On a cool, late spring day in May, 2001, Scott and I drove 370 miles from our home in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to the town of Haysville, Kansas, over 5 hours away. We were on a mission for our housemate, Pam, who had just two months earlier lost her White German Shepherd Dog, Savannah. She had picked out a new puppy, one in a shelter in Enid, Oklahoma. On this spring Saturday, we were meeting a rescue driver who was bringing the new puppy to us. With us, to help us keep the puppy company was Savannah’s brother, Travis (also a White German Shepherd Dog).
We arrived in the parking lot of a gas station, across the street from a Sonic Drive-In a little after Noon, and the lady with this little bundle of fur was already waiting for us. “Nikki”, as she would soon be named, fit in my two cupped hands. Soon, we said goodbye to the lady who had brought Nikki to us, loaded up Nikki and Travis and were en route to Council Bluffs with this new little doll.
Pam didn’t like cameras. She claimed ancestry from Native Americans (I don’t know if it was true or not) and said she believed that taking a photo of someone, human or animal, stole their spirit. So we don’t have any pictures of Nikki as a puppy, only later on in life.
Pam was angry that she hadn’t been able to go with us. She’d had a migraine that day. And as a result we had nearly 6 hours of bonding time with HER dog… time that she didn’t get. Her response was to take Nikki into her bedroom, and not let us see or interact with her again for three long months. And then, Pam died. And that’s when Nikki, a very timid, shy little girl came into our lives as our dog. For the next 12 years, we couldn’t have visitors without Nikki going crazy, hiding behind me, and barking loudly – non-stop. She was afraid of everyone who ever came to the house, only at peace with Scott and I.
Nikki and I developed a deep bond. She helped me, to a degree, take care of Travis during his post-ictal phases, though she ran and hid during the seizures themselves.
By the time she was 8, we knew she had eye problems. But our vet wasn’t too helpful with suggestions. If I knew then what I knew now, maybe we could have stopped the deterioration of her eyes. By the time we left Council Bluffs in June 2013, she was blind in one eye, and the other was dimming. But that move had the positive impact of pulling her out of her shell. She learned that she adored other people, especially older, white haired ladies! Her timidity lessened.
By 2015, Nikki seemed totally blind, running into walls and parked cars if I wasn’t careful. Every now and then she’d spy a cat 2 blocks away, so we knew she had SOME vision. But, now, in August, even that is gone.
Last summer, on August 15, 2014, the vet told us Nikki had a tumor, or a growth “About THIS big” holding her hands apart indicating a mass the size of a head of cabbage or small melon. “I think you have about two months with her.”
We brought her home, and proceeded to love her. Those months flew by, with me watching for any sign of pain or distress. In February, she became confused. The tumor had pushed into her lung, though not penetrating it. We put her on lasix and prednisone. It helped, her confusion dissipated. “Two months,” we were told.
Because of where the tumor is located, she’s begun losing her gorgeous coat. Fur drops off her in big handfuls. But she is my little princess. She always has been, and I suspect always will be. I love her dearly. Even losing her hair.
In July, the vet said in a tiny voice “it’s growing. It won’t be long.”
On Saturday, August 22, 2015, Nikki began having trouble walking. She fell jumping onto her chair. I had to carry her out to go potty. We knew time was speeding by, as her time was quickly diminishing. But the next morning, she showed some improvements. She rallied, and lived through the whole week.
Our friends Tony and David arrived Friday, August 28. We had a marvelous weekend, but Sunday night, Nikki was again walking slowly.
This morning, Nikki did not get up. It was apparent that she was bleeding internally. At 9:29 on August 31, 2015, as I held her cradled in my arms, Nikki, my sweet Little Princess, departed for The Rainbow Bridge.
Fair thee well, little princess…
On The Road II 