Meet Saleena
Founder, Pet Sitter, Dog Walker
Hello! My name is Saleena Ziadeh and I’m the founder of Panda Bear Pet Care LLC. I love animals, nature and being a caregiver. I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes at the age of six and I take health seriously both for humans and animals. Living with T1D has made me a mentally/physically strong, confident and passionate individual. I have been an athlete my whole life from sports in school. Such as basketball, soccer, track and swimming. At the age of 14 I started training Tae Kwon Do. I trained for five years and earned my 2nd degree black belt. At the age of 18 I started my first job as a Tae Kwon Do instructor at the Helen G Nassif YMCA. My love for martial arts grew from there. I then discovered Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2014. I dedicated nine years and earned my purple belt teaching adults and children! Then I got myself into amateur traditional boxing and won the Ringside Champion belt in 2017. From there I was introduced to Dutch style kickboxing and amateur MMA. After my fighting days I got into Powerlifting at The Anvil in Hiawatha, IA. I trained and competed for four years and hit a 303lb squat, 182lb bench and a 386lb deadlift.
In my high school years, I was part of the Upward Bound Summer Program and participated in community service. We cleaned up garbage and painted benches around downtown Cedar Rapids area. My sophmore year I was given an opportunity of a lifetime and traveled to Japan for two weeks. Our group visited five cities including Tokyo, the capital and the most populated city in the country, with 8,956,000 people! We learned about the earthquake and tsunami disasters that hit in 2011. I also got to meet and learn from people who were affected by these disasters.
Growing up to this day pets have been a part of my life! From cats, dogs, birds, guinea pigs, gekos, fish, a rabbit and a raccoon. I’ve always loved and cared for animals of all kinds! In my childhood, I rescued a baby raccoon that we named Shelia and my family helped raise her.
I currently have two rescue cats named Shadow and Taigur. I saved Shadow from a rare ear infection that lasted months. After trying different medications he ended up needing to get a polyp surgically removed. The infection had eaten away his left eardrum. From this he is deaf in left ear and is prone to infections but he is a warrior! He is clever and such a lovebug! Shadow loves human interaction, cuddles, his food/treats and running water. Taigur is small but mighty full of energy and love! He is shy at first, but once he is comfortable he opens up and wants to play or be given treats. Sadly, Taigur was tossed outside because he was unwanted by his previous owner. It was getting cold out and I was feeding him and providing water. After a few days I got him all checked out by his vet, Dr. Loni Ellsworth at Heartland Animal Hospital in Fairfax, IA before taking him in and becoming his forever mother.
I always say animals are my therapy and how much they make me happy and give me purpose! I have the best “job” in the world, as a caregiver for pets! I have also, worked for two other pet sitting/dog walking companies that gave me hands on experience, knowledge and inspiration to create my own business, Panda Bear Pet Care LLC. Lastly, I countinued my education in attending a two hour seminar for First-Aid and CPR for pet owners and caregivers.
