At 6:40 in the evening, the call came in. A nine-year-old girl named Emma had wandered off a mountain trail while her family packed up their picnic. The sun was going down. The temperature was dropping. And somewhere out there in thousands of acres of pine and rock, a little girl was alone.

Twenty minutes later, a truck pulled into the trailhead. Out jumped Nova.

THE BEST NOSE IN THE COUNTY

Nova is a five-year-old Belgian Malinois and a certified search and rescue K9. Her handler, Deputy Sarah Collins, has trained with her every single day since Nova was a puppy. Sarah held out Emma's sweatshirt from the family car. Nova breathed it in once, deeply. Then she put her nose to the ground and went to work.

ALL NIGHT LONG

Up the trail. Off the trail. Across a creek. Over loose rock and fallen trees. The flashlights bounced through the dark, but Nova did not need light. She needed the wind. Hour after hour, she worked the mountain, never slowing down, never giving up, her whole body locked onto one scent.

At 4:15 in the morning, Nova stopped. Her ears went up. She barked twice, sharp and loud.

Tucked beneath a rock ledge, cold and scared but safe, was Emma.

THE HERO NEVER COMPLAINS

At sunrise, back at the trailhead, Emma's parents could not stop crying and hugging their daughter. Nova lay down quietly by the truck. That was when Sarah saw it. Nova's paw pads were raw and scraped from hours on sharp rock. A fresh scratch ran along her front leg. Nova had not limped once. Working dogs almost never do.

Sarah opened the K9 kit and grabbed AniSport Companion Gentle Wound Spray. No rubbing, no pressure on pads that had already given everything. Point. Spray. Done. Nova rested her head on Sarah's boot and finally closed her eyes.

THE INGREDIENT SPOTLIGHT: APPLE CIDER VINEGAR WITH THE MOTHER

Apple cider vinegar with the mother is raw, unfiltered, and full of the cloudy strands that make it the real deal. It has been a trusted farmhouse staple for generations. Inside AniSport Spray, concentrated and precisely balanced with seven other all-natural ingredients, it supports an acidic surface environment for working dogs in the toughest conditions.

• Frankincense oil
• Helichrysum oil
• Vitamin E oil
• Peppermint oil
• Bergamot oil
• Coconut oil
• Apple cider vinegar with the mother
• Lavender oil

See the full AniSport Spray ingredient breakdown.

AniSport is made for dogs and K9s only. Always check with your vet first, and call right away for bites, punctures, deep cuts, or anything serious.

THE K9 FIELD KIT

• For scrapes and raw pads in the field: AniSport Companion Gentle Wound Spray.
• For recovery back at the station: AniSport Companion Gentle Wound Balm.
• For the handler who took a few falls too: NutriCore Vital Recovery Spray.

THE THANK YOU

A week later, a hand-drawn card arrived at the sheriff's office. It showed a brown dog with pointy ears, a big yellow sun, and a little girl holding her hand. In crooked crayon letters it said: THANK YOU NOVA. YOU ARE MY HERO.

Sarah pinned it to the wall above Nova's kennel. Nova did not read it. She was already asleep, dreaming of the next search.

To every K9 and every handler who answers the call, thank you. Care for the partner who never stops at zombiesportco.com.

Follow the Monster movement on Instagram.

Watch Team Monster stories, product videos, founder stories, and more on YouTube.