Adventures with Niki

It's ironic that her name is Niki. I'm sure you all remember my little Niki who passed away a couple of years ago. On New Years Eve, I came home to find this little thing wondering around our neighborhood:


I had seen her wondering around the night before too, and didn't know who she belonged to or how long she had been lost. She had no collar, and appeared pretty skittish and skinny. Well, you know I'm a sucker for animals in need! I joined with the neighborhood kids (who were also sensing her distress) and coaxed her into my house. Jeff wasn't home yet...hee hee. She eventually warmed up to me and became quite the lap dog! It was a pain trying to keep her off our furniture. We both agreed she would have to have a bath if she was going to stay with us till we could find her owners...

She took it like a pro!! She turned out to be a very well mannered dog, but it was so inconvenient having her in the house. Jeff and I realized that we don't have the lifestyle that can take care of an indoor dog. I wanted to keep her for a week or so to try and fatten her up a little, but we ended up finding her owners pretty quickly. When I found out who her owners were - I was not happy. I have actually called animal control on them in the past for what appeared to be animal neglect. They had another dog who would always wonder around our neighborhood and you could see her bones she was so skinny. Really sad. Needless to say, it was very hard to give her back. It really made me question if I should or not - knowing they don't take very good care of their animals. :( But I did and haven't seen her since so at least I know she's staying nice and warm inside with her owners. She was a Christmas present for their kids...they got her from the shelter b/c she had been neglected. So, I'm hoping she's on her way to a good recovery!

I guess her previous owner was a male who looked just like Jeff because she absolutely LOVED Jeff!! It was hilarious to see her interact with him. She was at his feet all the time - followed him everywhere and go so excited when he walked in the door. It was really sweet.