Nicky

Nick picked us. He looked up at Shawn, Shana and me and we were hooked. Sitting quietly in his "room" at ABC shelter, the rest of the animals were going nuts. Jumping. Spinning. Barking, "pick me, pick me, pick MMEEEEE!!"while little Nicky patiently waited for us to fall in love. We're now surrounded with chew toys, dog beds, a pooper scooper and a constantly wagging tail. I figured we're too young not to give this whole dog thing another shot. Our first dog, a beautiful black and white Siberian husky pure-bred with blue eyes, didn't last very long. Nikita "Niki"Sacha Bolstoi (I think Shawn had just seen some Russian James Bond-y movie) tore up the place. He ate through dry wall and pulled up ceramic tile in our Virginia Beach condo. Finally, some Navy buddy with a farm took him off our hands. Next up was Sully. We had some challenges with him, too, but eventually realized we were the ones that weren't trained and lived happily for fourteen years with his perfect little personality. We even bought Sully a playmate one spontaneous Sunday morning named Tatum, thinking somehow he was bored with his only child status. We were wrong. Sully basked in being the center of the universe, while, in typical younger brother mode, Tatum nipped at his heels wherever he went. Tatum eventually found a home down the street with some energetic teenagers, leaving Sully in peace again. So, we're back to a Nicky. Full circle. Found in an abandoned apartment at just a few days old back in October, locked in a closet with his mother and five siblings, Nicky is now five months old. He's as sweet as can be, sleeps all night and loves to be held like a baby. Soon we'll get to sit, fetch and stay, but for right now, it's time to play.