The Cairn That Came Home

  By Florida Bill 

                                               Pia, the Cairn Terrier, is quite a magician, with a disappearing act that went on for eight years. The crowd pleasing finale, which has to beat any Las Vegas act, has her back home again--older, and hopefully wiser about strolling out open doors-- nearly a decade later.
                                 Maybe reappearing after such a long absence sets a record for a lost canine to come home.  It took months for Lassie to cut through the woods and water, and weeks for Chance and Shadow to scramble up and down hills and rocky terrain to find their way back home in the film, "Homeward Bound."  But then Pia is a Cairn!!!
                                  Pia, more formally known as Pia Zadorable, slipped out an open rear door from her south Florida home  in 2008.   Lots of full moons, winters and summers, and even a couple of elections have come and gone since then.  That is, until a few weeks ago, when a scrawny and unkempt dog was mysteriously dropped off at an animal facility in Palm Beach county in Florida.  No DNA evidence of course,  but there was the miracle microchip which ended the long absence and brought about Pia's return to her owners, Penny and Mel Howard of Boca Raton.
                                  "I was out of control and couldn't stop crying when I saw Pia," said Mrs. Howard.  "I knew her instantly, but she was in need of help from a vet.  She was "a horrible mess, scrawny, wobbly and dirty with obvious eye and ear infections.  But honestly, I could feel her love and I could see that she knew and remembered me."
                                  The story of Pia and what is known of her travails began when she left through a back door which was left ajar by a maintenance team at the residence.  The Howards were on vacation and were promptly notified that their pet, then about 4 years old, had disappeared.  The Howards rushed home and with assistance from friends and concerned animal groups, began the search.
                                  Posters were made with a photo of Pia, and they were distributed throughout the neighborhood and affixed to posts and trees.  Police were notified as were animal rescue societies. There was no holding back in our efforts, said Mrs. Howard.  "We did whatever we could think of doing" she said.   Here and there came leads, but none amounted to anything and as the days,  weeks, months and then years passed, it didn't seem likely the 20-pound white and wheaten colored dog would ever reappear. 
                                 

         In the Howard home, Pia had a companion dog named Sadie.  They were like siblings and they loved being with each other, said Mrs. Howard.  Sadly, as the years passed, we had to say goodbye to Sadie, and it is my opinion that she died of loneliness.  Believe me, dogs have feelings too, she said.
                                    We always maintained a small shrine in our home in memory of Pia Zadorable, the formal name we gave her after we adopted her in 2006. She had been known as Penelope, but we liked Pia Zadorable since Pia Zadora was a favorite celebrity and a beautiful person, and our Cairn was also a celebrity to us.   The shrine consisted of a photo of our Pia with a pink scarf draped about the frame. The shine was permanent in our house. 
                                     We never forgot Pia, but we were resigned that she was gone and would not be returning. The idea that she would one day show up after being gone for years was too bizarre to  consider.  In her absence and with the death of Sadie, the Howards adopted Hana, a terrier, and Lizzie, a Black Lab.  
                                      Then one day, the hum drum of an ordinary hot day in Florida was interrupted by a telephone call from the Tri- County Animal Rescue service informing the Howards that  a scraggy little terrier had been mysteriously dropped off at a shelter in Palm Beach, not far from the Howard home,  and that a microchip revealed Penny Howard as the owner.
                                     "I flew out the door and headed for the facility holding Pia," said Mrs. Howard.   "I was crying so hard that I could barely maneuver.  But then I saw her and I knew it was my Pia, still alive, and now she was coming home. 
                                      Immediately,  Pia was taken to the Regency Veterinary Clinic where wonderful veterinarians went to work, said Mrs. Howard. There were ear infections and eye infections; matted hair; ticks worms and even a heart murmur.  She was treated and shampooed and home she went, where she got plenty of  food and water and a soft basket, the companionship of other dogs and the love and devotion of the astounded Howards.   She is now 12 years old.
                                     So what happened?  Only Pia knows for sure, and well--she isn't telling. .   Animal lovers and shelter operators and police believe that Pia was "dognapped" and kept until the thief decided the dog was no longer wanted and abandoned her at a rescue center.  Judging from her condition she was fed enough to live but never received the care a dog requires," Mrs. Howard said. 
                                     "We are blessed beyond description," said Mrs. Howard.  'Pia is back home and home is where she shall stay."                                              


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