Nikie's Plight

 Tonight I am beat after a very long day of helping my daughter, Lisa, stock our little boutique in Blowing Rock, NC.  Yes, that's right, we are opening a boutique in the middle of a recession.  After all, what else do I have to do? Besides, I love a challenge!  I am also exhausted from the stress that today has brought.

In the middle of going through a ton of products that were just delivered, my cell phone rang.   I was more than a little distracted and overwhelmed with all those boxes that were just unloaded from that freight truck.

"Hello, Penny, My name is Lisa.  I don't know if you read about the double suicide over in Ash County, but I knew that couple, and it is such a sad thing. They had a dog named Nikie," She had suddenly grabbed my attention away from the task surrounding me.

"No, I guess I hadn't heard that news. That's terrible!" I replied as I walked away from all the commotion.

"It was terrible," she went on.  I guess their house went in to foreclosure, and I just don't know what happened, but they found them dead. They had obviously been dead for some time before they were discovered, and Nikie was outside alone, confused, freezing,  and starving to death."

My heart was broken as she went on to tell me that Nikie, the husky mix, had been taken to Ash County Animal Control.  I knew that the euthanasia rate there was horrible, and that dog would not stand a chance. "Nikie will die there!" I exclaimed, as my husband, daughter, and friends paused from their labor and looked towards me.  They know that my life is totally wrapped in heartache after heartache with all these poor animals.  Harry lives with it everyday. He hears all the phone calls and listens to me day after day telling all the terrible stories.  I think he has learned not to say," So, how was your day?"

My kids, on the other hand, don't quite get it.  I'm mom, and Mimi.  They get annoyed at how this has taken over my life.  They don't have that same passion and compassion because they have not been called to this.  You have to be called to do this.  If your not, it will make you an angry cynic.  You will hate people for their cruel deeds, and you will burn the light within you totally out.  You will not be able to help anyone or anything.  Believe me, I have seen it over and over.  I can't believe how many times I have heard rescuers tell me how they hate people.  "I love the dogs, but I just hate people," they tell me.  Well, without good people this world is doomed, so I choose to look for the good in those I meet.  Yes, we meet terrible people in this work; we see horrible cruelty,  and I can see why so many rescuers say the things they do, but it is totally unproductive... it is dangerous.

"We have to get the dog out of Ash County," I told the lady on the phone.

"I know, they said they are going to put him down today or tomorrow, but I have nowhere to put him, " she said.  I could tell that she was very upset, and she was looking for just one person to say they would help her save this dog.

"He's so thin and weak," she continued. "He's about 10 years old, and I think he's blind!  He can't stay there."

"Can you get him out of there today?"I asked.

"I don't know if they'll let me take him. " she said.

"Call my friend Jackie, and tell her this story, and tell her we need her to help us get the dog to the vet. I'm tied up here right now, but Jackie will help us," I said feeling pretty confident that Jackie would jump in.

" Please call animal control ASAP, and tell them that Friends For Life wants to get Nikie to the emergency vet today.  We will take responsibility for the dog."  Can you call them now?  Just tell them you are coming to get him." I said feeling a knot form in my stomach. "That dog will die there if we don't get him out of there today!" I warned.

  I hung up, and my whole afternoon went south.  That poor dog!  He had lived with his family all his life.  He knew that they were dead in that house for days, and he had no one to help them, and certainly no one to rescue him.  He's old, starving, blind, and so alone.  It just isn't fair that he should have to die at animal control after all this. It's just nor fair!

She called back shortly, and she informed me that she was going to get Nikie and get him to the vet. I breathed a sigh of relief.  I was happy the Jackie had stepped in and made arrangements, so I could get a few more things done before I met Nikie at the vet.

Harry and I had some things to buy for the shop, and we stopped for gas on the way to Lowes. I was on my cell phone as usual, trying desperately to get someone to commit to foster this dog once he was well enough to leave the vet.  I heard Harry talking to someone while he was pumping gas, but my mind was on Nikie.  Next thing I knew, I heard a knock on my window.  It was Dave Thompson, one of my favorite vets. I hadn't seen him for months.  He had sold his clinic and retired.  We lost a great vet when he retired.

"I'm so happy to see you!" I exclaimed.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"Well, I'm trying to get help for a dog.  Maybe you can help, Dave."

  I told him the whole pathetic story, and I knew that it had touched his heart.  He told me he was going over to the clinic, and he would ask the vets if Nikie could stay there if we needed a place for him. I knew that this was one of those God events.  I suddenly felt that somehow this dog would be cared for one way or another. I also asked Dave if he might be interested in getting involved a bit with Friends For Life now that he was retired.  He said he thought he could help out somehow.  Suddenly my spirits were perking up.

Harry and I met Nikie on our way home.  He broke my heart when I saw him lying there on that blanket at the vet office.  He is about 20 pounds under weight.  He is so emaciated that they will have to start a very small amount of food, and little by little they can add more. It will take several days at the vet office to introduce food to his body.  Sarah Cooper, our vet, told me that they had just discovered that he is diabetic, and that will add to the problems with his recovery. I was sick about that news.

I opened the kennel, and stooped down to stroke his head."I'm sorry, Nikie. I'm so sorry." I said softly as his tail wagged slowly.  "We're here to help you, and you will be happy again. You're in good hands."  His eyes are gray with cataracts, and you can feel every bone in his body.  His family is gone, and his fragile life has been turned upside down.  I pray that he has the desire to make it through this. I want him to know that he is loved.

Someone out there will take him home and love him when he is able to leave the vet office.  We will find a good foster home.  Someone out there will feel compelled to help this dear soul.  Sarah told me that she thinks surgery could help him to see again, so I believe that someone will come along and help us with that when the time is right.  For now, he has to find the will to live, in spite of all he has endured.  We will visit him and encourage him.

He will have to be on insulin for the rest of his life if he pulls through this.  He will need someone that will cater to him, and love him enough to make up for his terrible heartbreaking loss. Maybe someone will read this and feel called to help this wonderful, sweet boy. I know that I will not abandon him because God has never abandoned me in my darkest hours, and I believe that we must pass such grace on.

I will post his picture on our website soon.  Pray for him. Pray for all of them that are out here with no one to help them.