A Sad Good-bye to Miss Zoya

Miss Zoya hasn't been doing well lately. Over the last month we've run all kind of tests, none of which gave us any answers.I took her to the vet this afternoon and after a long discussion with Her Vet, I decided to let Zoya go to the bridge.

She's just so stoic it's hard to judge how she is feeling. At least now I know for sure she isn't in pain. Zoya was a puppy mill breeder dog. She got out when she was 5 years old.

It still angers me to think how her life was stolen from her. Given a different start in life, Zoya would have been a force to recon with. She had the makings of a true alpha cairn queen. She could have ruled the world.

DeniseCitrus Heights, CA

Zoya's Fifth Gotcha Day

Hi Everybody, Five years ago, I packed up my Jeep Cherokee and drove up to Oregon to meet Lisa N and to pick up Zoya. Along for the ride was my friend, Jan and my cairn wanna be, Fred.

I'm not sure Zoya knew what to think about us, but we all knew right away what a special girl she was and still is. Fred had been missing his buddy Ladybug, my first cairn, and he seemed really happy there was a new girlie corn dog in his life.

Zoya has had some challenges but she's a sweet girl that I love dearly. She doesn't take big steps but instead has little triumphs. She's always liked running around in the yard and quickly learned the commands for going in and out. She recently decided it is OK to jump up on the couch. Somehow all the new toys end up on her living room couch or in her daytime ex-pen even though I never see her move them. She's very stealthy!

For the longest time she wouldn't take a treat from my hand. Actually that was partially my fault and it took me a while to figure out that in fact she had trained me to drop her treat. You should have seen the look on her face that first evening I figured it out. I offered her a treat and when she gave me her usual "excuuuuse me, I'm waiting for you to drop that" look, I gave the treat to Fred. Instead of dropping it. How dare I! All her years of training me were out the window. But instead of taking a chance I'd do the same thing, she decided to tentatively take the next treat I offered her. We've come to an agreement regarding treats now. When we're at home she takes treats from my hand and when we're around others, I drop them for her. Attached is a favorite photo.

She is actually one of the bravest dogs I've ever had. When things frighten her, her first instinct is to run but then her bravery kicks in and she comes back to investigate whatever is going on.


Denise in Citrus Heights, CA
Fred CGC - cairn wanna be
Zoya HRH - cairn princess
Monkey CGC, MB-RE - cairn athlete