How it all began
Reality and imagination go hand in hand.
This is where the story of Niklas & Nikita begins – inspired by real life, told with heart and humor. 🐾
Sometimes life takes detours to bring us exactly where we belong.
That’s how it was with Nikita.
At first, I wanted a small dog – handy, easy to travel with, something that fit my life back then.
But I found a dog online who touched me – perhaps because of her vulnerability.
Through the animal welfare organization Hope4Friends, I learned about a dog who had been waiting for her chance for a long time: vaccinated, microchipped, promised several times, but never adopted.
A wild birth with no known date, officially set to July 1, 2015.
Two years later, on December 17, 2017, she finally arrived at Munich Airport – and stayed.
Trust and first steps
The first weeks weren’t easy.
Trust had to grow, step by step.
Nikita was hardly used to people – cautious, independent, a little survivor.
But giving up was not an option.
A dog isn’t a sweater you return when it doesn’t fit.
Patience and clarity replaced expectations.
After six months, she was allowed to run off leash for the first time – out of trust, not obedience.
To this day, she wears the leash only when she wants to:
when traffic or crowds make her nervous, she seeks my eyes – and I know what she needs.
In nature, however, she’s free – running through meadows, disappearing into the bushes, full of joy for life.
A new rhythm of life
Nikita has changed me.
Friends used to jokingly call me “the hectic man.”
Today I’m calmer.
I pay attention to my mood because she reacts to my restlessness – and I want to spare her that.
We live in a suburb in Upper Bavaria, surrounded by forests.
We don’t need faraway travels to be happy.
When we take our bike, with Nikita proudly sticking her head into the wind from her basket, that’s freedom enough for us.
From life to story
The comic Niklas & Nikita was born from this real bond.
Niklas is a fictional character – a young man who continues where my own story can no longer grow.
He experiences what I imagine: friendships, family, everyday life, small adventures.
Nikita, however, is real – and she remains the link between all the people in her world:
the girl with the hijab on the skateboard, elegant Fred in his wheelchair, and the couple with Down syndrome who lovingly scold Niklas when he gives her the wrong food.
The series doesn’t tell heroic tales but stories where compassion is natural.
It shows an idealized but not unrealistic world – kind, diverse, and without pointing fingers.
At Halloween, for instance, the family meets an old woman who has nothing and realizes that giving is more beautiful than taking.
Reality and imagination
On this page, real photos and comic versions will soon stand side by side –
to show how closely reality and imagination are connected.
These small juxtapositions tell more than a thousand words:
We don’t invent – we extend what we’ve lived.
I work with heart and structure, because dreams need order to become reality.
Thanks to modern tools, I was finally able to turn my ideas into images – turning thoughts into a tangible world.
Maybe I would have achieved more materially if Nikita had never come into my life.
But then my life would be poorer – lacking love, calm, and meaning. 🐾
Thank you for spending your time with us today.
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Welcome to “Join in with Niklas & Nikita” 💛
Nikita may not be very big, but she’s still too big to fly over and visit you in person.
Help us to at least visit you virtually – and spend a little time together with you.
Here you can become part of our little world: with photo actions, short stories or seasonal “join in” ideas.
Show us your most beautiful holiday photo with your dog or tell us about a special moment.
We’re not looking for pictures from the internet, but for your real moments from the heart.
And with a bit of luck – and of course only with your permission – your dog might even appear in one of our comic panels. 😉
If there’s no active action at the moment, just drop by again soon.
We announce all new “join in” actions in good time via the newsletter.
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