Nico was my first Shiba Inu and she taught me all about responsibility and devotion. From a little past her first birthday, she was plagued with health issues. It began as idiopathic chylothorax and progressed to heart disease, for which she needed a pacemaker. About 9 months after getting her pacemaker, she started having clots in her heart that were ultimately untreatable.  Even though she only lived to 5 years and 5 months, she had an enormous effect on us. To this day, we keep a small shrine to her with her ashes as both me and my wife cannot help tearing up when we talk about her. In some pictures, you can see her shaved chest from when they would have to tap and drain her chest (which sadly all of her illnesses involved) but I've kept the most heartbreaking images out and tried to only portray those that show her healthy.