May I introduce you to Koda the Courageous! This is his baby picture. It was taken after he, his siblings, and his mother were rescued from a very neglectful situation.
Renamed "Koda" by his forever family, he became anything but neglected.
But this is his story to tell.
My name is Koda! I am sending this message from the other side of the Rainbow bridge. I have some things I want to say to humans, so Auntie M is writing this for me.
My birth Mother, siblings and I were pretty scared when I was a baby. We were being so badly neglected! But WAG (Wyandotte Animal Group) came and rescued us! When I was old enough my forever family came to see us all and fell in love with me. (And I with them!)
So I grew up Happy!
I LOVED being with my family, and loved being outside! Sometimes I would dig by the fence- which was a no no! But my family loved me anyway!
I love all the members of my forever family, but guess I was closest with my female human. She and I just had a special bond!
There were two other Canines there at home. Haley is the Black Lab in the back, and Sally Jo the Golden Lab on the pillow. Sally Jo seemed to take me under her paw and showed me the ropes. We became best of pals!
Auntie M came to stay with us a few times while my forever family traveled. Since Auntie M loves the out of doors as much as we do, we spent a lot of time out back on our patio. The three of us also got brushed every day. Auntie M would tell each one of us how beautiful we were. Since I was the only male of the group- she called me handsome!
The other thing that Auntie M loved to do is go for walks! She took each one of us separately. I tended to get a little excited and pull, so she threaded the leash like on the left. She was tough cuz she was our temporary pack leader. But after our first walk we did great! Auntie M said I was a fast learner!
My breed is a German Shepherd, Rott, & Chow mix.
Guess some would call me a "Mutt"- but as Auntie M and my forever family said- I was a perfect combo of all things good about each breed!
My favorite play thing had to do with squeak toys! I loved them!
And, as you can tell, when my female owner was away, I would nap in her favorite chair!
Auntie M's "ear pulls" and pats were the best!
A game I loved was to go downstairs, retrieve my food bowl, bring it up and let it bounce off every step going down! I'd run down, bring it up, and bounce bounce bounce- down it went again! I never got tired of that game!
See this food dish? Sometimes Auntie M would wait a bit before feeding us. I wanted to train her to feed us a bit earlier then she did, so I would go downstairs, retrieve the food bowl, bring it upstairs, and drop it on Auntie M's feet!
She still waited until 6:00 to feed us, but said I was one smart canine!
So- though Auntie M didn't come often, I knew she loved all three of us!
This was one of our Pack Family pictures!
Now comes the hard part. My back legs were hurting, so my family took me to the vet. I had torn both of my rear cruciate ligaments! I had an operation to repair them. That was in July 2014. That was hard on all of us, because I had to be careful about doing too much until I healed.
And then December 2014 one of my back legs really started hurting again! The vet said it was cancer. My forever family knew something had to be done. They had to operate to remove that hind leg - that happened January 2015. That was hard on all of us, but we got through it. Then came 5 rounds of Chemo. I was alright, though got tired easy.
I got use to having one back leg. I did the stairs to go outside, walked, and played again!
My pal, Sally Jo was old when I was just a pup! But by Spring it was obvious she was looking for the Rainbow Bridge. I said goodbye to her in April.
I had a good Summer. I was able to go outside and lay in the sunshine. The best part was being with my forever family. My female (she called herself my mama) did everything she could to give me a great life. I was in remission.
In September the Vet found brain lesions. And in October I was in pain. I went to go outside, yelped in pain, and my forever family knew- I had fought the courageous fight. I didn't pass over the Rainbow Bridge alone. My forever family made sure of that! And on the other side, who do you think I saw! Sally Jo was there to greet me! I guess, with everything I went through, I could be called courageous.
So now you have heard my story. But I want you humans to know something. We rescue dogs are looking to be loved and part of a human family pack, like my forever family loved me. Even if we are sick, or older, we can bring joy and companionship to a human's life.
And one other thing. I had only 4 years. Some of you think that's horrible. But understand- It's not how long a "being" lives, but how well they live. For us Canines, each day is a new experience, a new chance to run, play, meet new people, do new things. Yes, we also grieve the loss of one we loved. That's okay. But we also live in the moment.
So- you humans- take each day, live in the moment, and live well. Experience new things, be fearless, be funny, be playful. Pop some bubble wrap, play with a squeeze toy. Roll in the grass!
There's a lot you can learn from us Canines!
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