Hello, my name is Nova, and the people at the rescue feel like I am one of their saddest, most frustrating cases…they
thought that maybe if I was willing to tell my story, we might be able to turn that around. It really is a big deal
for me to do this---I am really nervous about trusting new people, but the humans at the rescue PROMISED me it was safe to
talk to you, so I am making myself believe that.
Life has been very hard for me. The humans at the rescue saved
me from a very sad and bizarre situation when I was only 5 weeks old. You see, they stumbled upon an unfortunate human
who had gotten into a really bad state….she was addicted to something called “crack” and was out of control.
The folks from the rescue actually came across her in the parking lot of a major store, in a large shopping area. She
wasn’t wearing all of her clothes---mostly just her “underwear“ whatever that is---and she was acting
wildly. She was trying to sell me and my brothers and sisters so she could have money to buy more of that “crack”
stuff that was so important to her. It was summertime, and five of us five-week-old pups were running through traffic
on that scorching, black parking lot. That was really bad on our tender little feet and we ended up with burns that
hurt a lot. Thankfully, the humans from the rescue saved us and brought us here. Just in time in fact, as we were
infested with worms and fleas and were in really bad health. But, we bounced back!!! I was the only black dog
in the litter, and as you may have heard, black dogs and cats have a very low adoption rate compared to those of other colors
and patterns. This held true with my family as well, and all of my siblings were adopted quickly, except me. So,
I sat at the rescue and missed them, wondering where they had gone and why I was left behind. People came and went,
but no one wanted to visit with “that black dog”. I watched dogs come and go too, off to happy homes with
kind people, and still I sat. I was such a good, quiet girl that I sort of blended into the woodwork so to speak, and
as time went on, my timid nature got worse.
One very exciting day about 7 months later, a family chose ME and
took me home!!! It was wonderful! I tried to be a good girl and do the right things. They had another dog
who was old and who they had had for a long time. For some reason, he didn’t like me at all, and even though they
tried to figure out a way for us to be friends, the other dog just hated me. I really don’t know why…I can’t
think of anything I did to him. Well, the family returned me to the rescue. They were so sad and I feel so badly
for them…they really wanted to save me. They cried and cried when they left me, but they had to do what was right
for their older dog. They really hoped someone else would see what a good girl I was, but unfortunately, no one has.
And it has been almost A YEAR since they returned me.
Now I am not quite two years old, and the longer I have been
here at the rescue, the more timid I have become. New people are scary and I play it cool about making new friends.
Once I know you, I am super friendly, but it’s hard for a girl to trust after having her heart broken so many times.
The humans at the rescue try to spend time with me, they really do. But there are only so many volunteers and about
50 dogs at any given time. So although I get love every day, I haven’t had many opportunities to go out and experience
new things and learn to trust that I will be OK. Recently, the humans at the rescue even sent me away to “camp”
for a couple of months…I went to a training facility where I would be socialized and handled and trained on a daily
basis. The humans at the rescue want to do everything they can to keep me from becoming one of those dogs that gets
so used to living in a rescue that they can never live anywhere else.
So, I just returned to
Harrisburg and I am so happy to be back.
I’m hoping that this will be like a fresh start, and that NOW I will finally get a Forever Home. If nothing else,
the humans would LOVE to find me a foster home so that all the time and effort at the training facility was not spent in vain.
I don’t want to live at a rescue for my whole life. As nice as everyone is, I just feel like it
is only fair that after all the bad breaks I have had in my short life, it has GOT to be time for me to get a happy ending.
I want to be Somebody’s Dog and have My Own Human. The world seems like it could really be a fun and exciting
place…if you had someone you trusted to stand by your side. I think it would be very nice to feel safe enough
to really ENJOY what the world has to offer, and I truly believe I still have it in me. With the right person at my
side, that is. Oh I really hope you are out there, and that you will find my story somehow, and read it. I have
been waiting for you for such a long time, and I don’t even know your name or what you look like!
Please come soon…I am not sure how much longer I can hold on before I will be forced to give up my dream. It is
just so painful to wish and wish and wish, but never have any come true.
Yours with a heart full of wishes,
Nova
Poor,
sweet Nova would love to have some company. As sad as it is to hear, she goes unnoticed by 99.9% of the people who come
to the rescue looking to adopt a dog. Nova has never, ever, shown any aggression of any kind towards humans…she
is simply slow to warm up to SOME new people because of her history. Nova has always lived with other dogs in her run,
but recently, she has become more choosy about who she wants to live with. We feel that she would be fine with male
dogs who do not feel the need to be dominant all the time. Nova is crate trained and housetrained and is about 55 pounds.
As are all of our dogs, Nova is up to date on shots, micro-chipped, and spayed. She is also on heartworm preventative
medicine to avoid unnecessary (and EASILY preventable) suffering.
If you are interested in adopting Nova, or
even fostering her, please visit our website at
www.northmecklenburganimalrescue.org to fill out an application. If you aren’t ready to add to your family at this time, but would like to help the
dogs, please visit our “ways you can help” page for more information on a variety of opportunities… from
volunteering, to sponsoring, and everything in between. Thanks for your interest and we hope to see you soon!
