Nikas page

This is our 1st Malamute. She's 12 weeks old in this photo. We were living at
Barksdale AFB in Bossier City LA. She was an Air Force puppy. The kids on
base loved to come and ask if Nika could come out and play. She was
excellent with kids and loved people in general. She had alot of great doggie
friends too.

We were amazed at how fast she grew! She's about 5 months old here
and we have gone out on a fishing excursion with some friends. She
loved being outdoors (except when it was 85 degrees with 100%
humidity! Even we hated that!!) We took her almost everywhere with us,
and she always made herself known by woo-wooing at anybody within
earshot. Nika never barked.....only "talked".

In 1988 we were transferred to Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal. We were
fortunate enough to be able to bring Nika and her cat Tasha, without
any quarantine time. It was quite the experience to pack up pets and
house and move to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We had fabulous
Portuguese neighbors who loved to spoil Nika with food scraps. I had
to keep a watchful eye for chicken bones!!! Nika impressed the local
children by doing "tricks" on command. (Sit,down,speak,shake, etc.)

It was a wonderful experience to be able to live there. Many wonderful
memories.

Next stop was 2 years in New Mexico. No sooner did we arrive, than
"Dad" was sent over to Desert Storm. Nika was great company for
"Mom" during this stressful time. Tasha the cat was good to have
around too. It gave Nika somebody to play with while "Mom" recovered
from multiple back surgeries. Once again Nika met and made lots of
new "people" friends.

In the fall of 1992 the US Government decided to reduce the size of it's
armed forces. We left the Air Force life and returned home to West
Michigan to become "civilians". The pets would not have to move
anymore. As you may have noticed, Nika's coat is quite short for being
in Michigan. In the early spring of 1994 Nika became very ill in a very
short time. She dropped alot of weight, became lethargic, wouldn't even
eat her favorite food in the world (cheese). By the time I got her to the
vet she was very near death. She was hospitalized and tested for a
suspected rare disease: Addison's Disease. People get it (President
John F Kennedy had it) but it was very rare in dogs. Turns out that's
exactly what she had. Her vet, Dr. Dave Durham of Woodland
Veterinary Clinic, was currently treating 2 other dogs with the same
disease. Thanks to research done at Michigan State University, there
was a treatment for the Addison's Disease. She would receive injections
of a hormone called DOCP that brought our Nika back to us. She was 9
1/2 years old when the diagnosis was made. The treatment was a bit
expensive, but the quality of life that it gave Nika, was priceless. Due to
her compromised immune system, she became extremely allergic to
flea bites and would get nasty hot spots that would spring up literally
overnight. In order to keep her skin in the best condition possible, we
decided to keep her coat shaved very short in the summer and about 2
inches long in the winter. She was 100% house dog so this worked out
well for her and us.

This photo was taken in the spring of 1996. Nika now owns 2 cats.
Squeaker (gray male) moved in the summer of '95 and her Air Force
buddy Tasha (female) has been around since the spring of '86. They all
get along great and were frequently found sleeping together. Nika is 11
1/2 years old now and still playful as ever although she is starting to show
signs of aging.

This was taken in March of 1998. Nika is now over 13 years old and her
age is catching up to her. By June of 98 her health begins to slip a little,
and by late August she begins to fail quickly. We found ourselves in a bit
of "denial". Nika had always bounced back in the past. On September
3rd we had to make the most difficult decision of our lives. We hated to
lose her right before our own birthdays (both over Labor day weekend) but
it was unfair to Nika to let her keep losing control of her bodily functions.
We knew it was "time". I had to work that day, so my husband said his
goodbyes that morning. Her gave her a few bites of an apple. I came
home on my lunch break to make the longest drive to the vet clinic I had
ever made. I took her in for the last time and hugged her goodbye. I never
in my wildest dreams could imagine the pain I was feeling as my heart
ripped in two. Nika was safely delivered to the Rainbow bridge by her vet
and favorite vet tech. The grief was overwhelming but we survived by telling
Nika stories and talking about her often. A few weeks later I decided to
have a little "party" for the vet staff to celebrate Nika's life and show our
gratitude for the exceptional care she received from everybody at
Woodland Vet Clinic.

Sadly, less than 10 months later we would have to send our cat, Tasha,
to the Rainbow Bridge due to cancer. At least we knew Nika was waiting
for her.