Niko and The Wind

Niko is our Malamute cross. We got him from a rescue here in Colorado (4Paws4Life, they are so awesome), after they brought him up from Houston. He had been found wandering the streets of Houston, just hangin' around, being a dog. 

PetSmart gave 4Paws4Life a nice big space toward the front of their store to show off the dogs they had for adoption, because of course Niko wasn't the only one. I went in to get - I think cat food - and there he was. He was the biggest dog there. He gave me "the look." You know the one. It says "You're mine." I walked on by, because we already had a dog, and I could feel his eyes on me as I went down the cat food aisle.

"Am I not the cutest? Look at my ear. (And oh yeah, you're MINE.)" 

He watched me all the way back to the check out line. He was still "you're mine"-ing all over me. I tend to trust my intuition. There was something about this dog. He wasn't going to let me go home without him.

Of course I got out of line and talked to the lovely people from the rescue. They didn't know much about Balto/Niko because he had only arrived from Houston like the day before, and went right in to get neutered. They said he was sweet. Since he wasn't slavering at the mouth and looked pretty chill, I tended to believe them. I called Glenn.

"There's this dog...." I began, and of course he countered immediately with "We don't need another dog." 

I gave the bad news to the rescue people, but they knew they had me hooked. "We need a place to foster him for just a day, we don't have anywhere else to take him, would you look after him for just one night? You can bring him back tomorrow, no harm, no foul." 

After another consultation with Glenn where he grudgingly agreed to a 24 hour foster ("But that's IT!"), Niko and I (and the bag of cat food) headed home.

A man and the dog who almost went back to the rescue.

The rescue was right. He was sweet. When he was younger his right ear flopped over right on the top which gave him a cute puppy look, and he took full advantage.

Fast forward to the next day. I'm okay with taking him back. We did our duty. We fostered a dog. The cats didn't freak, and our other dog seemed to get along with him. 

On the drive back to PetSmart, there is nothing but silence in the truck. We're practically in the PetSmart parking lot, and suddenly Glenn pipes up, "Well, I guess we could keep him." (Those in the know know that Glenn has a special place in his heart for Malamute/Husky type dogs.) 

Happy dancing from the dog in the back.

So we adopted the Houston dog and renamed him Niko. The rescue thought he was about 2. Uh, no. Maybe a year. He grew about 2 inches the first two years we had him. His left ear became less puppyish, and stood up like the other one. 

HE COULD JUMP A FIVE FOOT FENCE WITHOUT EVEN TRYING. (This might be an indication of why he was wandering the streets of Houston.)

We made all of our fences six feet and got him a couple of puppies because he had 'way more energy than we did. The puppies ran him ragged, exactly as planned, and everyone was happy. For a while we had four dogs, but then our beloved Fiona passed on and now there are three. 

Niko is now about 11. He's slowed down considerably. Where he used to run like the wind, he still runs, but in shorter bursts, and when we go out for a walk he's the first to stop pulling and walk quietly (thank goodness. He and I are a good match for one another.) 

Hiding from the wind in the safety of my office.

He's also developed this habit of being afraid of the wind. It does get windy here at our place - for instance, today, the wind is steady at 25 mph, with gusts to 45. A couple weeks ago it was even worse, with gusts up to 60. Because our house is at the top of a hill, the wind tends to be quite - windy. Noisy, too.

So Niko, instead of going out on the driveway where he likes to watch the world go by, or exploring the rest of the acreage with the puppies, will hunker down in the house wherever he feels safest. Mostly that's in my office, if I'm in there. Another good spot is in the back of the pickup truck, where he can be in a nice confined space AND have the safety of the garage all around him. (The garage door has to be closed, though.)

We love our boy, and hope he has several more years with us. He gets up and moving a little slower, but like us, he's still got plenty of life in him. 

I'm very glad I needed cat food that day so long ago.