Niko
Success Stories
Niko
TN Fund - 2012
Last year my 10-year old Pekingese suddenly became very ill. My husband and I rushed Tuffy to the veterinarian and we were told he had Pancreas problems. Tuffy died within three days. I was devastated. My friends decided to get me another Pekingese from a local Pekingese Rescue Group, and his name is Niko. When we first picked up Niko he was a mess, his hair was all tangled and his toe nails were grown into his little paws. We took Niko right to Pet Smart for grooming. After his bath and grooming he looked just like Tuffy, I could not believe it. Niko adjusted very well to his new home and I fell in love this little guy.
We were told that he had belonged to a Soldier that was deployed and that the soldier’s sister couldn’t take care of Niko and had to put Niko in a shelter. Niko was one day from being destroyed by this shelter, when a local rescue group rescued him. When I first saw Niko I fell in love with the little guy. Niko is so loveable, sweet and well behaved.
In January, we were in a car accident and Niko was in the car with us. I could tell that Niko was hurt but we couldn’t afford to take him to the vet. I called our Vet and she told us to watch him for the next few days. Well Niko appeared to be ok, but wasn’t walking well. As time went on Niko couldn’t walk at all without falling.
I had gone online to Brown Dog Foundation and put in an application and told them about how Niko was falling. Within a few hours I got a response back from Brown dog Foundation, asking me for more information. After a couple of days being in contact with Brown Dog Foundation they told me I was approved for financial assistance on the Veterinarian bill.
Brown Dog Foundation paid for us to take Niko to our regular Veterinarian who advised cage rest and medications. We left Niko in their hands for 4 days. For 4 days the doctor told us that while she suspected Intevertebral Disc Disease, Niko had shown the improvement necessary and released him to us. Within a few days, Niko began falling again and was unable to support himself standing. We called our doctor several times and never received a return call. Out of sheer desperation, we took Niko to the Midland Pet Emergency Center to see Dr. Amy. She gave us more medications, examined him and advised watching him carefully and to bring him back if anything more appeared wrong. This doctor suspected a spinal chord injury leftover from the car accident. The very next day, Niko began bleeding... the Dr. Amy told us that there was nothing that could be done at this point as the injury had been left untreated for too long. Niko passed away on Saturday, May 5, 2012.
