 A study in light and fluff. |
 Oh boy! Snow!. |
 The snow was light in Jan, but we dug her a habitrail in deference to her age. |
 Nikki in her natural element. |
 Nice deep snow to be a snowdog in! |
 Gonna have to wash the salt off her feet after this walk. |
 Apparently someone very interesting peed here. |
 What's that coming down the street? |
 The best damn doggie mommy in New Jersey, and one happy sammy! |
 Easier to walk after the plows went thru. |
 I like the snow! I don't wanna go in!. |
 Undignified sleeping position 1: Saggy jowls. |
 Undignified sleeping position 2: But at least she's happy. |
 Undignified sleeping position 3: the rotated pelvis position. |
 Undignified sleeping position 4: Gate extrusions. |
 Undignified sleeping position 5: Loss of tongue control. |
 Undignified sleeping position 6: Hiding under the table. |
 Undignified sleeping position 7: Establishing shot. |
 Undignified sleeping position 7: Close-up.(She's hit that switch accidentally and turned on the display cabinet lights many times) |
 To help her get up with her weakening legs, we put rugs in her favorite spots. Like a dope, she pushed them aside! |
 Rather defiantly! |
 When we put out the porch furniture in May, she claimed her favorite chaise. She needed help getting up, but is that a happy face or what?. |
 Dignified pose 1: This is my spot. |
 Dignified pose 2: The serious look. |
 Dignified pose 3: Happy on the rug. |
 Dignified pose 4: Waiting for something fun to happen. |
 Dignified pose 5: Her kitchen spot. The matt is to give her traction to get up. |
 Dignified pose 6: Basking. |
 CHOMP! Got it!. |
 It's in the corner. You get it for me! |
 Mary's sister visited in June. Nikki liked the nest we made for her (especially the new rug) and moved in. |
 This rock? This rock is FASCINATING! Apparently. |
 Playing with the arty apps on my new phone camera. |
 Sketch app doggie. |
 Nikki Worhol. |
 Every evening after dinner in the summer... |
 ...we sat on the front porch... |
 ...while Nikki watched the cars and people go by. |
 Wide. |
 Medium. |
 Closeup - oooh, another dog just walked by! |
 Next to walkies, porch sittin' may have been her favorite thing. |
 Loving an August evening. |
 "Are you taking my picture again?" |
 "Maybe if I just ignore him." |
 "Got food?" |
 "How 'bout if I look really cute?" |
 Another of her favorite things was to stomp thru dry autumn leaves and see what smells came out. |
 "Again with the camera? I'm trying to smell, here!" |
| On the morning of December 4, right after her normal morning walk, Nikki suddenly started acting oddly, with pain when we touched her tummy. We dropped her off her at the vet for tests. X-rays showed severe internal bleeding from her spleen, probably from a tumor we hadn't known about that suddenly ruptured. There was nothing that could be done at her age. They gave her pain killers and a sedative while waiting for us to come say goodbye, but she passed away at the vet's that afternoon, in her sleep, before we could get there. We didn't get to say good bye. But, at least, the last thing she did was her favorite thing - a walk with her mommy on a nice cool morning. | ||||||
 Good bye, our little girl... |
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