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My name is Everest. I’m in heaven now.

I crossed the rainbow bridge too soon. I want to tell my story to bring awareness to all of the animals with no voice who are mistreated by humans. The reason I’m in heaven now is because my adopter gave up on me. Four months after she brought me home from a shelter in Los Angeles, she surrendered me to a shelter in Arizona, where I was put to sleep a few months later. My story is particularly heartbreaking because I had a whole team – they called themselves Team Everest – of shelter workers, volunteers, advocates and rescuers in Los Angeles. They were so excited when I got adopted by a woman named Nikki Figmaka Burrell (You can find her on social media here on Instagram: @_n.burrell, Facebook: Nikki Figmaka Burrell, and TikTok: fignasty. Nikki also uses the name Theresa Figmaka, which is how she is listed on LinkedIn.

When she decided that she no longer wanted me (I was a very good boy and did nothing wrong, but I hadn’t been cared for very well by my previous owner and was having some medical issues), instead of reaching out to Team Everest, she dumped me at the shelter and lied to Team Everest about where I was and how I was doing. All she had to do was reach out to Team Everest and they would have taken care of me and found me a new home.

I died heartbroken, afraid and alone

After she dumped me at the shelter in Arizona and I was put to sleep, she continued to tell Team Everest that I was doing well and still living with her. Then she started to tell Team Everest that she had moved to Colorado, but that I was living with her mother-in-law in Arizona. Oh, and one more thing, after she dumped me at the shelter, she adopted another dog that looked exactly like me. It became clear to Team Everest that something wasn’t right. But it was too late. When they found out what had happened to me, they were devastated.

Team Everest decided that the best way to honor my life and give me a voice, was to share my story. There are so many animals out there who never get a chance like me because they don’t have a team of angels looking out for them. My story should have had a happy ending. Sure, it would have been great if my adoption had worked out (I really liked living there, and my adopter raved about what a good boy I was), but sometimes adoptions just don’t work out for so many reasons. Sure, I would have been sad to leave my new home, but Team Everest would have taken care of me and found me a new home. They would have even worked with my adopter to raise the funds to pay for my medical care if my adopter had wanted to keep me.

But instead of making a simple phone call to Team Everest, my adopter marched me into a shelter in Arizona and signed the requisite surrender paperwork acknowledging that the shelter could put me to sleep. Then she turned around and adopted an Everest look-alike.

Nikki Figmaka Burrell should never be allowed to adopt a dog again

I don’t want any other animals to be victimized by my adopter. Unfortunately, my circumstances and my adopter’s behavior are not formally tracked or documented, and there are no consequences for people like my adopter who abuse their privilege of being “pet owners”. What happened to me should not happen to any animal. My adopter should never have the privilege of owning another pet.

Please help to be my voice so that what happened to me is not forgotten or repeated, and that my adopter is not able to adopt another animal. Please share my story. Even though I am gone, there is still power in the collective effort that can be paid forward in my honor.

Thank you and sending a slobbery kiss from heaven,

Everest