It took me a week before I was able to do this post...
Last Thursday at 3pm we had to put our 15+-year-old cocker spaniel, Nikki, to sleep. Needless to say, it was an incredibly emotional day.
It wasn't a shock to us as she was 15 years old, had severe cataracts, & was deaf. This summer she started getting really picky about food. Then she started going to the bathroom in the house fairly regularly so we had to sequester her inside the laundry room, where there is no carpeting. This fall getting her to eat was becoming more and more difficult, I just knew we were going to lose her. I kept hoping she would turn around because it's already been a really bad year for loss in this house & honestly I just didn't want to face losing another furry family member. But last week we noticed her left eye was beginning to ooze mucous & we could clean it off but it would crust back over within half an hour. And then she officially stopped eating completely. I called the veterinarian & tearfully scheduled the appointment for that day. I had finally reached the point where I couldn't watch her suffer anymore.
Kier, McKenna, & Nolan went with me & we spent a good 30 minutes there beforehand just holding her & loving her & sobbing all over her. Then an additional 20 minutes afterward doing more of the same. She was such a sweet little dog & I miss her so much. She was my shadow. Where ever I went inside the house she followed me. When I left the house I was informed by my kids that she would wait by the door for me to come back. She was neurotic & scared of her own shadow but she loved us so much. I think she held on for such a long time because she didn't want to leave us. Such a fighter.
We got Nikki when I was 4 months pregnant with Nolan, CA & I started looking for a small/medium-sized dog we could rescue. I found this incredibly cute chocolate-colored cocker terrier named Hershey & fell in love with his goofy sweet smiley face. But he was bonded to a tri-colored cocker spaniel named Nicolette. The rescue had decided as a result that they were only looking for families that would take both dogs. CA loved Nikki so we decided we'd try to adopt both. The problem was Nikki, it seemed, was extremely shy & hesitant, from being neglected & abused by whoever abandoned her as a very young puppy. And they had tried several different families already but she didn't warm up to any of them. We made the appointment & drove across town to Mesa. When they brought the dogs into the room, Hershey immediately jumped all over the kids & CA & me in excitement. Nikki stood off to the side barking at CA. Turns out she was scared of men mostly but was fine with women & kids. Even though I was almost 6 months pregnant I sat down on the floor & tried talking to her. She slowly tiptoed her way over to me, sniffed me hesitantly & then climbed right into my lap & put her head on my tummy facing me. The rescue people were stunned & were excited to announce we could adopt both puppies. We were ecstatic to bring these incredibly loving little 4-month-old puppies home. Nikki continued to bark at men, including CA but she got better & better at coming up to him once he sat on the floor with her & played & snuggled her. By her 6 month bday she wasn't barking at him at all anymore unless he wore a baseball hat. :) That took a few more months. But she loved all the kids, especially Liam. Once Nolan came she & Hershey would sit on each side of him when he was on his blanket on the floor or in his bouncy seat, guarding him.
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| Kier, Hershey, Nikki |
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| McKenna & Nikki |
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| Liam, Nikki, & Hershey |
In 2011, the day before Kier turned 12 Hershey tried getting through the chainlink fence to follow Kier & me as we drove down the street to go to Tae Kwon Do. On our way home, CA called to tell me to prepare Kier that something was seriously wrong with Hershey, who even though he was the family dog & he loved all of us, loved Kier the most. The next morning I took him to the vet & one x-ray later discovered he had completely broken his spine in half. So had to be put to sleep. We weren't sure how Nikki would handle losing Hershey. It was touch & go for a week. But finally, she started eating again & her love for me rose to new heights with no Hershey around anymore. I became a safe place. Her person. And she became my safe place in return when Liam's health went downhill. She just knew when I needed her for cuddles & love. She was an amazing dog & my heart is completely broken. I take comfort that she & Hershey are together again & that she is pain-free.
I want to say thank you to all who have sent messages, cards, & gifts to help our family with the loss of our wonderful Nikki girl. Thank you so much! The following are pictures of 2 different ornaments memorializing our Nikki; one was made by the veterinary clinic we go to, Richmond Veterinary Clinic in Richmond Illinois. They take very good care of their clients. They made us an imprint of her sweet little paw for us to keep. They also sent us a card with the signatures & notes from everyone who works there. And the other is from the G family. Thank you guys so much for the incredibly sweet & thoughtful gift.
The above videos are just examples of how Nikki would tackle Liam to the ground & just lick him like crazy. She did it all the time. And he loved it! As you can tell by the giggling!
This one is with Nolan. He was 2, almost 3.
Thank you, Nikki, for choosing us to be your family. Thank you for the love you gave us regularly. Thank you for the laughter, fun, support, & loyalty! You will be greatly missed. Run free sweet girl, give Hershey our love.
All our love,
Your crazy family!
P.S. I pray all of you reading this post are blessed with a fur baby who is as good to you as our fur babies have been to us.
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