Asha Nieves Allentown Pennsylvania woman looking to adopt pet at Lehigh County Humane shelter finds dog she lost 2 yrs ago during mishap.
A Pennsylvania woman looking to adopt a pet from an animal shelter was met with shock upon realizing up for adoption was her beloved dog that she had lost two years ago due to a mishap.
Asha Nieves of Allentown was looking for a dog for her two kids when she logged onto the Lehigh County Humane Society’s website and saw a picture of her dog Kovu, who went missing from Nieves’ yard in 2019, The Morning Call reported.
‘I at first thought, ‘No way is this my dog,’’ Nieves told the Call. ‘They had him under another name, ‘Ash.’ When I was sure it was him, I got so excited I was literally shaking.’
Kovu disappeared in May 2019, apparently squeezing through a hole in a gate in Nieves’ yard following a car crashing into the gate earlier that day. The pitbull-rottweiler mix was picked up by the humane society a few weeks later in poor health, dealing with fleas and missing hair.
The dog was adopted by a family several months later, but returned earlier this month when they were ‘facing possible eviction,’ the Call reported. That’s when Nieves recognized the dog on the site – a scar over his eye gave him away – leading to the mom of two jumping into action to reclaim the missing dog.
Immediate bonding between owner and lost animal
Video of the reunion obtained by WFMZ shows the hyper-active canine ecstatic at the sight of Nieves.
‘‘We locked eyes and I seen his smile and he started wagging his tail,’
‘He was screaming, trying to get away from the guy holding him and run to me. Then, he just jumped on me, and we started kissing and hugging. He sat on my lap.’
‘I told him, ‘Yeah, buddy, you’re going home. I’m so sorry this happened. Never again am I losing you.’ Nieves told the local TV station.
Responding to the immediate bonding, LCHS director of development Deirdre Snyder said it’s not unusual for a dog to recognize their owner after a long period of time.
‘Dogs have an incredible sense of smell, and that is likely the first thing that brings the recognition,’ Snyder said. ‘There are many videos online of military personnel coming home after a long time away and their dog will recognize them with a similar joy and excitement that Kovu had for Aisha.’
