Bonnie was a junk yard dog, and she probably would have stayed there if Alex Tomaka didn’t come across her one day on his way to work.

“All of a sudden he heard this blood curdling scream,” says Suleika Bloom, fundraising director for Dallas Pets Alive! “He turned around and saw a beautiful pit bull covered in blood.”

It turned out hooligans had been throwing rocks at Bonnie.

“It`s just heartbreaking that anyone would be willing to abuse a defenseless animal,” says Bloom.

This rocky start turned this pit into a pup who didn’t trust people.

“He just visited her for a whole month, taking her food, taking her water, giving her water,” says Bloom. “Until one day she finally learned to trust him and he was able to take her home.”

But Tomaka couldn’t keep Bonnie permanently, so Dallas Pets Alive! set out to find someone who could.

“I was actually staying in Marina Del Ray on a boat and I was on Facebook and I saw this post about Bonnie,” says Lisa Johnson.

She only planned on being a temporary foster, but things change when the whole family falls in love with a dog.

“She has gotten used to me. She’s gotten used to our kids. She’s gotten used to the other dogs in the house, and we just can`t conceive of making her adapt to another family,” Johnson says.

“Wherever I go she goes. She sleeps with me every night. She`s just my little shadow and she`s had such a tough time in life. There is no reason not for her just to stay with us and we`ll know she has a good life.”