Hoping it's OK, I'm planning to use this as a photo thread and a loose journal.
Pictures coming soon!

PICK UP DAY

In July of 2018, we lost Macie - our dachsund / sneaky neighbor dog mix. It was a long battle with diabetes; she passed at home, on her favorite couch cushion.

August 2018
We took a family trip to our local animal shelter to get a new dog. We had discussed the dog we were looking for: 20-40 pounds, good disposition, house trained.

We looked at a few dogs - passing by a large red husky a few times; when we finally stopped to check him out, he was studying us as much as we were him.

He was larger than our criteria by a long shot but still underweight (ribs slightly visible), scraggly coat, and the icing on the cake was the cone of shame around his neck.

Through the fence, he seemed nice - leaned on the fence for a scratch. His amber eyes still sizing us up.
In the pen, he was a bit aloof - more interested in his surroundings than us, although he was friendly when we approached him.

After a bit of discussion, we signed the papers for a 62 pound red husky. His shelter name was Rocky, but that didn't work for us so we named him Kona.


More to come...

Here's a couple recent shots:

I Fit!


This is one of our morning tracks - really serene and we usually have the streets to ourselves so it's a good time to train.

That 'I fit!' picture is great but I'd have to have tagged it "... almost!"

Thanks for rescuing that boy, it looks like he's made himself right at home with a good home!

A few more Kona shots:

"Hey Dad - we're out of treats!"


Found you!


Kona on one of our walks - this shot was taken a week or two after we got him.

I thought this one needed a bit of background - A few months ago my Wife injured her hand. It's left her with constant pain that ranges from tolerable to horrible.

Kona will frequently lay down with her, but the way he has his arm out to touch her is really touching.

Hope your wife heals quickly. It's amazing how dogs can pick up on things like that.

Great sunset pic.

It really is amazing how Kona has modified his behavior according to who he is with.
He and I can wrestle full bore, but if she sticks the injured hand near him he instantly stops - sometimes just freezing in place till she moves.

June gloom and low tide. He loves walking on a long line (30ft of line) on these mornings.

I wish this forum had a Like button but anyway, Like!

PS
I hope your wife’s hand is feeling better. That is so sweet that Kona understands. My dog is very reserved, but when I had the flu, he came and laid beside me and licked my hand. So totally unlike his usual restrained self! Dogs understand...

"Restrained" - there's a word that Kona is unfamiliar with!

Thank you - it's been tough.
Amazing how much he can sense about us!

Kona_18 wrote:

June gloom and low tide. He loves walking on a long line (30ft of line) on these mornings.

Is that part of the 30ft line connected to the harness or is that the leash and then the other line is connected to the leash? I only ask because, if that's the 30ft line, it's really nice looking and I want one!

Unfortunately, the black line just his leash. The 30ft line is from a fishing boat that was replacing its lines.

Currently I just hank it to the leash; but I'm going to be attaching a shackle to the rope so I can secure it directly to the harness.

I'm also thinking a snubber / shock stopper would be a good idea - Kona hit the end of the line at full speed a few weeks ago and really jarred both of us.

We've found that Kona is very much a pack dog. Since adopting him, he's managed to make friends with Latte' (our 17-18 yr old, toothless pomeranian), but other than occasional sniffs and lots of chasing, Kona has not managed to make inroads with Gibby (3 yr old cat) - until last night...

And a shot of older brother Latte' - our 17yr old, blind, toothless, epileptic Pom.

Latte' is clearly the alpha inside the house and he (thinks he) rules the bed with an iron fist!
Outside - Latte' sticks by Kona's side. I think he feels protected by the big dog!

Kona ignores the aggression, but tries to groom him.

Kelly's Dad moved in with us a few months ago. Initially, we were worried about how he & Kona would get along...they adore each other!


We spotted him under the table relaxing like this. I looked there after he moved - there are no tooth marks where he was!