Like some sort of cosmic event, I had been looking at
Kodiak’s picture on the rescue website for almost a year at that point. I was
sure he would be snatched up quickly because he was so darn cute to me. Since I
wasn’t in a place where I could adopt him at the moment (our family dog was
very dog aggressive, which meant she ruled the roost her whole life) I hoped
someone else would welcome him into their home in the meantime.
However, lo and
behold, right when I was still aching from the loss of my childhood dog, Kodi’s
picture swam back on my radar on PetFinder.com. I couldn’t believe that he was
still up for adoption, considering he was a young dog, happy, and friendly
looking. Regardless, I applied to four different rescues, trying to keep my
options open but the rescue I adopted Kodiak from reached out first and seemed
incredibly overjoyed to see interest in hi
I learned quickly that the reason Kodi was up for adoption
so long (3 YEARS!) was because he has some nervousness issues. Because of that
the rescue had spent ages trying to get him adopted with little success. I was
undaunted. Kodiak ran up to me immediately when I went to greet him, and I just
knew it was going to have to be me to give him the chance to flourish like he
has always been meant to.
I’ll be honest, Kodiak is not the easiest dog, he can take
anywhere from ten minutes to an hour to warm up to people. He is not the
immediately lovable dog that most people are overjoyed at meeting, he’s picky
and likes to get to know people first before he graces them with his attention.
He used to be averse to any dog coming up to him and would sometimes snarl or
snap if they tried to sniff his mouth in a normal dog greeting. He didn’t know
what beds, toys, stairs, cars—honestly, I could go on and on with the list of
things I have now desensitized him to.
However, despite
these initial flaws I wouldn’t change a second of the last year and a half that
I brought Kodiak into my family. He came with me when I moved states, started
new jobs, started graduate school, and is always there at my side to take on
life. I have been shocked and amazed at the progress I have achieved over the
last year. I have watched Kodi come out of his shell and trust in more people
than just me for once. I have finally taken him to some dog parks and watched
him run around and enjoy himself to his fullest recently. He wouldn’t even let
my mom pet him when I first got him and would run away and growl and hide
behind a table. Now, he still takes a little bit to warm back up to her but he
is actively looking for pets and love. Kodiak rarely growls from nerves or fear
anymore and seems overall more confident and happy as every day passes.
It hurts my heart to think that Kodiak sat in a rescue for
three years before I happened upon him. I’ll be the first one to tell you that
it hasn’t been easy working with a dog who was literally afraid of everything
and would only trust me to do anything for him. However, if you have the
ability to take that chance, to accept a work-in-progress dog into your life,
please do. Kodiak has become the love of my family, friends, and people I have
met. He is so caring and smart. The effort I have put into him has been
resolutely paid back in kind and I know I cannot wait to see what the rest of
life holds for him and us.
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