In Loving Memory of Nikki - A Once in a Lifetime Doggie Companion

One of my last photos of Nikki

Yesterday Nikki, my 10 1/2 year old Lab/Chow beloved canine companion passed away. For the last 2 1/2 years she'd been fighting canine diabetes, which required insulin injections twice a day just to keep her alive. Almost overnight she went from 67 lbs to 36 lbs, as the diabetes ate away almost all of her muscles until she looked like a furry bag of bones. Then she developed cataracts and at the last was totally blind. But none of this stopped Nikki. She thought such was the life of all dogs and she maintained a sweet doggie smile and the rotary wag of her tail until the last few hours of her life. At the end she had numerous complications from her diabetes, including failing kidneys and in her last hours she had uncontrollable grand mal seizures. She passed away with me at her side. Nik and I had been inseparable for ten joyous years.

I'm not handling this loss very well, so I'll wait and write more later. In the meantime, you can read more about Nikki in previous posts: "Nikki and the Thunder Monsters," "The Ordeal of Bathing Dogs" and "A Story About Dogs - Parts 1-4." Let me tell you, it's very difficult to lose a very best friend.