Zhen had a friendly dog named Shea. Shea was regularly left alone tied up on a short rope and a tight collar outside of the studio, which is on a busy Santa Fe road., During one retreat day that ran from 7 am-7 pm, she managed to slip out of her collar and ran away.  A student found her running through the streets and brought her back.  The next day, she slipped out of her collar again, ran away, and was hit by a car.  Thankfully she survived, though it was pretty traumatic for everyone at the retreat.

          Her being left tied up and neglected for long periods of time was not restricted to retreats. Normal days of back to back classes ran long, and this was the pattern of the lack of care for poor Shea. She would regularly panic during long classes, pulling on her rope, whining, but being ignored.

          The following year, at a similar retreat, Shea died by choking herself on a too tight collar as she was panicking outside during a class.  I am still so angry about this.  Zhen had a room filled with devoted students who would do anything for her, and yet no one was watching this beautiful sweet dog.  No one noticed, though she was visible through the glass door of the studio space, that Shea was panicking and suffering. It had become normal for the class to ignore her.
           Although Shea was a member of the community, no one outside the retreat was notified, and there was no space held for grieving.