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Memories of Niko
by Cheryl Buss
Memories of Niko
On the evening of January 6, 2005, my beloved best friend and dog companion took her last breath. It was an unexpected and very sudden death. Niko and I had just returned from our evening walk. She decided she needed to rest so she went into the living room to lie on her bed and I went downstairs to start laundry and take a shower. After showering, I came upstairs to make a sandwich. I sat down in front of the TV (Niko was resting close to me on her bed) to eat my sandwich and my cell phone rang. It was my friend Lisa. The time was 9:23 pm. We talked for a bit, as I ate, and just as I had finished my sandwich, Niko got up. I assumed that she probably wanted to go outside. I tried to let her out often as she had urinary incontinence. I never really paid much attention to see what she did when I let her out as I was still on the phone. Im not sure if she made her way to the backyard or if she stood at the door. I dont even remember if she barked to come back in or if I just checked to see if she was there. When I opened the door to let her in, she just stood there staring at me. She didn't move. I thought she was being cautious as there was snow and ice on the ground. I encouraged her to come inside, as it was cold out, and she took a step up and made her way inside and onto the landing. Again, Niko stood motionless. I knew something wasnt right. The look on her face told me so. I remember telling my friend that something was wrong with Niko and that I would have to call her back. I touched Nikos hind legs cautiously, as I thought that perhaps she might have slipped and broke her hip or leg. She was silent as I touched her. Everything that happened after this is somewhat of a blur. I started to panic wondering how I was going to get her to the emergency vet for help. There was no way that I could lift her, as she weighed about 73 pounds. While still standing motionless, Niko started to make high pitched squealing noises. I didn't want to touch her as I thought that she was in pain. I stepped up into the kitchen and went quickly over to the refrigerator where I kept the emergency vet phone number. I attempted several times to dial the number before getting it right. It wasnt long before Niko had dropped to the floor. She lay on her stomach with the pads of her back paws facing up. Her front legs were wide apart. I had never seen her lay like this before. She tucked her head between her front paws, like she did when I would ask her if she wanted a doggy massage, and she started to groan and whimper. I felt helpless, as I did not know what was going on or how to comfort her. I explained to the girl on the phone what was going on and I asked her if someone could come to my house and help. She told me that they did not have the staff to be able to do this. Within a matter of minutes, or maybe even seconds, Niko removed her head from between her legs, turned it to the left, and took her last breath. I told the girl on the phone that I think my dog just died. I set the phone down and cried. The time was now 9:40 pm. My best friend and dog companion had just passed away.
I immediately called my neighbor Marion, my friend Lisa, and my mom. It took three of us to carry Niko. We placed her inside Marions van and drove to the vet emergency clinic, just a few miles away. At the clinic, they made a molding of Nikos left paw for me. Today, it sits on a bookcase in my home office. Several of Nikos best pictures surround it.
I had Niko privately cremated and was able to pick up her ashes on the afternoon of January 15. I placed the small cardboard box in the back seat of my car and together we drove to the Detroit Michigan Humane Society to donate all of her food and treats. I decided to open the box on the evening of January 22. I had found a nice red photo box at Target that day and thought it would be perfect to place my beloved friend. When I opened the box, I found a card with The Rainbow Bridge poem. I had never heard of The Rainbow Bridge before. Underneath the card, was a beautiful navy velvet pouch with the words "Until We Meet Again at the Rainbow Bridge" embroidered in gold. Later that evening, I did a search and this is how I came across the Rainbows Bridge website.
The morning after Niko passed, I spoke to Dr. Hibbard at Southpointe Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Hibbard told me that it is rare for a dog to die as quickly as Niko did and when they do you have to suspect heart. This made sense to me. Niko was probably experiencing an arrhythmia as she stood motionless. Heart disease (Cardiomyopathy) is very common in Dobermans and unfortunately sudden death can be the first and only symptom. Cardiomyopathy can occur in the Doberman at any age, young or old.
I had taken the day off work when Niko passed and was glad that I did so that I was able to spend time with her. We ate breakfast together (peanut butter on whole wheat toast with turkey sausage links) after shoveling snow that morning. While outside shoveling snow, she wanted to chase two squirrels, but I didnt let her due to her arthritis, and she even went up on my neighbors front porch hoping that either Bill or Billy would see her and offer her a treat. Niko loved to look out the living room window and this is what she did for much of the afternoon while I kept busy doing household chores. She ate dinner as usual and was very alert and energetic as she always was. It was an ordinary day.
