15 Short Days of Nikki Love

Our first 24 hours with Nikki were rough. We were still mourning Shadow. We were trying to figure out Nikki and what she likes and how to adapt her into our life. We also ended up having a miscarriage during that time as well. When we were at the ER, we got an email from housing saying that there was a loose black dog, and it had a picture. We couldn't tell if it was Nikki, and couldn't go check to see. So one of our friends who had met Nikki already went to check, and bring her back home. It turns out she jumped straight through the window screen. Yikes!

I took the next week off, since I was on bedrest and needed to recover. Nikki and I spent quite a lot of time together cuddling on the couch, one of her most favorite things to do. Stephen also took her on some nice long runs every day. He was very excited to have a running partner!

I left that weekend to go spend time with my family up in Oregon. It was my grandma's 80th birthday and my Dad's anniversary. It was really nice to spend time with family and emotionally process everything that had gone on. Stephen kept giving me updates on Nikki. She was much more mopey ever since I left. The only thing that helped was spending time with London and going on runs.

I got home super late Sunday night, and didn't have work Monday. We went out to the lake and had lunch. Nikki was fine walking in the freezing cold water, but we didn't want to swim or get her more wet than she was comfortable with. It was during this time, we found this hole on her head! It went all the way down, through all the layers of skin! It was bleeding and oozing; it was so gross! We immediately took her to the vet and got some medicine for her, no stitches required!

The next week, Stephen was off work, but I was back at work. Each day when I'd leave, she would hurdle the couch trying to get out the door with me! And each day when I'd come back home, she was always so excited for me to come back.

Then, this last Friday, Jan 24th. I got home early, and Stephen wasn't home. I always have mini freak outs/panic attacks/anxiety when things aren't how they are supposed to be, and it usually is for a good reason. A couple minutes later, Stephen comes home....without Nikki. They were out behind housing in the mesquite and she ran away (1 month ago exactly, this was Shadow). We went out there and searched all over, for about 6 hours looking for her.

Saturday, we went back out there as soon as we woke up, and brought some friends to help us look. We looked and looked, did "FOD walks" and sweeps of the area, walked up and down every street on base trying to see if she was in someone's yard, etc. We all got so torn up from the cactus and thorns and everything else.

We eventually found her, about 5:30 Saturday night. She was down by a gully and tangled up in the trees. It looks like she fell and broke her neck. I was the one who found her. I was so devastated! I had searched that exact spot, following a game trail just that morning. We think she had found my scent and was trying to follow we back home. We had a burial for her, next to Shadow.