It was fate that one of the adoption day volunteers introduced us to Nikki, a black and white, gangly legged staffy, that we otherwise may not have noticed. Although a little timid, Nikki settled into her new life with her brother Buddy seemingly well at first, that was until a thunderstorm hit. After numerous and also somewhat impressive escape attempts, we learnt that Nikki needed to be to, very much an inside dog. Even the garage proved to be no match for this mini hurricane and her big block head. A behavioural specialist, medication, modified fencing, a video camera, and lots of determination taught us how to understand this beautiful girl and how her mind worked. Nikki is now a dog who loves her thunder shirt, sees her crate as a safe place and knows exactly which cupboard her medication is kept in. She is a dog who plays with toys, cheekily sleeps in her humans’ bed and knows the exact time of day we normally head out for a walk. We love her. If ever in doubt, always adopt or rescue. We are so thankful we did, as it bought us Nikki and we couldn’t imagine life without her.
Nikki and Trudy (QLD)
