Aisha Nieves from Allentown, Pennsylvania, had quite the surprise reunion at the Lehigh County Humane Society. Initially, Aisha was looking for a new dog for her two sons. But when checking out the listings, she realized one of the pups looked a little familiar.
"I happened to be on the Lehigh County Humane Society adoption site, looking through pictures, when my phone just froze on this one picture and I just stared," she told The Morning Call.
Sometimes, with dogs at shelters, you can see a listing and immediately form a connection. But for Aisha, she realized the dog was familiar for yet another reason.
The picture in question was of a pit bull-rottweiler mix who was tan in color. Two years ago, Aisha had a dog named Kovu who fit the description. Unfortunately, Kovu went missing. It had been two years since Aisha last saw him.
"I thought, 'Wait, that can't be him,'" she said. "Then I saw the little scar over one eye, the scar from when he got caught in a gate, and I was like, 'Oh my God, that's my baby, that's Kovu!'" She first brought Kovu home in 2014, when Kovu was a newly born puppy.
Kovu was a member of the Nieves household for five years until one day changed everything. In May 2019, there was a car accident right outside her home that damaged her gate. Kovu snuck out, even though he had never had any interest in leaving the property before.
"I found out he was gone when I came home later that day and he wasn’t there to run to me and give me kisses like he usually did," Aisha told the publication. "I searched the whole house and couldn't find him, then looked around Allentown for a good week or so and still couldn't find him." Giving up the search is one of the hardest things, especially for a dog who has become such a big part of the family.
The loss was even harder since Aisha was pregnant at the time. "I was four months pregnant with my younger son at the time. I had a lot of emotions going through me. I was crying, thinking the worst, thinking somebody kidnapped or hurt him," she admitted.
"I was just devastated," she continued. "He was there for me through everything, heartbreaks, ups and downs, and now he was gone. It was so hard to accept." Knowing that Kovu wouldn't be there to help her welcome her son must have been hard for Aisha. What she didn't know was that he was picked up by the shelter mere weeks later.
"Our staff named him 'Ash,'" said LCHS director of development Deirdre Snyder said. “He needed to be treated for fleas, was missing hair on his hind end and had inflammation. He was treated with antibiotics and bathed with a special medical shampoo." But then he was adopted out to another family.
Kovu had a second home for a little longer than a year and a half. The family loved him as well, but unfortunately had to make the tough decision to surrender him back to the shelter. "The family returned, stating they were facing possible eviction and needed to surrender him," Deidre said. While it's sad, it also seems like fate.
Aisha saw the new listing for "Ash" and realized that Kovu was OK. "They had him under another name, 'Ash.' When I was sure it was him, I got so excited I was literally shaking," she said. "I called the Humane Society and told them 'Ash' is my dog, Kovu, who's been missing for two years."
The reunion was very sweet, even though Aisha had a lot of fears. Kovu had a completely different family for a bit, so she feared he wouldn't remember her. "I was sweating," she said. "My hands started shaking. I was scared he wouldn't remember me because it had been so long. I sat there, waiting for them to bring him out. Then, something made me look up and I locked eyes with him and saw him wagging his tail." In dog, that's an excellent sign.
Even though the shelter needed a photo of Kovu as proof that Aisha was right, they all seemed to know these two had a prior history based on how he acted in her presence. "Upon seeing his long-lost mom, the previously shy and scared Kovu let out the most excited squeal we have ever heard!" they wrote on Facebook, per The Morning Call. Aisha realizes how rare of an event this is, admitting that she didn't feel complete without Kovu by her side.
If you've also gone through the pain of losing your dog, hopefully this happy story brings a lot of positive thoughts. Kovu managed to get the timing completely right, and surely his second family is more than happy to know that he's been reunited with his original owner. For lost pets, shelters are always a great place to look and continue looking.
