Nellie was not known for her courage before a few weeks ago. People usually described the homeless pit bull as being afraid, protective, shy, or cautious until recently.
Nellie was taken from a California shelter by the Final Frontier Rescue Project, a small volunteer-based organization in Texas, when she was one year old. After spending years moving from kennel to kennel, she finally met her foster mother, Jane Taylor, six months ago.
Taylor said, “Nellie came to me a little bit overweight, which made her incredibly cute. We referred to her as our tiny potato sack. But that wasn’t her actual form, so we started running together, and today she weighs 45 pounds.”
At first, Nellie was afraid of loud noises, strangers, and strange animals. She resisted being touched by strangers and guarded her toys fiercely. However, Nellie started to adapt to her new life, thanks to the support of her foster mother.
Then, on a sunny day in March, Nellie showed how much she had grown.
“We hiked up to this massive rock dome… We were travelling an area that isn’t typically passed on our way from the walk back to the car, too,” Taylor said. “I didn’t even see the snake; I just stopped and started screaming when I heard it.”
Taylor continued, “Before I could even move or turn around or anything, she ran from behind me, and she was on top of the snake. When Nellie came over, it was almost like she was on it, saying, ‘I got this one, Mom. Keep going.'”
Nellie was bitten in the face shortly after the altercation began. A hiking companion covered the snake with his jacket and removed the writhing reptile from the injured dog.
Taylor and her friend carried the dog down the mountain because Nellie wouldn’t move or walk.
“When we put her in the car,” Taylor recalled, “her mouth was wide, her head was thrown back, and her eyes were closed.” Even though she wasn’t “awooing” in pain, it was clear that she was not happy.
Taylor said, “I knew I had to get her to the vet as soon as I could.”
Two vials of antivenom were given to Nellie along with medications for the bite wound, and she was put on bed rest. Because of everyone’s quick actions, the brave dog is recovering rapidly.
“She’s such a tough puppy,” Taylor said. “She was chasing squirrels again two days later.”
Now that she is on the road to recovery, Nellie is ready to move on and find a forever home. To feel comfortable, Nellie requires a more regulated environment, and Taylor will soon relocate to Hawaii to care for her aging parents.
According to Taylor, Nellie has been decompressing and is now realizing how much fun life can be. “She just goes crazy whenever we have guests over at the house. She begins to understand that it’s playing when the dogs arrive. She is no longer so possessive because she has so many toys.”
Taylor will always be grateful to Nellie for her bravery, and she knows that Nellie has a bright future if only someone will give her a chance.
“Everyone immediately assumes that Nellie was defending you,” Taylor said. “And she very well might have since when she’s out for a stroll, she really pays attention to anything or anyone she doesn’t like.”
“It’s incredibly sweet to think that she would do that for me,” she continued.