Nikita Loves Life as Chula

by Dale Green

Nikita Loves Life as Chula

A few months ago, I was at Tobolandia dog park with my pooches. A couple arrived with a cute medium-sized black dog. My girl Paisley and their doggy, Chula, slowly became acquainted and began playing; they were perfectly matched in terms of both size and play style. I started chatting with the couple, Kevin and Alicia, and learned that they had adopted Chula from The Ranch. Since I didn’t recognize her (and I’m pretty good at spotting our dogs!), I assumed it was before my time that they had adopted her. No, they said, just a few months ago. Mentally scratching my head, I asked if they had changed her name … yes, she used to be Nikita.

NIKITA?! This gorgeous black Xolo mix was Nikita? That little girl had been the epitome of an underdog: fairly shy, kind of a wallflower, very sweet with people but sometimes pushed around by dogs. Not badly of course, but she tended to be jostled away from the fence by her runmates when visitors or dog walkers approached. And, like most dogs, she had been stressed in the shelter environment. Her coat was slightly dull, and she took a while to adjust, but we could see that she had an unbreakable spirit. If only a potential adopter would notice that too.

Enter Kevin and Alicia. They met with several dogs, and ended up choosing Nikita (now Chula)! Our staff and volunteers were overjoyed that this sweet and gentle girl had found her forever home. And when I saw her a few months later at the dog park, she was clearly thriving under their care: now her coat is full, healthy and shiny, and she has such a spark in her eye! Playful and exuberant, Chula absolutely loves life. I learned that she is on a raw diet that her humans mix up for her. What a labor of love! Chula has, indeed, landed in her perfect happy place and is the focus of these two wonderful people. Kevin and Alicia feel just as lucky to have happened upon Chula, so the love goes both ways. As it should.