The Life of Kodi

Tonight, I feel I need to write a blog dedicated to the memory of my dearly departed, Kodor Odor, as Zack liked to call him.  

Adam, Kodi, and I on the AT

In 2001, recently graduated from the University of Florida and moved into the hostile territory of Tallahassee, FL, I spoke with my then live-in boyfriend, Adam, about getting a dog.  We both had wanted one, and I was feeling increasingly lonely in a town where I knew no one and he was busy with being a new medical school student.  I had a crappy job working for a chiropractor who believed she was God and I was, for all intents and purposes, miserable.  Then we met Kodi, the pet of the week, which was code for, "if he's not adopted this week he'll be euthanized."  He was dropped off in the middle of the night at the Tallahassee pound and had no known history.  This one dog, with a very large head compared to his body, called out to us.  He was adorable, the only dog in there not barking his head off.  He had a beautiful coat and brown eyes that said, love me.  We weren't sure.  Our townhouse only allowed dogs up to 45 pounds and he already weighed that much at 9 months.  The pound had assured us that he wouldn't get "that much bigger."  They should have ate their words when a couple of years later he topped out at 105.

That night, I dreamt they euthanized him and I told Adam that we had to go get him.  The pound required that where we lived acknowledge we were allowed to have dogs and a neighbor had to be a reference.  We lied and said we lived at Adam's parents' house and when they weren't able to get ahold of a neighbor, they waived the reference and Kodi was ours.  We just had to wait until he got neutered to bring him home.

Kodi was awesome.  I loved having a dog.  After a slow introduction to it, we found Kodi loved the dog park.  I will never forget Audrey, the dog who loved to hold onto his ear while they ran around like maniacs.  He was always slow.  I could spend hours there just watching him play.  We'd take him to the coast and go fishing, where he learned the hard way salt water is not for drinking.

Cone head

Kodi and Zack playing at the Econ River

Adam and I began to drift apart.  We attempted a hike on the Appalachian trail for 1 month, which was fraught with trouble.  Of note in Kodi's life, was him chasing after an animal and disappearing for awhile, only to reappear in a few minutes and getting bit by a copperhead and making through a sleepless night, thanks to benadryl and painkillers.  After I sprained my ankle, I drove back to Florida and moved back to Orlando.  Adam and I eventually split and Kodi was mine alone.  This was just the beginning of moving him around.  Next trauma, life with roommates.

No, it wasn't the roommates that were the problem, it was being robbed.  While we were all at school, our house was robbed and Kodi was the only witness.  He was locked in my bedroom and protected the majority of my stuff.  After that, he was never the same.  He was still a great dog to me and my family, but we could no longer go to the dog park, he was dog aggressive, and as for people, they were hit or miss.

Hiking in Colorado

We then moved back to my parents' house, then in with Zack, my current husband.  Then we moved to Colorado into an apartment, and then a house.  Through it all, Kodi was territorial, but we loved him.  He hiked, he camped.  Then the arthritis started to get bad.  We first noticed it hiking.  When we'd go downhill he'd not put weight on his one back leg.  Then we noticed he was having more difficulty getting up and down the back deck stairs.  Having people at our house was more and more difficult.  He was being increasingly picky about who could come in our house.  After nipping our friend's daughter and my step-dad and threatening a friend that was staying at our house, we thought we needed to put him down.  The vet recommended a trainer.  So 2 years ago, Kodi went through training and graduated right as I got pregnant.

Kodi and Peyton got along swimmingly.  Kodi was Peyton's protector and Peyton loved Kodi as he got older.  Unfortunately, the more mobile Peyton got, the harder it was to keep them apart.  Kodi snapped at Peyton a couple of times.  It was never aggressive, it was more a warning, but either way, it was dangerous.  Zack and I decided that if it got to the point that Peyton was ever bit, we would have to euthanize, and the vet agreed because of his history of being unpredictable.  It was the hardest decision we ever made, but one day it happened.  It wasn't provoked, but Kodi became agitated and bit Peyton on the arm.

So here we are.  I remember the good times, the solo backpacking trips Kodi and I took after Adam and I split up, hours enjoying watching him in the dog park, and in the mornings after Zack left for work, him crawling into the bed next to me.  Kodi always made me feel missed when I was away and would return, whether it was 10 minutes or 10 days.  I will never forget how Kodi would make Peyton laugh uncontrollably or how cute they were when Peyton would sit next to him and lay his head on his stomach.  I'm so glad we have pictures and videos.  We will all miss him and hope, as the movie title says, "all dogs go to heaven."

I love you, Kodi, it was a great 9 years...you were always my first "child."