Tuesday, September 17, 2013

I'm Zoya...

Hello! I'm Zoya. I will be 11-years-old in a few weeks, but the birthday my family celebrates isn't actually my birthday. My Mom and Dad made the day they adopted me my birthday since I was found as a stray and no one knows my real birthday. I certainly don't remember being born!

My Story

I first met my Mom and brother at a pet store in Georgia. I'm told that on certain days over the weekend the pet stores will sponsor adoptions with local shelters. Well, my Dad was overseas but I didn't know that yet. My Mom says that she was bringing my brother, Jake, to the groomer at Petsmart but they wanted her to leave him for the whole day so she said she'd come back when they were ready for him instead. Mom and Jake went out into the pet store and saw the dogs for adoption but one of the people told her "If you don't have a yard, you can't come over here!"

Anyway, my Mom was so put off by the attitude that she decided to drive to another pet store to shop while she waited for the groomer to be ready for Jake. They went to a pet store a few minutes away, but Mom forgets the name. When she and Jake were there, they met me! Jake was a little rambunctious, he kept trying to jump on me, but I didn't really mind. 

They left and I thought that was the end of it. 

But Mom says that it took her a week to find me again!

Apparently, there were several shelters at the other pet store that day, and Mom didn't realize there were so many. So when she called around trying to find me, no one knew what she was talking about. But my Mom is smart! She remembered the numbers on the little metal tag I had on the makeshift collar the shelter had given me. With that number, my Mom was able to find me... and she was JUST IN TIME! 
In the dog shelter before my Mom came to get me and give me a family...
If they didn't adopt me when they did, I was scheduled to be "put to sleep" on Monday. Mom came on a Friday and met with me, had a look, got the information, then came back and got me Saturday morning the moment the shelter opened. 

I was about 2-years-old and I didn't have a name. Mom says I was also very emaciated... which she says means I was nothing but "bones and fur..."

"The shelter told me you were 45 lbs. but when I took you to your first vet appointment you only weighed 25 lbs." my Mom said, "Your name, Zoya... it means 'alive' because you were so close to not being so."

Jake and I took a little time to adjust to each other but we've been a family since!

These first few pictures are from the Friday when I was visited by my soon-to-be-Mom at the animal shelter in Augusta, GA (October 2004)








These next few pictures are from the Saturday when I first came to my new home... we move a lot because of my Dad's work but wherever we are, we're "home"...









And this is from Germany, June 2013, which is where we're living for now.
This is my brother, Jake...