About Naiomi

Naiomi aka Princess of Darkness is the most wonderful dog you could ever wish to meet. Though when we first had her she could try the patience of a saint. We picked her up at 15 weeks old where she had spent the previous 8 weeks living and running around with jack russell terriers. She had so many bad habits including eating her own poo!! She was a nightmare to house train; not being clean all night until she was 15 months old . Up until that magical 15 months she was a pest and that is when she earned herself the title Princess of Darkness. She would chew everything and I mean everything ..Shoes, tables, chairs, curtains, jeans, jackets, handbags, plants, trees, her beds, rug, carpets ..you name it she destroyed it. The worst was a computer which she destroyed whilst we went to Tesco’s ..1 hour and 20 minutes to eat her way through a £800 computer!! And I mean through it ..metal case too!! Even through that time I would defy anyone not to look at her beautiful angelic face and not forgive her. Forgive her I did and at 15 months of age she transformed as if by way of a miracle, from a monster into an angel and she has never put a paw wrong since. She became the matriarch of the family and was wonderful at welcoming my other dogs and my foster dogs into the home, always having the patience with them and almost showing them how it was that they should behave. My greatest regret is not having small children around the home with her ..she adores children and instinctively know’s to be ever so gentle with them. Whilst out on our walks if she spots a child or even a pushchair which she knows holds a baby she does a silly dance and coo’s like a wood pigeon, a funny sight to see but it never fails to get the response she is looking for and that is for the parents to stop and let their children meet her. We all call Naiomi, Nomsi now, simply because the little boy next door who grew up at the same time as her couldn’t pronounce Naiomi, so he called her Nomsi and somehow that stuck ..

Alas, she is not so gentle with strange dogs on our walks and considering she welcomes any dog into our home with no problem at all, it is something we have not really ever understood. She seems to take great delight in drawing any poor unsuspecting dog into play, wagging her tail and giving all the right signals then when they have been drawn into her ‘web’ and playing and relaxed she pounces ...never hurting a hair on their head but just pinning them to the ground, you can almost hear her laughing when she does it !! The first time it happened we thought she may have been having an off day but after the sixth time it was time to keep her on a lead at the park ! Another reason for the title Princess of Darkness!

Nomsi is now 8 years old and is still adored by our whole family including my other dogs, we love every hair on her body and dread the day when we will have to say goodbye to this extraordinary girl.

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Since the time of writing this Nomsi has passed away her illness came out of the blue and took us all off guard, from diagnosis to losing her was just 3 days ...NOT ENOUGH TIME! ...we all miss her so much. Nomsi has left a huge gap in our lives and our hearts. We have named a star after her where we hope she will shine just as brightly as she did when she was with us.....

A poem my daughter wrote about Nomsi:

Princess of Darkness

Eight years ago, a dog changed my life,

Her name was Naiomi and she brought so much strife.

She turned the house upside down

And destroyed so much stuff

But I loved her too much

To shout ‘Enough is enough!’

Each day I’d come home expecting a mess-

What she’d got up to was anyone’s guess.

She’d chew CD’s and with plants she would play,

The day was a party when we were away.

To a stranger she’d seem like an unruly pet

But one look at her face and I’d forgive and forget.

To me Miss Whiplash or Nomsi she was known

And in four years time how much she had grown

She feasted on poppadoms, Pringles and cheese,

She’d come bearing gifts with which she would tease.

A show dog completely, she looked fab in the ring,

Held her head high and was unassuming.

Her love of kids was clear to see,

If nearby she couldn’t let them be,

She’d wag her tail and get all excited

And if they stroked her she’d be delighted

But let her off lead and away she would run,

Not to return until she’d had all her fun.

At six years old she was in her prime,

All she’d do was eat all the time.

She’d lay on her back so you’d stroke her belly

And loved to eat pretzels in front of the telly.

She’d only come in if you had a treat to bribe,

How much I miss her I cannot describe…

Eight years on Nomsi still looked strong,

I’d have never believed there was anything wrong.

Suddenly came the day we had to part

And with her she took a huge piece of my heart.

She was my first Bull Mastiff, my baby, my friend

And I loved her each day… right until the very end.

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