A beautiful rescue dog named Nikova has been waiting nearly three years – 3/4 of her life – for her loving forever family to come along. During that time, she has overcome past mistreatment, battled glaucoma, adjusted to sudden blindness, and endured surgery to remove her eyes.
Despite her courageous soul and gentle, affectionate nature, Nikova is yet to be adopted.
When she was just a year old, Nikova found herself in a Santa Clarita, CA shelter. She was quite thin and bore the scars of a heavy chain around her neck and the closely cropped ears of a backyard fighting dog.
On December 29, 2014 Tails and Scales Animal Rescue liberated her from the shelter and brought her into a close-knit family of foster dogs. There, she received the training, socialization, and one-on-one attention she so desperately needed to thrive.
At first she was understandably timid, but thanks to the personalized behavioral therapy she received from Tails and Scales, Nikova quickly adjusted to life with humans, other dogs, and even cats!
According to Tails & Scales co-founder and CEO, Haley Walsh, Nikova is playful and incredibly loveable. She knows all of her basic commands and is always eager to show off her paw-giving skills. She also makes some super adorable snorting sounds during her many naps!
Nikova loves to go for walks and play with her dog friends, but she is a couch potato at heart.
Last September, Nikova suddenly went blind due to a severe case of glaucoma. Veterinarians hoped she would regain some of her sight, but sadly that was not the case. The decision was eventually made to enucleate (remove) both of her eyes to free her from any discomfort and the inconvenience of daily medications.
Perhaps it is Nikova’s “handicap” that has put off potential adopters, but according to Walsh, the loss of her eyes has hardly slowed her down. She simply uses her other senses to navigate her surroundings, remembering furniture placement, door locations, etc.
UPDATED 11/30/17:
Five weeks ago, we brought you the story of Nikova the blind rescue dog. After more than 3 years of care, training and love from her saviors at Tails and Scales Animal Rescue, she was still searching for a home of her own.
The Santa Clarita, California-based radio station, KHTS featured Nikova in their Adopt A Pet series and iHeartDogs picked up the story soon after.
Thanks to our fabulous readers, her lovely face was shared across the internet – and it paid off! Nikova’s rescuers found themselves weeding through multiple inquiries and adoption applications to choose the perfect home for her needs.
Ultimately, a woman from Arizona was chosen as Nikova’s lucky adopter. She traveled across state lines to meet her new best friend in mid-November. It was exactly 1,056 days since Nikova first joined the Tails and Scales, rescue family.
Haley Walsh, co-founder and CEO of the rescue made the joyful announcement via Facebook on November 19:
“Today … Nikova makes her long trip home to Arizona to live a long, happy and loved life. Tears of joy will be shed but we couldn’t be happier for Nikova and her new mom!”
A week after her adoption, Walsh reported that Nikova was fitting in beautifully with her family.
Nikova Update!Nikova has been adjusting extremely well to her forever home. She is doing well with her new kitty siblings and she has already mapped out most, if not all, of her new home. We are forever grateful for her adopters and so happy for our special girl!
Nikova’s story is a wonderful reminder that every dog has value and that words have incredible power. Wishing Nikova and her new mom a long, beautiful life together!
H/T to HomeTownStation.com
Featured Images via Facebook/Tails and Scales Animal Rescue
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