"MY FIRST DOGS"
Twelve years ago I moved into what people like to call an “up and coming” neighborhood. Unfortunately, my part of the hood never came up; in fact, it became a living hell. Into this war zone came Kodiak.
As my street worsened, I decided that having a dog would be a good thing so I visited the Humane Society of Tampa Bay several times looking for the perfect puppy. Most of the dogs up for adoption were just that – dogs. Because I had many cats, I wanted a puppy so I wouldn’t have to worry about my dog killing my cats like the loose dogs roaming the streets were wont to do. For a month I walked away empty-handed.
Then came the time when three of my cats were killed in two days by loose dogs, two of the cats slaughtered in my own backyard. So back to the Humane Society I went. The only puppy I wanted, a female Samoyed, had an adoption pending. On my way out I decided to visit the cat room, just for fun. And there in a bottom cage was a small tan/brown puppy that had just been neutered. It was love at first sight, even though I wanted a female dog. I adopted him that day, but I couldn’t take him home or even play with him because of his surgery.
The next day the woman at the Humane Society handed over this fat little Shepherd/Chow mix puppy into my arms. The collar I had bought him was way too big but we made it home just fine.
Young Kodiak found himself surrounded by many cats and kittens, some of whom were not amused by the new addition. Mitten the Kitten and Kodiak, however, became fast friends. He would lightly grab her head with his teeth, and with her head in his mouth, Kodiak would drag Mitten around the house. I was horrified; they, however, thought this was the greatest game and they continued it until Mitten became too big and heavy for Kodiak to drag her safely.
I had always heard that dogs will eat anything, including the kitchen sink. I guess Kodiak hadn’t heard that because he was (and still is) a fussy eater. As a puppy, he would go days without eating because he didn’t like what I put in his bowl. I tried everything on the dog shelf; my theory is that he wanted cat food because he thought he was a cat. When he was a little older and had finally started eating regularly, I noticed that the cats would gobble their food and then rush over to his bowl and start chomping away. Kodiak just stood there and let them. One day he looked at me and whined. I told him that he was bigger than the cats and to take his food away from them. So he turned to his bowl, put one big paw into it, dragged it away from the stunned cats, and ate it heartily. There weren’t too many cats-eating-dog-food problems after that.
Kodiak grew to be my 80-pound protector. He is now almost 11 years old and suffers from arthritis in his front legs and hip dysplasia in the back. His hearing has become less acute and sometimes, when he’s tired, his eye lids droop and he looks like an old man. He still loves his walks, although he can only go one block before I make him rest. His spirit still wants to explore every smell, every interesting tidbit on the road, but his body won’t let him. I know the day is coming when Kodiak will be no more. I can’t imagine what my life will be like without Kodiak, my first dog.
There aren't too many good photos of Sully. He prefers to put his nose on the camera lens rather than sit and let me take a portrait of him. That's probably a metaphor for who he is. He always has to be where the action is and to be right in the middle of it. He has anointed himself "King of the Kitchen" and woe be to any animal who tries to trespass on his kingdom (which is rather small but I guess any kingdom is better than no kingdom).
Sully, a Border Collie mix, will be five years old this month (February, which is just a guess). I found Sully when he was about four months old trotting down 12th Street in Southeast Seminole Heights, which can be a dangerous street to walk on since it is narrow, there are no sidewalks, there's very little right-of-way space in some sections, and it is often a speedway for cars. When I first saw him he was close to Hillsborough Avenue, an extremely busy thoroughfare. Sully was looking from side to side as he ran, anxious about being lost, his tail between his legs. Two of my neighbors, Ryan and Deirdre, happened to be riding their bikes and they saw Sully too. We tried to catch him but he ran away and down one of the side streets. When I caught up with him, he was sitting on a porch with a man. I asked the man if Sully was his puppy. He said he'd never seen the dog before, so I picked Sully up, put him in my old Suzuki Samurai, and brought him to Ryan's house. There Sully got a bath because he was filthy, with sandspurs stuck in his calloused paws. He was also very thirsty and hungry so he ate and drank with abandon. Then it was - now what do we do. Ryan had three big dogs and I had one dog and 17 cats. I decided to take Sully and brought him home to my cats and Kodiak, my then five-year-old Shepherd/Chow mix.
While the beginning of our life with Sully wasn't all that easy (Housebreaking - what's that? Don't chew on walls - why not? Cats - yum!, Sit - you gotta be kidding!), I wouldn't give him up for anything. I love watching him as he tries to herd the cats (yeah, right). I love watching him play with Kodiak. (Since Kodiak is now almost 11 years old and suffers from arthritis and hip dysplasia, he can't stand or walk for any length of time so Sully hunkers down on the floor with Kodiak and they tussle and rumble and it gets so loud it makes me laugh.) I love watching Sully sleep. He either lies on his back on the floor, back legs spread open or he curls up in one of the "dog" chairs, looking so much like the puppy I found almost five years ago.
I know this is sad but sometimes I wonder what life will be like for Sully and me when aging Kodiak comes to the end of his life. Will Sully be okay as the only dog amid a herd of cats? Will he ever truly believe that "kitties are our friends"? Will he be incredibly lonesome for another dog to play with? Will he become even more attached to me than he already is? I guess one day we will find out.