I adopted Niko from the Taylor Animal Group a little over eight years ago. She was abused. At that time, she was approximately four years old. I am fortunate to have had her for as long as I did, considering the average age for a large breed dog is 10 years. As far as I could tell, Niko's hearing and vision were good and she could walk up to 4 miles, depending on the weather conditions, without any problem. Niko had a large vocabulary. She knew a lot of words including mama, walk, ride, go, baby, eat, cheeseburger, park, hungry, breakfast, bone, bath, mouse, bug, next door, PetsMart, paw check, squirrel, bunny, big brown truck (UPS), and Paula (our mail lady). I could go on and on. She loved to ride in the car, go to PetsMart, take long walks, play with her babies, and look out the living room window. She always had lots of stuffed toys to play with including a rabbit, squirrel, Rotweiller, Scubby Doo and skunk. Pretty much every time Niko went outside, one of her babies went with her. Many times, when I would come home from work, Niko would greet me at the back door with a baby in her mouth. She'd have her head down and her tail would be wagging like crazy.
I am glad that I was able to take Niko for one last walk and that I was at home with her when she passed. I often told Niko that she was my best buddy ever and recently told her that I did not know what I was going to do without her someday. Most evenings, before I would go up to bed, I would whisper I love you Niko in her ear.
Throughout the years, Niko had continued to maintain her spunk and she was always a very alert and protective dog. It was just this past year that she didnt climb up the stairs to the second floor to wake me when she wanted to go out in the middle of the night. Instead, she would stand at the bottom of the stairs and let out a bark. Dr. Hibbard said that this was because of her arthritis and that it was not as easy for a dog with arthritis to climb up stairs as it was for them to go down them.
Our last visit to PetsMart was on December 28, 2004. They had pet photos that evening and so I had Nikos pictures taken. They were ready to view on January 19, the day after my 37th birthday. The pictures turned out very nice. Picture taking, while trying to get comfortably posed on top of a small box, was not her favorite thing to do. Niko never liked to be up high on anything, not even the bed. And thank goodness for that, as she sure did shed a lot. On our way home from PetsMart that evening, Niko held the milkbone, that the checkout girl gave to her, in her mouth sideways, with her head held high out the car window, and her ears flapping in the wind. This had to have been one of the funniest things I have ever seen her do.
I guess you could say that I am in complete shock as Nikos death was so very sudden and completely unexpected. I assumed that she would become sick one day and that I would have to make the decision to put her down. I remember praying a long time ago to please let Niko die at home. God had answered my prayer. I have sort of been preparing myself for this day, if this is at all possible. I took pictures of Niko in front of the Christmas tree this past holiday and told her that I was doing so because this may be her last Christmas with me. I also started to arrange pictures, taken over the years, into photo albums and into picture frames. All I ever wanted was to give Niko the best life possible. I took very good care of her and exercised her as much as I possibly could. We walked most days of the week and many times, we walked every day. I was told by others that Niko was the luckiest dog in the world because she had me as her owner.
Although I miss Niko dearly, I am at peace with her passing because I know that I gave her the best life possible and boy was she ever so thankful. Niko was a true dog companion and best friend. She was the absolute love of my life.
On the afternoon of Saturday, January 29, 2004, Niko came to me in a dream. I was aware that she had passed, but in my dream, she was alive. I called my neighbor Marion over as a witness because I knew that no one would ever believe me. When I awoke from my dream, I was sad to find myself alone. Later that evening, I shared this dream with my friend Gail. She told me that Niko came to visit me to let me know that she was okay. I believe this to be true. On the shower wall in my basement appears a small rainbow. I remember seeing this rainbow before and thought that it was neat however it never held much meaning to me until the day my furry friend came back to visit.
I will adopt another Doberman someday but for now I am taking a break from pet ownership. I plan to volunteer my time in an effort to help other animals with the hope of providing them with a better life.
Comments would be appreciated by the
author, Cheryl Bus
321-784-1468 Tech Support
