After A Tragic Loss, Dog Ends Up In New Jersey Shelter, Wondering If She’ll Ever Be Loved Again

Rena had spent too much of her life waiting. First, she waited on the streets of D.C., hoping for kindness, scraps, and a safe place to rest.

Then, for a while, she thought she had found her forever home, until it slipped away. The person who had adopted passed away, and their family tried to step in, but circumstances wouldn’t allow it.

So, Rena was taken back to a shelter, waiting once again. She was overlooked, passed by, unnoticed in the crowd.

Eventually, she was sent to New Jersey, hoping for a fresh start. But still, no one picked her. That is, until Nicole walked through the door.

Nicole wasn’t looking to adopt that day. She was still grieving Trixie, their beloved dog who had passed, and had only come to drop off donations at the shelter where she had found her years before.

But as Nicole walked through the rows of barking dogs, Rena stood out, not because she was loud, but because she was silent.

She sat quietly, her eyes filled with longing. The way she looked up at her reminded Nicole so much of Trixie that her heart ached.

It felt like something more than coincidence, as Nicole shared in a YouTube video:

“Rena was the only dog that wasn’t barking… She was just sitting there looking for someone to come pet her. Trixie was also the only dog in the shelter who was not barking. So that really spoke to me.”

A week later, Nicole couldn’t get Rena out of her mind. She signed up for a shelter field trip, a program that allowed dogs to spend a few hours outside their cages.

The moment Rena stepped into Nicole’s apartment, it was like she had always belonged there. She jumped onto the couch and showered Nicole’s boyfriend with kisses.

She wasn’t shy. She wasn’t hesitant. She was just… home. By the end of the day, Nicole and her boyfriend knew they couldn’t let her go.

Adjusting to life together wasn’t without its surprises. Rena was nothing like the senior dogs they had cared for before.

She was playful, energetic, and full of mischief. And those soft, floppy ears that bounced with every step were impossible not to adore.

Nicole’s friends called her a “chocolate cow” because of her coat, and honestly, it fit.

There were little signs, too, things that made Nicole feel like Trixie had a paw in bringing Reena to them, as she shared:

“She loves the same toys that Trixie loved… Trixie had specific spots outside that she always gravitated towards, and sometimes I’ll catch Reena near those spots just sniffing around so it’s almost like did she feel that Trixie was there at one point.”

There were so many things that made Reena special, like her intuition. She just knew when someone needed her and was always ready to offer comfort in her own sweet way.

One time, Nicole’s mother had a particularly hard day, and Rena walked right up to her, curled up beside her, and stayed there.

It was something you just can’t teach a dog: pure, instinctive, and full of love.

For the first few months, Rena barely made a sound. But now that she feels truly at home, her voice has emerged.

And when she wants attention, she lets out the gentlest little woof, as Nicole explained:

“If we’re not giving her enough attention, she’ll do like a little whisper bark like a soft bark like, ‘Hey, you need to play with me.’”

Nicole doesn’t believe in coincidences. Trixie’s name meant “joy,” and when she looked up the meaning of Rena’s name, she felt chills. It meant joy too.

Maybe Reena wasn’t just a new chapter. Maybe she was a little piece of Trixie’s love still lingering in Nicole’s life.

However she got there, one thing is for sure: she is exactly where she was meant to be.