For the second consecutive season, the Buffalo Sabres will have a “team dog” as part of a partnership with WNY Heroes and the Pawsitive For Heroes program. The team introduced Nikki, an eight-month-old golden retriever, on Monday morning.
Over the next several months, Nikki will undergo training and eventually be paired with a veteran in need of a service dog. The Sabres Foundation sponsors the training, while WNY Heroes and the Pawsitive For Heroes program takes care of the details.
This is the second year the Sabres have participated in the program, following the success of last year’s team dog, Rick. Rick quickly became a fan favorite and was eventually paired with U.S. Coast Guard veteran Chris Kankiewicz.
Like her predecessor, the new Sabres pup will make public appearances at games & other events to interact with fans and players alike. She is named after Nicholas Warden, a U.S. Army veteran from Depew, who was killed in Syria in 2017.
I mean, just look at that face.