A “cavalier” reunion

Bosnian rescues Tanzie, Rex, and Bella had quite a meet-up at the University of Virginia (UVA) in October, 2022, after their mommies realized their connection extended beyond their love of dogs and link to Bosnia, but also to UVA!

Nevena, mom to Rex (rescued in 2018 from Mostar), and Jelena, new mom to Bella (rescued in 2022, also from Mostar) are not just sisters - they’re identical twins! And, not only are they originally from Mostar just like their fur-babies, they are both Virginia “Cavaliers” - graduating from UVA (class of ‘02), just like Tanzie’s mom (class of ‘08)!

Jelena and Nevena have quite an amazing story of their family’s relocation to Richmond, Virginia, during the Bosnian war, and their time at UVA together (with their older sister there also attending during the same time!). To celebrate their journey and reflect on their time at UVA, the twins make an annual fall trip to visit the grounds.

Even though Katie and Nevena have known each other since Rex’s 2018 rescue, they never realized their UVA connection until this fall during normal “pupdate” chats with Jelena about Rex and Bella. After the discovery, Tanzie immediately requested to crash the sisters’ annual UVA reunion “pawty.”

Thanks to the serendipitous interconnectedness of different life paths spanning decades, three former Bosnian street dogs and their moms (two of which also hail from the same Bosnian city as their pets) gathered for playtime and photos in front of the iconic UVA Rotunda, united by complete chance (and furry paws)!