Adoption Status: Adopted!
Nikko is a 10 year old, female, red Shiba Inu. Follow her Facebook album!
Hello, today I got a name and it is Nikko. Nikko means sunshine in Japanese. I am a Mill Dog. I’ve lived most of my life in an outdoor kennel, bred for my puppies. I’ve longed to be held and cuddled and told I am a good girl. I haven’t been clean in years; not until today, the day DC SIR came to take me from my outdoor cage. They took me and another mill dog, Nozomi, who could no longer produce puppies for the mill, to our freedom. We both wiggled our butts, squinted our eyes, laid down our ears and howled with delight at the sight of our rescuers. But I felt bad for all my friends that were left behind to live out another cold winter without the comfort of kindness and the warmth we will now have. I was nervous on our long drive to Shiba HQ and I wouldn’t touch the delicious boiled chicken until my rescuers were out of sight. The windows had to be open during the drive, because we smelled so badly from years of living in squalor.
When I arrived at Shiba HQ, I got to explore the yard with Nozomi. Soon, they let out the other dogs to meet us. We got along great with everyone! But we were filthy and needed a shower before we could explore inside. The volunteer noticed my fur is sparse, dry, and brittle. I shut down in the shower and let the lady clean me. She spoke softly in a kind voice but I am used to harsh treatment and don’t really trust humans. The volunteer thinks I must have once lived in a house with people because I am not as fearful as other mill dogs. But I was still too shy to take treats. Once I was cleaned and Nozomi left for her foster home, the volunteer brought over some freshly made bone broth with delicious chunks of meat. I wouldn’t try any from her hand but it smelled so good I started to lick her finger. Soon I couldn’t resist the yummy food and realized that maybe people won’t be rough with me anymore. My new foster mom arrived to pick me up. She adopted a mill dog, Riza from DC SIR. I always wondered what happened to Riza, you see, I’ve known her my whole life because she lived just a few cages from me until DC SIR rescued her. Please do not support puppy mills!
FOSTER UPDATE: Since coming into rescue, Nikko has become very brave and very playful. She is active both morning and night, and loves to run in the backyard! She is truly enjoying freedom! She’s also developed a fondness for toys! Nikko has adjusted to body handling, and now loves head scratches. She likes to keep an eye on her foster mom, and has started to approach her more to check out what she’s doing. While Nikko is very curious and has shown increased trust in her foster mom, she does well having a quiet place to hide away when she is overwhelmed. Nikko does well with other friendly dogs. She has been in a foster home with another Shiba and puppy mill rescue, DC SIR Alumni Riza, who helped Nikko come out of her shell and see that humans can be kind!
Location: Extended (SC/NC/VA/DC/MD/PA/DE/WV)
Dogs: Preferred
Cats: Yes
Kids: Yes
Weight: 23 lbs
Intake Date: 8/25/17
Available Date: 10/5/217
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Follow Nikko’s progress in her Facebook album!