Professor Nikidik aka DOC is an 8 yr old, 5 lb Affenpinscher Mix. He came to us with an eye injury that caused glaucoma to form. As he is blind in this eye, the best course of action is to remove it because otherwise he would need drops 4 x's a day for life to keep it from becoming painful. Since he cannot see out of it, that seems absurd and removing it is the best option.
Update: Nikidik had the necessary surgery to remove his bad eye. He was neutered and had a dental as well, loosing most of his teeth. Recovery went smoothly and Nikidik is back to his normal crazy self.
A few things about Nikidik from his foster home:
As with his breed, he is confident and spicy! When he loves you he LOOOVVVEESSS you but he can be choosy about who is an instant friend. Sometimes he requires bribes in the form of treats.
He does not like being grabbed, so we do not recommend him for homes with small children. Our best estimate is that he would do best with kids 12+ but all kids are different and we are open to discussion.
Housebroken is not a title he can claim 100%%…yet, but he is working very hard at pleasing his foster family. . He wears a belly band 100%% of his indoor time otherwise you may find surprise "puddles" if you miss his cues to go outside. We believe in his former home, he was using pee pads because he hated going on the grass initially. He is much better at walking on the grass now.
He has no problem pooping outside if the timing is right but if we take our eye off him for a minute between him being ready and getting that leash on him, well we will find his business in another area. At least he is consistent and we know where to look. We admittedly initially gave him too much freedom to roam around. We are back on supervised house exploration.
We have tried kennel training him but he HATES it. After multiple attempts, each resulting in 4 hours of whining and barking, we gave in and stopped putting him in.
His favorites place to hang out is on the top of the couch where he can keep his eye on everything. He is very food motivated and we are working on not begging or barking while we are eating and he is making excellent progress.
He is a cuddler on his terms. He is definitely a little shadow to his chosen person. On occasion, he can be vocal with a protective little growl when someone unexpectedly gets too close to his person, but he has never bitten anyone.
He tolerates other dogs but doesn't really play with them. He will protest if they get too close and go find a place where he is left alone.With limited vision Doc gets startled easily and he will react in a defensive way.
We are seeing a little more of his personality each day. He wants affection and is spending more and more time on our laps where he enjoys being scratched and getting belly rubs. We have found that he is happiest when the world is quiet, steady and predictable. He will need someone that has time, patience and a calm approach before he feels safe with new humans. Once he can trust you, he can be sweet and gentle his way
Doc would do best in a home where someone is home a lot. He is definitely a constant companion type of dog and craves being in the presence of someone at all times. If you have some experience with shy dogs and the patience to help Doc feel safe and loved, he will be worth the wait.




GENERAL INFO:
Housebroken?: yes
Crate Trained?: NO
Leash Trained?: Yes
Rides Well in Car?: Yes
Non-Shedding?: No but low shed
Good with cats?: No idea
Good with dogs?: Yes
Qualifies for Seniors for Seniors?: yes
Umbrella of Hope does not have any strict rules on ages of children because all children are different, but our best approximation is that this animal would do best with children over the age of 12
Umbrella of Hope is an all-volunteer, donation-run, non-profit animal rescue based out of Pittsburg, CA that rescues animals from local shelters, places them in private foster homes, provides them with needed medical care and then finds them new homes.
Also, ask us about our seniors for seniors program, where we adopt animals 5 years or older to qualified homes with a $5 donation as an adoption fee. All animals are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, treated for parasites and given any additional treatments (dental work, bloodwork etc) as recommended by our vet.
Adoptions to veterans of the US Armed Services are ALWAYS free to thank you for your service.
We thank Well Pet Vet Clinic for providing most of our veterinary services and give a special thanks to volunteer photographers Tanya, Barbara, Kristy, Christine, Teressa and Natalie.