Goodbye, Nikki.

Back in 1996 my mom and I saw a dog listed in the newspaper and decided to go look.  We drove up to the house and come to find out it was the house some of our friends had lived in previously.  Nikki came out and we fell in love and got her right then and there.  She was a year old at the time.

We got her the summer before I went into the 8th grade.  I remember that I had to do a speech in class and I did it about our new dog, Nikki.  My mom even brought her into class as the visual aid for the speech.  She's been with us through a good stretch of the Life Rollercoaster with lots of ups and downs.

Nikki was there riding along with me when I was 16 and learning how to drive stick shift in my mom's truck.  It almost feels like yesterday we were riding around the block and playing Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera.


She's been there for a lot.  In December 2010 things took a turn for the worse.  One day my mom woke up and it seemed Nikki was on her last breath.  My mom's husband, Raymond took her to the vet.  At that time we'd had Nikki for so long and it seemed as if she was miserable it was thought that she would be put down.  My mom tried to prepared for it the whole day, but when Raymond came home he brought Nikki with him.  Shortly after (within a week or so, time mashes together so I'm not sure exactly how long), Raymond had a heart attack and passed away.  It was hard enough to deal with the one death, I can only imagine if Nikki died at the same time.  It was as if she knew she needed to be strong and be there for my mom.

The past couple years Nikki has been a little senile, and would bark and growl when I would visit sometimes.  It was if she had doggy Alzheimer's or something.  

Last night on our way back home from Jacksonville we stopped by my mom's house.  Nikki wasn't doing good.  My mom thinks she had a stroke because her whole back half was paralyzed.  There were times it was hard to tell if she was breathing or not.  When we talked to her she would lift her head with all the strength she could muster.  I think it was her way to say goodbye and tell us it was time.  It was her last goodbye and her being strong for us yet again.

Today was the end of her journey.  She will be greatly missed.  We've had her so long, she's my mom's furry daughter and my furry sister.

Dear Nikki,
You've left us today, and I hope your pain and misery is no more.  You've been there with us in good and rough times.  I hope you know you will always be loved and in our hearts.

Goodbye, Nikki.