The summer after I finished college, I knew I had to have a dog. I spent months scouring shelter websites, findings dogs I loved but couldn’t quite take home yet. When the time was finally right, I started visiting shelters to find my perfect companion. I fell in love with several dogs and planned to take them home, but all of them were adopted before I could pick them up. I had started to question whether this was really meant to be when I was reminded of the very first dog I met when I began my search. She was still available at Austin Pets Alive! and although I’d passed her up the first time due to an ADD personality, I figured it couldn’t hurt to go back and meet her again.

On a Sunday evening an hour before closing, I walked in to APA’s Town Lake shelter and asked to see “Heidi.” They brought her out to a play yard with me, and we played fetch and got to know each other. I asked the adoption counselor about her background and learned that she’d had SEVEN homes in her short two years of life. She was friendly, but her high energy seemed to be too much for previous owners. I started telling the adoption counselor that I’d fallen in love with several dogs who had been adopted before I could get them, and I will never forget her response: “I mean, they’re just going to keep getting adopted.” And in that moment, I decided to end my search and bring “Heidi” home.

Immediately, though, I knew “Heidi” wasn’t her name. She didn’t feel like a “Heidi,” and she didn’t respond to that name anyway. I went through several names with my family and friends before my mom suggested Nora, and we immediately knew that was her. On her first night home, she proved to be perfectly crate trained and housebroken, and all she wanted to do was snuggle with me and my roommates. Within twenty-four hours of bringing her home, I emailed APA! and let them know how grateful I was for their role in helping me find her. My life was changed from the beginning just by knowing and being loved by Nora.

I’ve now had Nora for nearly three years. While she’s presented her own unique set of challenges, she has been the best friend I could ever ask for. We have been working very hard on her training and hope to compete in several sports in the coming months! I am so incredibly thankful for the amazing work that Austin Pets Alive! does in our community, and I can never fully express my gratitude to them for saving Nora’s life over and over so we could find our way to each other.