Ever since I moved away from home, I always wanted a canine companion. I brought up the idea to my husband a couple of times but all he said was “we’ll see”. It wasn’t until 2 years later that I had gotten asked by a classmate of mine if I wanted to adopt a Labrador puppy since I had expressed interest before. Excited and being asked at the heat of the moment I said “YES!” When I got home I waited for my husband. When he arrived I must have had that “Can I please?” look on my face because right away he asked “Okay what do you want?” So I blurted out, “Can we get the puppy now, please? Please? Please?” He knew that I had expressed a great interest in wanting to adopt a puppy for a long time. Then he asked what kind of puppy so I told him that my classmate had a dog who had Labrador puppies. He said that we would look at them once they are old enough to be adopted.

About 3 weeks had past and I had gotten a call that my grandmother had passed away from cancer. I immediately packed up and headed home to see my grandma one last time and my husband followed a couple days later. We had spent about a week there then headed back. Since we had gotten back, I was emotionally drained and down a lot. I was never into doing anything. I tried going out but the sudden loss of my grandma hurt me so much. My husband saw this and became concerned and I had told him that I feel alone. Slowly he lifted my spirits by talking with me and telling me that everything was going to be alright and that my grandmother is in a better place. My husband always knew how to cheer me up and make me happy.

Then one night he asked me if I still wanted to get a puppy. I looked at him to see if he was serious and he was. He told me that he hated knowing that I am always home alone by myself while he is working all day. The next day I had called my friend and told her that I was into adopting a puppy so she had sent me some pictures of some of the puppies she still had. I looked through pictures of the puppies and the one that stood out was the one with a puppy sitting down and looking up at the camera with a goofy look on his face. I laughed and told her that was the one I wanted so we arranged a place and time to meet so we could pick him up.

Next day came and I was super excited to pick up the new edition to our little family. The car rolled around the corner of the grocery store where we planned to meet up. I got out of the car immediately to wait for them to stop. She got out and opened the passenger door and when she turned around I saw him, our new puppy! He was scared at first but after a couple of sniffing he felt comfortable and started running around with me. I was so excited, I finally had my own puppy! I thanked my friend and we headed home. We stopped at a local pet store to gather some food, bedding, and toys for our new puppy!  My husband named him Koda, after a Labrador dog he had who died after getting hit by a car.  I was glad we now had a puppy because he makes me smile.

The first couple of days was tough and hard but I enjoyed it.  Even before we had gotten the puppy, I had read up on information to know about raising Labrador puppies.  Potty training a puppy can be hard but I found out early that Koda was a smart puppy.  During the first week he learned to potty train and he even learned how to sit, lay down, and high five. About the third week he was learning how to play fetch with a tennis ball.  I loved teaching him new things while it was just him and I at home.  When my husband comes home from work each day he gets so excited that he jumps all over him and all over the place.  Koda would start doing sprints around our apartment and just go crazy. I enjoy watching the two interact with each other.  But when Koda starts biting and chewing up stuff that’s when I know it’s time to stop.  Koda listens and is a great pup and he makes me smile.

When Koda was about 5 months old, he had gotten all his puppy shots, vaccines done, and was ready to go out into the world and explore it.  I started taking him to a local trail and canal.  First time there he was probably nervous because it was somewhere he hasn’t been to before.  But right away he got use to it and now he gets excited when it’s time to go for a run. It wasn’t long enough that he became my “running partner” and I loved it.  Now I feel more comfortable going to the canal with my puppy and he makes me smile.

Koda is now about 8 months old and he’s full of energy that I can barely keep up with him.  He loves getting out of the apartment and stretching his legs so he could go running around.  He has a great personality and is very loyal to myself and my husband.  Koda knows when one of us is feeling down because he’ll sit next to us and either lick our arm or try and cuddle next to us.  We have traveled to local cities with him but never had the opportunity to travel with him on a plane.  Our family lives thousand miles away and he is getting bigger each day so it might be difficult to travel with him on an airplane.  But I do hope we can bring him to meet our family soon. Koda is a great canine companion and most importantly he makes me smile!

M.L.S