The Original SUPERNOVA DOG
You may have heard the saying “we don't always get the dog that we want; we get the dog that we need”. For me, Nova was that dog.
Nova (formerly known as Lily) was found as a stray in Rochester, New York and brought into rescue by Diamonds in the Ruff in Buffalo. She was living at their rescue facility when they sent out a plea for fosters on their Facebook page. Having just lost my previous rescue dog to liver failure, I was not ready to bring another dog into the house, but something about her photo tugged at my heartstrings. Over the next few weeks I thought of her often, so while sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting for my flight home from vacation, I sent an email that would drastically change the course of my life.
I was told that she had some fear issues but that was nothing new to me, or so I thought. We arrived at the facility and were invited into the yard where she was playing with some volunteers. Knowing she may be slow to warm up, my husband and I took a seat on a nearby bench and avoided making eye contact. Nova had been enjoying a game of fetch (still a favorite) so we engaged with her through play and I am pretty sure that is the moment she decided she was our dog, it took us a bit longer to come to the same realization!
Unsure of how she really was with other dogs, we figured we would try some slow introductions when we arrived home. Even though our Rottweiler Mongo was docile, friendly with everyone, and all-around a big baby, we did not want to overwhelm Nova. Well, within the first hour of having her at our house, we realized she was highly leash-reactive, so much for attempting parallel walking. Thankfully, introductions off-leash in the backyard were much more successful, things were off to a good start….then she met the cats. Needless to say, she made such an impression that they decided to stay upstairs for the next two months, only briefly venturing downstairs long enough to see if the obnoxiously boisterous intruder was still in residence. While her reactions to them were exuberant (to phrase it nicely) there were no indications that she intended harm, so we felt positive that with time, they would be able to coexist. To Nova’s eventual dismay, one of the cats decided they would be friends or maybe more appropriately, frenemies. The next surprise came when we had some friends over a few weeks later for a barbeque. That’s when we found out that Nova intensely dislikes people who are not us. By then she had apparently settled in and completely claimed us as her own (mind you we were still just fosters) and her fear and distrust of people was aimed at anyone outside of our family unit. The next 9 months we discussed our feelings about keeping her (since we had hoped to foster more) as well as the best options for her future. During that time we attempted one disastrous meet and greet with a potential adopter and on March 26th, 2015 we made it official, she was home – forever.
Now you may be wondering, did Nova live happily ever after? Well, the last 6 years have brought joy, tears, lots of snuggles, frustration and so much love. While she may never have many dog friends or happily greet new people, she is amazing. We have trained in agility and while not able to trial, she is fast, responsive, and eager in the ring. She has attained titles in Tricks, Fitness, and Parkour and is an avid lover of hiking, swimming (if there are things to fetch), and learning new things. She is the most challenging dog I have owned and the most rewarding.
But wait, you ask “Is that all? Was that the drastic change to your life?” You’re right, there is more to the story. While I had experience with fearful dogs, working with other rescue dogs, I had no idea how to handle Nova’s extreme reactivity, so we began training. We trained in agility to boost her confidence and while she is afraid of a lot of things, she was never afraid of anything in the ring, the teeter is her favorite! We took reactive rover classes where I learned handling skills that would enable me to manage and ultimately reduce her intense emotional response to triggers (thanks to my friend and mentor at Evolution Dog Training). Training was sometimes frustrating, we had setbacks, we took breaks, we tried again and again…and again. She is the reason I am a better handler and a better human now than I was before. She has taught me to be more patient and compassionate, to appreciate the lessons in each failure, and to celebrate the small accomplishments. I have learned to love the dog that she is, instead of expecting her to be something that she is not. Having left a career field I had spent ten years in, burnt out and unsure of what path to take next, Nova showed me that a love for animals and for teaching could provide me with a career that I am passionate about. She is the reason I am a trainer. I didn’t get the dog that I thought wanted, but I got the dog that I needed and so much more!
