Nikki, our beloved 13-year-old Boston Terrier, passed away peacefully at home on January 6 with support from Pets at Peace. 

Remembrances of Nikki written by Lily

A little over 5 years ago, we rescued Nikki. It feels like a lifetime that we’ve had with her. Dogs have something to offer us that no one else can — constant comfort and hugs, a curing face that will always greet you happily, no judgment or distrust. They love you unconditionally. 

Nikki was the best dog. Everyone in the neighborhood knew her. She would excitedly prance around in her wheels, greeting people along her usual route to Starbucks, where she would get a “pupaccino.” She stubbornly and desperately stood at the neighborhood cookie boxes where she wouldn’t leave until she got her deserved treat. We would joke that Nikki was an Italian like my dad because of how much she loved food. We would joke about who Nikki’s favorite family member was, then realized that it depended on who gave her the most treats. 

I wonder what her life was like in the eight years before she met us. It feels like we’ve had her since the beginning and that she’s only known us as her family. The first time we met her with her foster parents, we knew that she was the one — we were immediately in love with her endearing face and how she trustfully landed her warm head in my mom’s hands. 

When she first came home, she hated our cat Butterscotch, and continued to throughout her life. Nikki didn’t mind Ling Ling; she even shared her water bowl and the couch with her. Butterscotch eventually didn’t mind Nikki barking at him and accepted it. Butterscotch is about the same age as Nikki, and seemed to have sensed that she became sick. 

Nikki’s favorite toy was her stuffed lamb, “Lamby.” She would hold it like a prized possession, and would never let anyone take it away from her. She didn’t understand how to play fetch, but loved tug of war, and never let anyone win. She would shake her stuffed toys around so much that you couldn’t even count the amount of times her head went back and forth. 

My parents and I treated Nikki like a baby. Although she was eight when we rescued her, she always had the energy of a puppy. We would hand her food from the dinner table (She definitely knew she was spoiled and took advantage of that.). Her favorite snack was peanut butter; a bonus was apple slices with peanut butter. She wore diapers because of incontinence, which contributed to her being treated like a baby even more. We would dress her in handmade shirts and sweaters from @wagthenub, with cute patterns that people would always point out when they met her. 

Nikki is best known for her wheels, or “wheelies.” Her ears would perk up if she heard, “Do you wanna go for a wheelie walk?” She could outrun a human in those (Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but she was pretty fast in them.). She would run through snow, mud, sand, anything. No amount of terrain would stop Nikki from prancing around in her wheelies. We brought Nikki to the annual @vintagepetrescue dog wheelchair race, where she won second place the first year and first place the next. Nikki was unstoppable on her wheels. 

At the end of the night when my mom went to bed and my dad stayed up to work on his laptop or watch the news, Nikki’s routine was to hang out with my dad on the couch, stinking up the air with her farts from the constant food that she loved to eat.

Nikki loved to sleep in our arms. She would let us scoop her up and have her sit in our lap, leaning back in our chests. She would close her eyes when we kissed her — we imagined her thinking, “This is the life.” She was such a trusting dog, and loved to be loved. She was the first and will probably be the last family dog. 

People tell us that we’re saviors for helping her. But lifting her up because she couldn’t do it herself, putting diapers on her, and pushing her around in a carriage was all incredibly worth it. 

It’s hard to explain the feeling of losing a dog who felt like another member in the family, who sometimes even felt like the most important. There’s something uniquely special about their presence in our lives. They leave a mark on us and give us only happy memories.

I like to imagine that Nikki’s racing in her wheelies down the path where the ocean meets the sand — with her tongue hanging all the way out, soaking in the fresh breeze and empty beach, leaving trails of front paw prints and wheels. 

Prayer for Nikki

Dear St. Francis, you who loved all creatures great and small, we come to you with heavy hearts, grieving the loss of our beloved pet, Nikki. We thank you for the joy and companionship she brought to our lives. Please welcome her into your heavenly kingdom, and may she forever run free and play in the fields of paradise. In your loving care, we find comfort and peace. Amen.

More About Nikki

Nikki was adopted in 2019. A rescue from the South, she adjusted well to New England. Though not a fan of ice and rain, she loved freshly fallen snow. On warm days, she enjoyed soaking up the sun and gulping water from the hose. 

Nikki suffered from a progressive spinal chord condition. She lost complete use of her back legs over time, but lived a happy and active life with the use of a doggie wheelchair custom built by Eddie’s Wheels in Shelburne Falls, Mass. She loved wheeling on the beach at low tide, and through the neighborhood, stopping at cookie boxes on her way to Starbucks for a puppacino. 

Nikki had a flair for cheering up others. People often stopped to say ‘hello.’ With her big brown eyes and wide smile, she charmed everyone. As one man said, “Leave it to a dog to see the positive in life.” 

Nikki preferred people to animals. She barked protectively like a seal when dogs came near, and she jealously tolerated Butterscotch and LingLing, her cat siblings. 

Nikki’s physical disability did not keep her down. She developed great upper-body and front-leg strength. In or out of her wheels, her back end barely kept up with her front end, especially when dinner was waiting. 

A natural athlete, Nikki won second place in a doggie wheelchair race at Vintage Pet Rescue's annual “Special Day for Special Dogs” at Chase Farm in Lincoln, RI. The following year, she dashed from the starting line and never looked back, coming in first. 

Nikki was also a tug-of-war “champ.” She never lost thanks to her muscular neck and strong jaw. A natural hunter, she loved chasing squirrels, birds, and rabbits, never catching them, of course. Nikki’s athleticism even included kayaking. Though a natural swimmer, she preferred land to water and darted to shore the first chance she got. 

Nikki leaves her family, friends, and stuffed animals, including her favorite, Lamby. All of whom she licked ceaselessly. Photos of Nikki can be found on her IG: #Nikki.the.Boston. Donations with Nikki in mind can be made to Vintage Pet Rescue and to Eddie’s Wheels Buddy Fund.