A sick dog which once heroically saved the life of her owner now has animal lovers across the North Island rallying to keep her alive.
Nikki the alsatian is renowned for pulling her owner Melanie Donne from her wrecked car after an accident. But now Nikki faces her own personal challenge - cancer.
The treatment, however, is costly.
"It was awful to be faced with the fact that my dog had saved my life, I wouldn't be in the world if it wasn't for her, and yet because of the accident my circumstances wouldn't allow me to pay for the lifesaving treatment that she needed," says Donne.
But thanks to animal lovers who heard about Nikki's plight she is now getting the cancer treatment she needs for free.
Funds have been raised from across the North Island, some by complete strangers. Dog lover Sharon Nicholson even sold her own possessions.
"I thought well I'll put as much as I can on Trade Me and at least that's a start," says Nicholson.
Donne and her four-legged friend are now making regular trips to Auckland for treatment.
"The fact she and Melanie are so close and clearly the dog has been a lifesaver in the past... makes her special," says Mark Robson of the Veterinarian Specialist Group.
Now that Nikki is undergoing treatment the prognosis is good and it looks like there will be a few good years left in the old dog yet.
