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Animal
Advocates of B.C. "Until he extends his circle of compassion to include |
In
Memory of Kody |
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Kody was born on Nov 1,1994 and we got him from Pet Habitat in Coquitlam Centre, at Christmas that same year. His mother was a purebred Black and Tan Coonhound and his father was a purebred German Shepherd, and they supposedly bred by mistake, but I've always suspected he was from a puppy mill, due to his health challenges. Kody bonded with us immediately, proved to be extremely sensitive and smart, and was easily taught basic commands by about 12weeks of age. We were the love of each other's lives, and I reduced my hours at work to part-time, so that I could be with him most of the time. His favorite spot as a puppy was sleeping on my lap or between Ken's legs if Ken were lying on his tummy on the floor. He never outgrew this habit, and would plop all 100lbs on any unsuspecting lap who was on our couch. Including my 87yr old grandmother's! He was a real character, and a favorite of anyone who ever met him. During the warmer months, he would spend hours swimming at Buntzen Lake or in the River paddling around. He would swim out beyond his depth and dangle his hind legs towards the bottom of the lake until he felt a log. Then, he would use his legs to drag it to shallower water, and then plunge his head underneath to grab it. It was the funniest thing you ever saw, but he lived for it! Since he was half hound, we decided to teach him how to play "search" when he was a young pup. This proved to be another favorite game, and he'd find almost anything you asked, once you gave him the scent, including people if you said their name and he knew them. |
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When our son Alex was born, Kody was never jealous for a moment, and he was always gentle when they played together, despite his size and strength. Of course Alex was never allowed to poke,pull or otherwise annoy Kody, so I guess Kody had no reason to resent children. Kody was so strong, that he could drag a 200lb man along the carpet by the end of his tug rope, so when he pulled Alex, he'd really fly! |
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Kody always showed signs of hip problems and digestive upset, from about 2yrs old, but we managed to control it by switching to fresh food and eliminating grains from his diet. He was doing really well until about eighteen months ago, when he suddenly lost 25lbs in a month. Ultrasound and X-rays showed small tumors inside, but he was otherwise behaving normally and he did gain back nearly all the weight on a special diet regimen combined with about six supplements from the health food store. Then last week, x-rays showed the tumors were huge and growing fast, so we decided to do surgery to try and remove them. Unfortunately, the vet phoned me and said he'd never seen such bad cancer, and he could not believe Kody was still thriving and living a normal life. Ken and I made the difficult decision to put him to sleep while he was still groggy, rather than bring him home and watch him get worse and suffer. So, we went down there and held him while it was done. Kody made it even harder to do, by fighting the sedative and trying to stand up, wagging his tail despite just coming out of surgery, barking at us, and then biting the IV tape and ripping it off his leg. He was telling us to take him home, and it completely broke our hearts to not comply. I don't think we'll ever stop second guessing our decision to do what we did, but at least we know he was loved his entire life, and he never suffered a moment. He will be in our hearts forever.............................and waiting for us at The Rainbow Bridge |
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© 2002 |
