15 years ago, my family and i went to a farm an hour west of dc. it was mid-afternoon on a saturday and as picturesque a day in june as you could hope for. i had just "graduated" from sixth grade and was heading into middle school. i was a few days from turning 12 and as a combination birthday/graduation gift, my parents broke down and agreed to get a dog. a big decision that had included fencing in the backyard and dozens of hours spent in the library researching every single breed on earth... twice.
as we arrived at the farm and approached the house, we slowly got out of the car and paused as we observed a small pack of dogs running around the yard. we all realized immediately why we had selected this particular breed. they were not particularly large dogs but they were beautiful animals. large flowing coats and great facial expressions. very similar in appearance to a collie but about half the size and more diverse coloring than the larger breed. roaming around in a loose pack playing in an fenced-in yard with the puppies trying their best to keep up with the bigger dogs. responding immediately to their owner's commands, the older dogs carefully leading all the puppies back towards the house. the breed we were observing was the shetland sheepdog... or "sheltie" for short.
we entered the yard and my parents were intercepted by the breeders and began talking about the dogs. my younger brother and i, completely disinterested in TALKING about dogs(we had been talking about dogs for the past month during all those nights researching breeds in the library. we were done with just talk.), ran right by the adults and joined playtime with the puppies.
as we ran with the dogs, it was as if all the puppies were trying to showoff in front of us. my brother, having a little more energy than me, ran around with each of the puppies making comments about what each had to offer. i tired a bit and slowed up. as i slowed, i noticed one was a little smaller and slower than the others. i stopped and let the little puppy catch up, she slowly approached me, rubbed up on my foot and immediately fell asleep on my shoe.
it didnt take much more for me to know that i had found my puppy. it was love at first sight. three days later, nicole michelle, nikki for short, was the newest member of the family.
today, nikki turns 15 years old... 105 years old in dog years. and she is just as beautiful of a dog today as she was then...
happy birthday nikki!! as much cream cheese as you want today!!
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