Niki when she was still a child she had a gift. A stuffed parrot that brought her luck. Thanks to that her father and his friends were able to win in gambling in order to make a living. One day though a friend of her's steals the parrot and as a result her father goes bankrupt and ends in prison. Niki as an adult she has to fight back her old friend in a poker tournament. Things get tough thou when she falls in love with him.
S1E3 Dog is beaten over the head with a piece of wood and left for dead but is taken to the vet and survives. You do see him get bludgeoned and his injured body on the road.