Her Austin Pets Alive! shelter pals were overjoyed when Alva first got a home because they believed she had found her happily ever after.

Alva has cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological disorder. Mobility problems are brought about by this illness, which damages the area of the brain in charge of movement.

Once she was at her forever home, Alva didn’t go outside enough. Her behaviour started to alter since she was not exposed to new people and circumstances. Fearful and defensive, the dog attempted to bite the newcomers to her family.

That’s the reason Alva’s family turned her in to the shelter once more. The dog would not have an easy time finding a forever home, and the shelter personnel was rather upset.

Dog Lying with a Toy Kept Getting Overlooked by Alva
Karen Hardwick, cited in The Dodo
Why she had found herself at the shelter out of the blue baffled Alva. Why her parents were not coming for her and where were they?

The personnel at the shelter began training and assisting Alva. Hugely loving her, they prayed that someone would give her a second shot.

Although Alva made a lot of progress with her mobility and behavior, she kept getting overlooked by possible pet parents. They wouldn’t hang around and get to know her.

After spending 500 days at the shelter, Alva stopped believing that she would ever find a forever family.

Man seated on a chair close to kennel, falling in love with Alva and her fighting spirit
Citation: Austin Pets Alive! via PEOPLE
Everything changed when Joe Rotunda happened to stumble into Alva’s tale while perusing Instagram. The moment he saw her photo and her videos, he fell in love.

Shining was she. She had this almost tangible will. I saw all these videos of Alva running, playing, and falling down. And she got herself up every time she fell. Every time a problem arose, she conquered it rather than navigating it. And I was very inspired,” Rotunda told PEOPLE.

He went straight to the Austin, Texas, shelter. Alva’s shelter friends told him about Alva’s health condition and her anxiety. He didn’t mind and he couldn’t wait to meet her.

When Rotunda met Alva for the first time, she was very cautious with him. Since he was a stranger to her, she became anxious and she snapped at him.

Rotunda didn’t let that discourage him because he saw how loving Alva was towards her shelter friends. Rotunda was determined to do anything to win Alva’s trust and love.

He visited her every day. The more time he spent talking to her, the more he fell in love.

Rotunda Promises Not To Give Up On Her

“I just looked at her and said, ‘I bet everyone has given up on you. I’m not going to do that to you,’” Rotunda told Austin Pets Alive!.

He worked with the rescue’s training staff who helped him win the pup’s trust.

Alva noticed how much Rotunda cared for her. The pup started looking forward to seeing him every day. Rotunda was overjoyed when Alva started approaching him. She wanted to spend more time with him.

Rotunda decided to take Alva for a sleepover in his home in Austin, Texas.

He blocked off a large area of his living room in his home. He added many kennels so that Alva could relax whenever she wanted to. He covered hard edges of surfaces so that Alva could move around safely.

Alva’s Perfect Forever Home

After Rotunda made his house Alva-friendly, he took the pup home. Alva felt like she had finally found her forever home. She was happy and carefree.

As soon as she saw Rotunda the next morning, she started wagging her tail, and Rotunda knew that Alva was ready to move in.

The sweet doggo brought so much joy to his home. She only needed someone to give her a chance, and Rotunda was glad that he believed in her from the start.

Alva quickly bonded with Max, her doggy sibling. The two siblings became best friends and they love napping together.

Rotunda’s love for Alva melted her anxiety and her fears, which were holding her down. She adores her dad and showers him with kisses.

She is a new dog now. She loves her new life and can’t stop smiling.