Every once in a rescuer's life there comes along a special dog that touches your heart more than the others. This is the story of Nicci, a very special sheltie that will forever remind me of the importance of rescue.

Nicci came to me nameless from a shelter in Hartford Michigan. She had come in as a stray and she was matted to the skin. With the help of a wonderful show person who was coming to Wisconsin and the vollunteer at the Michigan shelter, Nicci began her journey home. The odor in the car from her on the way home literally brought tears to my eyes.

First item on the agenda was a bath and shave job. Nicci (who I named only 30 seconds after looking into her big brown eyes) was very timid and frightened but seemed a little more excited than normal at the prospect of getting a bath. I have since found out that she loves water, to the point of getting a hose sprayed directly at her and loving it. Even now, I can't allow her to be in my grooming shop when I'm working because she always ends up more wet than the dog I'm grooming.

During her initial exam by my vet she was found to be flea free, had a scar that showed she was probably spayed and looked to be 3-5 years old. Since she was shaved, she looked like a 4-5month old collie puppy. She seemed to have a nagging cough, so we started treating it as kennel cough. She received her vaccinations and heartworm check and we were on our way back home.

The following day, the vet tech called with the awful news. Nicci was Heartworm positive. After x-rays we discovered that the coughing was because the worms were so advanced that they had already stemmed off into her lungs. Her heart was so enlarged by the surrounding worms that it filled her whole chest. There wasn't much hope. I conferred with Dr. Ann and Dorothy Christiansen and it was decided that there was no way we were not going to give Nicci every possible chance at a long healthy life.

Treatments began the following day. I brought her home again to begin the long 30 day wait until the following treatment. She immediately began to go downhill. The sparkle in her eyes was gone and she was no longer the puppy-like dog that was tackling the garden sprinkler just days earlier. She began to rapidly lose weight. I wondered if we had done the right thing. She stopped eating and drinking and would not walk down the three steps off my deck to go potty. I carried her in and out of the house and she spent 80% of her time sleeping. The other 20% was spent coughing. I remember a rainy Saturday afternoon when I put everyone to bed and got Nicci and just curled up with her in a blanket and spent the afternoon watching television on the couch. I thought it was going to be her last day. After it stopped raining, I went out to my backyard under the crab apple tree and dug a grave, knowing that I wouldn't have the strength to do it when she decided to leave me.

Each morning I woke up and expected her to be gone.

I asked for and got great advice from the Sheltie List about how to get her to eat and tried everything from macaroni and cheese to chicken breast, to baby food. We finally found the one thing that she was still interested in: hot dogs. I bought them by the case. I firmly believe that Nicci was almost solely responsible for the good fiscal year that Oscar Meyer had!!!! She ate hot dogs like they weren't going to make any more. That, supplemented with Pedialyte and Nutrical kept her going during the hard times.

She was much stronger and had gained some weight by the time it was time for her 2nd and 3rd treatments. She went to the vet for the 2nd treatment and after insisting that she wasn't going to die in a vet's office alone, I was allowed to take her home overnight and bring her back the following morning for the 3rd and final treatment.

I was still taking her outside separately from the other dogs until one afternoon when I got home from work, she decided to sneak out the patio doors into the fenced yard with everyone else. She was starting to act like the little handicapped child who liked the extra attention at first, but then just wanted to "be like all the other kids". I was more than happy to oblige.

Pretty soon she started nibbling on her regular food and I gradually weaned her off the hot dogs (I hope Oscar Meyer can survive!). Now she eats, barks, potties, plays and sleeps with everyone else. The only thing left of her bad ordeal is the little red jacket that she wears to keep her warm. Her hair has grown back about 1-1/2 inches and she looks like a sable little fluffball. We recently walked in the Chilton Holiday Parade and Nicci was bouncing every step of the way with her little red jacket and matching collar with reindeer antlers. The Wisconsin snow has filled in the grave in my backyard and I will fill it in permanently in spring when the snow thaws. Her observation period is up at the end of the month and I have no doubt that she will be heartworm free.

I guess the best part of this story is that Nicci is going "home" today. She will have a nice family that loves her, a little girl to play with and hopefully there will be no ill effects from her ordeal. They have promised to love and cherish her and I promise to make sure that they do. I can't wait to see her again at the reunion. I know that I will be proud of the dog that she will have become. Goodbye sweet Nicci, have a great life!!!

NICCI, May 1999--->

UPDATE, May 2002:

Nicci passed away on Wednesday May 13, 2002, from lymph node cancer that
spread so quickly, her parents hardly had time to think about it. During the month of March, they noticed a bump where Nicci's collar was and then to the vet right away where she was diagnosed.
She showed no symptoms of being sick until Tuesday.

She died at home on Wednesday morning with John and Karen, her forever parents, at her side.