LAST WORD
WITH...
ikki Tibbl e s
The celebrity l orist on the six special rescues in her life and
why she’s on a mission to help needy canines world-wide.
ABOUT NIKKI
Best-known for her fashionable
l oristry business, Wild at Heart, Nikki
opened her i rst shop in Notting Hill
in 1993, followed by stores in Pimlico
and Liberty London.
Growing up in Bristol, Nikki initially
wanted to be a vet, but instead chose
a creative career, falling into l oristry
by accident after helping friends with
the l owers for their wedding.
She splits her time between
homes in London and
West Sussex.Q
Tell us about your i rst dog.
“I have never not had a dog. Every
photo of me as a baby has a dog in
it! My family had two Boxers, Kim and Sally,
and as a small child, I would often be found
in the morning asleep with them in their
baskets, or I would smuggle them upstairs.
One day, my dad rescued Buster, a stray black
Boxer X Labrador, off the street. She was the
best dog — we went everywhere together.”Q
Tell us about your current dogs.
“I have six — all rescues. Twenty
years ago, I saved a puppy, Rose,
from the side of a road in Puerto Rico.
I brought her, and another puppy, home to
join my two Battersea Dogs Home rescues,
Reuben and Maizie. When I saw a dog
identical to Rose at Noah’s Ark Animal Charity
in Murcia, Spain, I knew I was meant to have
a rescue from there. Rose’s double belonged
to the shelter’s owners so I adopted Tia,
a black hunting dog who’d caught her tail in
a trap. This inspired me to want to reduce the
world’s 600-million stray dog population, so
in 2015, I launched Wild at Heart Foundation.
“As well as Tia, I have orange Belgian
Shepherd-type Smith, who was abused in
Spain; Lenny, a 65-kilo Spanish Mastiff , who
was thrown down a well and left to die;
partially deaf Ronnie, who’s from Romania;
Rita, a stocky Staffi e-type, from Puerto Rico,
and, fi nally, Ruby, a Rhodesian Ridgeback
X Boxer, also from Puerto Rico, who’d been
squeezed into a crate in which she could
hardly stand.”Q
Who has been/is the canine love
of your life?
“They are all special — it’s so hard
to single one out. But Maizie was the dog
who was there for me through the most
emotional times in my life; she and Rose
walked me down the aisle at my wedding,
while Maizie also got me through my
mother’s funeral and my divorce.”Q
What do you love most about
sharing your life with dogs?
“They truly make me happy. I am
never happier than when I see my dogs
being happy, running through fi elds before
they fall asleep in front of the fi re. That is my
defi nition of happiness.”Q
Tell us a funny story about any of
your dogs.
“I remember walking Reuben in
Holland Park once. I looked down and he had
a whole baguette in his mouth. I have no idea
how he managed to steal someone’s lunch
so quickly without me noticing!”Q
Dogs on/in the bed: yes or no?
“Absolutely! All six on the bed
at once!”Q
Do you have a favourite place for
a dog-friendly holiday?
“If I could choose anywhere, it would
be Norfolk. There are incredible beaches at
Holkham and Hunstanton and there’s a fab
deli at Thornham where you can sit with your
dogs in their lovely garden.”ABOUT WILD AT
HEART FOUNDATION
Wild at Heart Foundation supports
animal welfare ventures, including
rescue projects, awareness
campaigns, neutering programmes,
research into new sterilisation
techniques, and education
initiatives all over
the world.
By 2025, the
Foundation hopes
to rehome 10,000
dogs, neuter 100,000
dogs, and educate
1,000,000 children.
“It costs nothing to be
kind,” said Nikki. “When
you adopt a dog, you are
saving a life — that’s the most
important message.”
● For more information, and to
see the dogs currently looking
for a forever home, visit http://www.
wildatheartfoundation.org74 Your Dog May 2019Nikki has always
loved dogs.Nikki Tibbles.74 YD Last Word CS(SW)ok.indd 74 25/03/2019 15:28