Nikki & Freckles

Nikki (6 years old) and Freckles (4 years old) are a *beautiful* bonded mother-daughter pair. They’re short, compact little nuggets, even by basset standards, and have the prettiest spots. They’re also giant love bugs.

They started out life as breeding dogs, and were relinquished to rescue when they stopped producing litters. They’ve spent the past couple of years as beloved companions with an adopter who showed them what it was like to be pets and not puppy machines. Unfortunately their first adopter has health conditions that make it impossible to care for them, and they are back with ABC.

Because of their rough start, the girls can be skittish and fearful of new people, especially men. But once they warm up, they enjoy being with their humans very much and are extremely affectionate. They love cuddles and belly rubs and giving kisses, and aren’t shy about asking for attention. Freckles loves “holding hands” where she places her paw in your hand. Nikki loves to be under a blanket with you.

They were housebroken, but as they adjust to a new home a different routine I would expect some accidents. Right now they only have accidents when they’re left alone (I think they were used to being with their old owner all the time).

They’re working on being on-leash, but things like going potty and or passing through doorways on-leash are scary. They need a home with a secure fenced-in yard, where they don’t need to be leashed to go in and out, and have space to run around. They enjoy romping and playing outside.

They sleep well through the night on their own, and only cry for us to come downstairs when they wake up in the morning. They can climb 4 stairs to get in the house, but will not go up a full flight of stairs to sleep upstairs with us.

They’re very good with other dogs. They will sometimes chase cats, but are not rough with them. They are extremely gentle, other than inadvertently running into people at times.

We haven’t tried them with kids, but because they’re easily startled by fast movement, and also very dense and clumsy, they would be best with older children.

Nikki gives out warning barks to let you know if a stranger is approaching, and is generally quiet otherwise. Freckles can be a bit more vocal. Nikki rides well in the car. Freckles tends to cry in the car unless someone is sitting with her. Neither of them is destructive in any way.