We met Nadia at a HART adoption event in August 2001. Our other HART rescue dog, Stella, picked her out and from that day on they where sisters. They filled our house with the noise of loud barks, scattering paws, playful growls and loud snores. Nadia was our protector and our companion. She loved people and some dogs (it took her awhile). She loved going in the pond near our house and the river at Bull Run Park. She loved beef jerky, tuna fish and turkey, especially when it was cooking at Thanksgiving. She loved neck rubs and getting groomed from Mom. She enjoyed her walks in the evening before we went to bed and running around the backyard making sure the neighbors dogs where in order. She was always quietly aware of everything going on around making sure her family was safe. She had to be the last one up to bed to make sure everyone was safe even up to the very end when it was stairs where a struggle for her she had to wait till everyone was up. Nadia laughed in the face of challenges. She fought off one round of cancer and had been dealing with Cushings disease for several years. It was a second bout of cancer that had spread into her lungs that got her.
We helped her pass on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. She was surrounded by her family and passed in Moms arms as we all put hands on her and told her we loved her. Her companion Stells is with us and she is lonely and her Mom misses her very much. We miss her energy and grace and I miss her when I walk up the stairs at night to go to bed. We rescued her long ago and in many ways in the end she was the one who rescued us.