Nova. best.dog. EVER.

Nova. She was my friend. Just 2 months after Logan and I had been married, she was brought to our house just for the weekend (since we had a yard), until the humane society would open up again...Jesse couldn't have her since his dog had died of parvo. He said if we wanted her we could have her, other wise he would take her on monday. She army crawled across our house. Nervous and scared and obviously not treated kindly. We fell in love. 5 minutes. That's it. We knew we wanted her and could love her.

She was such a hunny. She would wag her tail if you looked at her; if you smiled at all, not even in her direction. I could whisper to her as she slept and she would start wagging. She loved to kiss and snuggle. Would let us dress her up in ANYTHING, and keep it on. She was so gentle and would practically suck the food off your fingers. She thought she was a person. When we were around other dogs, she would give you a look as if to say "silly dogs. Retarded for balls. I just want to sit in the shade with my people. ugh, such animals...am I right?!" She was timid and a little worried until she became a mama. Then she blossomed. She made amazing babies. She wouldn't bark at the water when we went swimming as if it was eating us up (like she would before). She would just join us for a swim. She was amazing on a leash, and even better off. She would try to speak telepathically, with intense cartoon-y eye pooping looks, and communicated very well, I might add. She would ask then wait. and wait. and wait. and lay down and wait till we were ready. and sometimes breathe heavy for effect.

She LOVED us. Trusted us. Loyal. Compassionate. Gentle. Understanding. Patient. Kind. Calm. Obedient. Sweet. Smart. Intuitive. Silly. Baggy.

She was great with kids. All kids. I remember the first time she was around a baby was my nephew Caedon while he was still in a carrier. Mason and Heather set him down and Nova smelled him and laid next to him the whole night, not even getting up to eat. When Heather came over to pick him up, Nova gave her a look as if to say "Um, I don't know if you are allowed to take him...Is he YOURS?! I'm not so sure about this...okay, ya, he's yours. That's fine. My job is done." And she was awesome with our girls. She became mama's helper. Just like Lady. She would smell them to make sure they were okay. Give us a look as only moms can when we weren't tending to the baby and her cries quick enough. She let them dress her up, tug on her, and snuggle. They learned how to "be gentle" and how to treat a dog and how a dog should act/react because of her.

God was so gracious to us, particularly to Logan, preparing his heart for what was to come.

Vinnie was a good dog, but Nova was THE best dog EVER. None could compare. She was the perfect fit for our family, before and after kids.

I miss her and her squishy face, baggy pants, and bad breath. Well, not so much the bad breath.