Her name is Nikki.
Nikki was born April 12, 1995 in Rock Port, Mosouri. Nikki was the most beautiful Shetland Sheepdog you would have ever seen. Poor baby Nikki was in a back closet at a pet store I worked at. There was no room up front and she was in a teeny, tiny cage near the top of the ceiling when I found her. Well, I picked her up and she curled her paws around my shoulders not letting go for dear life. It was love at first sight. So after that, everyday i'd take her out of that cage and sing to her and then I made a very big mistake. I promised her i'd take her home. "UH OH! " How could I do that I thought! We already had 3 dogs at home. NO WAY are mom and dad going to allow a 4th dog! Well, I had to try. I called home and told them about Nikki. I knew dad had a soft spot for Collies and Shelties so I tried to play on that. Well, low behold was I shocked! They said yes! "What a great friend for Slipper" I thought. Well, that afternoon, Nikki came home with us. I remember being outside trying to think of a name. I was reading off name after name and once I saw it I just thought it fit her great. Nikki it is! Well, again when Mark and I got married we adopted Nikki with Slipper and they came home with us. Over the years, I recieved many offers from people who wanted to take her. Especially when I was moving to Texas. As Slipper was my guinea pig for grooming, Nikki was my guinea pig for training. I used to teach dog obedience classes and Nikki was my demo dog. I also learned all about agility and even competed a few times with Nikki. I made alot of mistakes with her but she taught me alot about how to communicate with dogs. She was a Black Tri Sheltie and a little taller than most. Fortunately though she didn't have that heavy undercoat that most Sheltie's have so she was a dream to groom. Like most Shelties however, Nikki was a barker. Common to the breed I know, but it did become a problem. After many trial and errors with nothing working we were at a loss. Well, what was next? I didn't want to give her up but I couldn't get tickets everyday. Well, giving her to somene I didn't know was not an option. No one would treat her as well as I could. Well almost no one. Bill agreed to take Nikki. He had acres and Nikki would be able to play with his pack all day. So, sadly Nikki went to Bill's. Nikki leaving was a hard adjustment. I did see her a few times at her new place but she was my baby. Also, I missed doing agility with her. Well, during that year I tried to figure out ways to make Nikki coming back home work. Well, I decided to look into "Debarking". I went to seminars and talked to alot of vets. I did quite a bit of research about it and learned that there was a new way to debark a dog where the doctors go right through the mouth to the throat with no recovery time. Well, I decided this would be great for Nikki. Well, Bill brought Nikki back and the procedure went great. Nikki barked that very day and I held my breath. But she didn't wince or show any signs of pain and she kept on barking. Only now it sounded like she was a few miles away. SUCCESS! Nikki and I continued agility where we left off. Nikki later taught everything she knew to Maple and soon Maple took over where Nikki left off. After we moved to Texas Nikki had no problem making the adjustment. I was worried about the heat having an effect on her black coat. Fortunately she had fun chasing the water hose with her younger sisters and never seemed to mind the heat. Nikki lived for another 3 years. in mid 2007 we found out that Nikki got throat cancer. Soon she had trouble swallowing. I gave her medication to make her feel better. She had her good days and bad days. However, on September 26, 2007 it was time for Nikki to leave. On the 27th, I went and visited her one last time and waited for her ashes. I brought her back home and made a garden for her. Everyday she can still enjoy the sunshine and be with her sisters chasing the water hose. Here are some Pictures of Nikki.
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