In Memorium

Nicky of Angle Lake, CD, PT, JHDs, HCTs, CGC

"NICKY"

Nicky was a  rescue dog who I adopted on October 15, 1994 just 4 months after I bought my house.  He is the second dog I adopted through Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue and was my first Samoyed.  My first dog, Aja, a female Alaskan Malamute, had to be euthanized after just 5 1/2 months with me.  There's a long story behind her, that perhaps I will share later on.  Nicky went to the Rainbow Bridge on February 28, 2004.  I will forever miss him and thank him for introducing me to the Samoyed Breed.  We learned a lot together, but I'm certain he taught me more than I did him.  I wrote the following years ago when I first started this web page........

About Nicky:

Nicky is, simply put, the greatest dog!  When he came to live with me, he brought with him a tremendous amount of emotional baggage and mourned his original owners for months.  It was around 3-4 months before he would seek out eye contact with me, and it's only been the last year that he's learned to lean on people for pets.  I've learned a lot about separation anxiety from Nicky.

Nicky is the first dog I competed in obedience with.  His debut, at the Samoyed Club of Washington State's annual Specialty in 1995 was dismal, but we kept with it to earn his Companion Dog title.  I also tried out sheep herding and Nicky has the honor of being the first Samoyed in Washington State to have earned an AKC herding title - Pre-Trial Tested!

Since those glory days of his prime, Nicky has developed arthritis in his already bad hips, and though he was trained through to the CDX level, is retired from active training and competition.  I do bring him out for Veteran's Obedience competition on occasion, and this year will see him and his younger brother, Conor, competing in Brace Obedience at the SCWS Specialty.

Today, Nicky (or Fatso, Bad Dog, Mr. Big Guy, Mr. Wag-Wags, or Smiley) spends most of his time being chief grouchy old dog, keeping his younger brothers in line by demanding respect due his age.  Not that Conor listens, but Pete does.

Nicky has taught me a lot about dogs, dog ownership, training, patience, and love.  He's the most stubborn dog I own and it's a good thing he can't run very fast any more as he's the most likely dog to leave the yard and go explore the neighborhood.  But I love him!  I hope you can get to know him just a little bit through this page and the pictures of him in his life with me and his little bruzzers!