 |
| Koko's
New Friend "Rikki Power"
( Born ~Apr. 27, 2005 ) |
 |
When
Koko and Ndume's German Shepherd friend of 12 years, Flower,
passed away in early 2005, no one wanted to even think
about looking for another dog, and the complete burden
of watchdog responsibility fell on the stoic Max.
But when we learned from the Pound
Puppy Rescue about a litter of what appeared to be
German Shepherd mix puppies that needed a home, we couldn't
resist meeting them and their wonderful foster parents:
Joel and Ann Silverman. Of the 3 little 7-week old pups,
there were 2 males (Rocky and Ranger) and 1 female (Rikki);
and of course it was Rikki who won our hearts, and made
us think that the time was "now" for finding
a new companion for Max, Koko, Ndume and the rest of us.
So, welcome Rikki Power (we added the name Power to convey
one of her most obvious attributes, and because it rhymes
with Flower) to the Gorilla Foundation. The following
photos are a preliminary scrapbook of the life
and times of Rikki Power, one of the few dogs on the planet
to live with gorillas. (Note that as Rikki matures, she
is starting to look more like an Australian Kelpie than
a German Shepherd, but more importantly, she is also becoming
more intelligent and affectionate than we could have ever
imagined.) |
|
 |
 |
Rikki
as a 7-week old pup, before adoption
(photo by Lauren Silverman) |
Rikki
with brothers Rocky (left) and Ranger
(photo by Lauren Silverman) |
 |
 |
Rikki
sleeping on brother Ranger
(photo by Lauren Silverman) |
Rikki
sleeping on adopted mom (Bernese doll)
(photo by Penny Patterson) |
 |
 |
Rikki
loyal to adopted mom
(photo by Penny Patterson) |
Rikki
at 9 weeks of age (growing fast)
(photo by Penny Patterson) |
 |
|
Rikki
at 5 months of age (color coordinated).
Note the "Australian Kelpie" or is it "Beauceron"
features.
(photo by Ron Cohn) |
|
|
|
© 2005 The Gorilla Foundation / Koko.org |
|
