About
hello and woof!
Welcome to Love Newfoundlands
My name is Niki and the black floof-ball next to me is Olaf, my very happy, sometimes stupid, water-loving, goofy Newfie.
Newfs have been apart of my life since 2000 when Mom brought the family dog, Jenny, home. Since then, the pack grew and I learned all there was to know about the loveable gentle giants.
I’ve shown Newfoundlands and Havanese in conformation classes, helped whelp litters, trained dogs, and more.
Life is Better with a Newfoundland
Meet the pack
Olaf
Newfoundland
Olaf is a lover. He thinks he is a lap dog and loves to lay in the grass with me. Swimming is not his strong suit since I accidentally taught him he could touch the ground with his back feet.
Niki
Human
I’m into a lot of different things and joke that I am a jack of all trades, master of some. Photography is a passion of mine as well as living as naturally and self-sufficiently as I possibly can. I love big dogs, little dogs, and cats.
Vala
Havanese
Vala is my old lady that is still very much a puppy at heart. She chases her tail, plays with toys, and playfully lunges at me to get me to play with her and chase her around the yard. She is my adventure buddy and doggy soulmate.
Puppy Girl
Newfoundland
She’s coming soon! She is from a breeder that I am really looking forward to and will be my foundation girl for my own breeding program. I already have her name picked out too (it’s a good one and a throwback to her grandmother’s name), but am keeping that a surprise until she comes home with me.
Maze
Cat
I couldn’t say no. A friend found her under his car one morning and asked if I wanted her. I had been looking for a kitten at the time, but none of the cats I met ever felt right. The day he brought her over she snuggled right in and claimed me as her human.
Stitch
Havanese
What a dude. Stitch is still a puppy and very much a savage. I affectionately call him savage Stitch. He’s such a lovey-dovey little guy who will happily do anything I ask of him just to please me. Stitch is also a huge fan of bedtime cuddles and will hog the bed if given a chance.
Why blogging & How Love Newfoundlands Came to Be
I started off in the blogging world in high school as a book blogger. I was an avid reader and none of the kids I hung out with shared my taste in reading. Then college came around and I was forced to read so much that I actually hated reading for a while. I am still not as into reading as I once was and set my yearly Goodreads Challenge at 24 every year. Every year I only ready about 15 books and never meet the goal.
During my college years I began traveling and my second successful site, Chasing Departures, was started. My travel blog has given me some incredible opportunities and gave me the opportunity to travel the world. My whole life was about traveling until all of a sudden I couldn’t travel anymore. And weirdly, I was okay with my sudden inability to travel.
Love Newfoundlands was reborn
As Covid hit and travel died down, I wasn’t going anywhere and getting new content for the travel blog. But I still had a huge desire to write and create.
Love Newfoundlands was started while I was still in college in 2017 as a Newfoundland shirt shop. The site did alright as a shirt shop, however it was missing something that kept me from feeling like my heart was actually in it. In a few short months, I let the shirt site fizzle out.
There Love Newfoundlands sat until 2020 when I wrote one of my most popular posts on the site How to Come Up with an AKC Registered Name for Your Dog.
I dabbled with it on and off over the next several months and it has once again sat dormant for the year of 2022. But now with an updated look and a new vision for the site, we are here to stay!
get to know the pack
here are a few fun facts about us
- Olaf “swims” with his hind legs on the ground and thinks he’s drowning and that I need to rescue him if his feet are not touching the ground.
- I name most of my dogs after some of my favorite characters from movies, books, and tv shows.
- Stitch’s litter was born the morning our house burned down. Mom kept his sister and named her Pele after the Hawaiian fire goddess.
- Despite his size, Olaf thinks he is a lap dog and will sit in my lap any and every chance he gets.