When Aisha Nieves lost her dog Kuvo more than two years ago, she thought she would never see him again. But as fate would have it, she was recently reunited with her best friend—and it’s the sweetest reunion you’ll ever see.
Aisha was browsing the Lehigh County Humane Society’s (LCHS) website on June 18, hoping to find a new pet for her two sons, when she saw a familiar face: a dog who looked just like Kuvo.
She thought that it can’t be him, but she recognized that the tan pitbull-rottweiler mix had a small scar above his eye. Aisha remembered that Kuvo had the exact same scar from when he hurt himself on a gate as a puppy. That tiny scar confirmed her suspicions.
Aisha brought Kuvo home when he was just seven weeks old, naming him after a lion cub with a scar above his eye in Disney’s animated Lion King sequel movies.
She had Kuvo from 2014 until May 2019, when he escaped from her home through a hole in her gate left by a driver who had crashed into it.
Aisha sensed that something was wrong when she came home one night without Kuvo to greet her with his sweet kisses and cuddles. She was four months pregnant with her younger son at the time, and she didn’t know what to think.
“I had a lot of emotions going through me,” she recalled. “I was crying, thinking the worst, thinking somebody kidnapped or hurt him. I was just devastated. He was there for me through everything, heartbreaks, ups and downs, and now he was gone. It was so hard to accept.”
Aisha said Kovu was her “baby.” The sweet dog would go with her everywhere and sleep on her bed, so she was devastated when he went missing.
She didn’t know that the local humane society had picked up Kovu after residents found him in someone’s yard. For four months, he underwent treatment for fleas and inflammation until he was ready to be adopted.
During that time, Aisha desperately searched for her pup. But by the time she went back to the humane society to ask if they had seen him, he was gone from the shelter.
A family adopted Kovu in October 2019, but after being evicted from their home, the family was forced to return him to the shelter on June 12. The dog was in good health when he was brought back.
The LCHS had given him the name “Ash,” but Aisha knew that it was her lost dog after seeing his photo on the shelter’s adoption page. She called LCHS and explained the situation to them. The group advised her that she would need to bring photo proof and an adoption fee to get Kovu back.
Aisha was afraid Kovu might not remember her after years apart, but all those fears went away when they locked eyes.
“I automatically go on the floor, like to get down, get ready, because I know he’s going to jump on me,” she said. “As soon as he started coming, he started squealing and screaming and yelling.”
The LCHS posted pictures of Aisha and Kovu’s happy reunion on its Facebook page.
“Upon seeing his long-lost mom, the previously shy and scared Kovu let out the most excited squeal we have ever heard!” the LCHS wrote on the caption.
Aisha said that when she lost Kovu, a piece of herself was lost. She would often look at old photos of the dog and cry. Now that Kovu is back home with her again, she said it feels like he never left.
“I love him so much, like I’m just so happy he’s back,” she said.
They had just celebrated Kovu’s seventh birthday, and Aisha vowed to never lose him again.
We’re so happy that Kovu found his way back to his mom! However, most people aren’t as lucky. The humane society encourages all pet owners to microchip their pets so they can easily get back home in case they get lost.
See Aisha and Kovu’s sweet reunion in the video below.
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