My name is Nova and I am so happy to tell you my story, with a very happy ending! I was a stray and nearly starving, living on the rough and tumble streets of San Martin when I was turned into the county shelter. I lived there for 10 months when SVPP rescued me. Meeting Jean and Al changed my life forever.
Jean and Al decided to foster me —which was really special. They were still struggling with the loss of their border collie and I didn’t exactly fit the mold! As an American Bully, at 80 pounds and with a cherry eye, I couldn’t be more different! But, my foster mom said I had a sweet face and I thought the same thing about her.
When they took me home, one of the biggest gifts we all got was time. I had plenty of time to adjust to my new surroundings while my foster parents had time to adjust to me.
With a few months of time, a few classes, a few treats (many!), some patience, and mostly just getting to know each other, we all fell in love. I remember it like it was yesterday (and it nearly was)! After three days, three weeks and three months, we all decided we had to stay together!
My foster family then turned into my forever family!
We’ve been together now more than 7 months and we are closer than ever! Time allowed us to create a strong bond and learn how to thrive together! I’m thrilled to tell you that we go on long walks together, hang out tons and even watch Netflix together (although I don’t get to pick the shows!). I get to sleep on a king-sized bed (with them!), laze in the sun, follow Al around whenever I want to, and have dibs on the couch. Imagine that!
I couldn’t love Jean and Al more. What’s worth a big bark is that they feel the same way about me…
Karen Zamel is a long-time SVPP volunteer, foster and blogger and helped Nova tell her story.