From Padlock to Paradise: Ziva’s Journey to Love
When Houston police officers discovered an 8-month-old pit bull puppy with a padlock fastened cruelly around her neck, the sight left them heartbroken. The young dog, later named Ziva, was barely clinging to life. She weighed only eight pounds — half of what she should have — and her tiny body was ravaged by neglect.
Her fur was almost entirely gone, her skin raw and infected, her paws split open, and her nails grotesquely overgrown. The padlock had burned her neck, leaving painful sores, and a thick yellow crust encircled her eyes from untreated mange. Ziva was the picture of suffering — but also survival.
Rescuers from A Chance To Bloom, a Houston-based dog rescue, rushed her to their veterinarian. For three weeks, Ziva was hospitalized, receiving antibiotics, IV fluids, medicated baths, and a careful diet to help her fragile body regain strength. Slowly, the timid puppy who once avoided eye contact began to trust the hands that fed and comforted her.
Among those hands were those of Stephanie Williams, a vet tech who fell in love with Ziva during her treatments. Stephanie opened her home as Ziva’s foster, helping her blossom. Fur began to sprout where infection had stolen it, pounds filled out her frail frame, and Ziva discovered the joy of being loved.
Unfortunately, Stephanie’s landlord didn’t allow pit bulls, and she knew she couldn’t be Ziva’s forever home. But fate had other plans.
In Fort Worth, Texas, optometrist Cassie Rogers had been following Ziva’s story from the start. She donated to her care and reached out to the rescue, hoping she might be the one to give Ziva her second chance. After interviews and a virtual home check, the adoption was approved.
When Cassie finally met Ziva in person, it was love at first sight. “She just stuck to her side,” said Barbara Zuluaga, board member of A Chance To Bloom. “We call them Velcro dogs — and Ziva is one.”
Cassie renamed her Roxy, and the once-broken puppy now enjoys a life most dogs only dream of. She has fur siblings to play with, a mom who adores her, and endless adventures ahead — from beach trips to traveling with her family.
Today, Roxy is thriving, her past scars hidden beneath a shiny coat and a joyful spirit. What was once a story of cruelty has transformed into one of healing, love, and new beginnings — proof of just how powerful a second chance can be.