To say that there is never a dull moment here at Hycottage Farm would be an understatement. We have eventful moment upon eventful moment, and they all swirl together into this spinning rhythm that we have come to know as normal.
Life in motion, the clatter of species mingled in the flow of seasons, abundance and drought, births and deaths, calm and chaos. Yet in the uncertainty of what each day may bring, for the past 4 years there has been a stable connection that everyone could count on remaining the same. Watson and Nika.
Nika welcomed Watson when he was born to Willow in 2019 and they have spent nearly every day together since. When he was a puppy, Nika was his introduction to how to feel safe and confident around a well-behaved adult dog. She was gentle, playful, and very patient with Watson and all of his tugging, yapping, herding siblings. To many of our collies, Nika looked like a friendly, wooly, sheep in need of direction and Watson did his share of trying to round her up. But as he grew up, so much of her sweet Golden Retriever heart rubbed off on him that we began to call him our Golden Retriever in a collie’s body.
She was his buddy and playmate and one of the only dogs who was willing to play tug as long as he was. Since Watson is an intact male used for breeding, he often had to be separated from Willow and Cricket as they were going through heat cycles. But Nika was his constant companion. They ate together, romped and fetched together, announced the mailman’s arrival together, gave slobbery kisses together, splashed in the kiddie pool together. Everything together. As Nika began to age and more recently show some signs of health problems, Watson remained close to her side, lying next to her while she napped and following her around the yard as she explored.
When we took Nika to our veterinarian and got the difficult news of her cancer diagnosis and were told there was nothing they could do for her, my heart broke for Watson. I knew how much it would affect his daily routine and how much he would miss having her with him. How do you help a dog understand death?
As my daughter, Megan, rode home from that sad, sad, vet visit with Nika now still and silent in her arms, both of us in tears, I dreaded seeing Watson’s bouncy greeting melt into confusion. But his reaction touched me deeply and left me in awe of the connections animals form with each other and share with us.
I opened the side door and Watson jumped up onto the van floor beside Nika and began to sniff and nuzzle her with his tail wagging. His body softened when he turned and sat directly in front of me, looking in my eyes as I began to stroke his face. He lifted one paw and wrapped his front leg around my arm, and then did the same with his other paw so that he was in the begging position. With his face inching closer and closer to mine, he laid his muzzle on my shoulder and pressed his chest against me while breathing out a deep sigh. He didn’t need words, his tender heart said it all.
Parting is so hard.
We buried Nika in her favorite corner of the yard where she loved to sniff and watch the chickens and keep an eye on the farm. As we all stood together reminiscing about our favorite Nika moments, Watson came and sat beside me with his body leaning against my leg as he watched Jenna lay some flowers on Nika’s grave. He lifted his paw up to my hand and we stayed there, paw in hand, sharing our sadness and his tender goodbye.
He spent several days wandering and sniffing for her. Often, we have heard his pitiful howl swell and fill the air. He misses her, and so do we.