedback Carol started a small greeting card business, which she called Zelda Wisdom. She surveyed the market, and hired two people to assist her. The cards all had a similar format to the original, with Zelda dressed up and a clever quote by Carol. That was the late 90’s. By 2000 Hallmark was expressing interest. Over the years Carol has turned Zelda into a sort of doggy motivational speaker, dispensing sage advice in calendars, books, and almost anything you can print a picture of a dog on. Zelda didn’t just model, she worked as a therapy dog too, and she was the official spokesdog of Pet Partners, a therapy dog organization. She even saved Gardner’s life. In Gardner’s own words, “I am a type 1 diabetic and several years ago, I fell out of bed and broke my neck. As I was lying there unconscious, Zelda kept nudging me to wake up, and finally I did and pulled the telephone cord down to call 9-11.”

Gardner, Goin and Zelda at the unveiling.
Photo: Marketwired

Unfortunately, English bulldogs are not known for their long lifespans, and the original Zelda passed away. I couldn’t find a date for this in my research, but I did learn that the dog currently being photographed is the third in a line of Zeldas, or as Gardener says, “Z-3.” Like “Lassie” or “Uga,” “Zelda” is both a title and a name.

On May 27, 2010 a statue of Zelda was unveiled in front of the Heathman Hotel in Zelda’s hometown of Portland, Oregon. Sculptor Jim Goin crafted the multi-colored bronze piece that includes a dog bowl fountain for passing pups. Goin was known throughout the Northwest for his animal sculptures. Unfortunately, Goin passed away recently. The sculpture was commissioned by Banfield Pet Hospital to mark their association with the hotel.

Statue Zelda appears dressed up (of course) in the famous beef-eater uniform of the Heathman’s doormen. The statue is tinted bronze with red, green and brown finishes applied to replicate the uniform.

Gardner, Heathman executives and a beef-eater. Photo: Heathman Hotel

The Heathman is a historic Downtown Portland property dating back to 1927. It has become one of the premier hotels for pet owners. You can pamper your pooch with a choice from a variety of beds. You’ll even get a sampler of treats for puppy and a voucher for Banfield Pet Hospital. The hotel is filled with eclectic animal art and advertises is proximity to the the Lucky Labrador, a brewpub with plenty of patio space for pups.

Zelda's unveiling.
Photo Iheartdogs.com

I should clarify that this statue doesn’t really declare itself a memorial to Zelda, so maybe I shouldn’t talk about it here at all. But the Zelda who started Carol Gardener on this journey, the Zelda who cheered her up when she needed it, gave her inspiration, acted as a therapy dog, and saved Carol’s life seems to have passed before the statue was cast. So although it’s not explicitly a memorial and “Zelda” (probably 2) was there for its unveiling it still feels like a remembrance of that original Zelda.

I think that’s as deep as I want to go into Zelda, Carol, and the Heathman for the moment. I don’t want to get deep or weird for Dress Up Your Pet Day. I do hope to visit this statue before long. Portland isn’t far, and I’d love to touch base with Carol Gardener, she’s started a new business and I’d love to get more information on the different “Zeldas” to better understand where it should go on the master list and how it helps us understand the role of animals. For now I think what this site tells us about that relationship is that we are very lucky to have dogs, and other animals in this life with us humans. They can enhance our lives in unexpected ways, whether you dress them up or not.

One last note: for any subscribers still hanging in there, I wanted to apologize. I’ve been too busy to do any travel, and I wanted this blog to focus on (or at least be mostly about) my travels. I’ve decided to set that aside until I have more time and money to spare, and I’ll be writing at least one post a month that corresponds to a holiday, event, or anniversary of an event. Check back on President’s Day (US), Feb. 18, for another scheduled post.