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| Name: |
Dakota
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Age: |
Ten years old
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| Gender: |
Female |
Breed: |
Fox Terrier, Dachshund, Beagle, Shih Tzu mix
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| Home: |
Bonavista, Newfoundland, Canada |
This here is my sweet baby, Dakota, who just recently hit double digits on August 4th. Over the years, she has gained several nicknames such as Rat-Dog, Bean, Bird, and her main one Koda.
We haven't owned her for the full 10 years. Five years ago, we saw an add that was offering a dog to good owners, and within hours of seeing it, my aunt brought her home and surprised me days later. The first five years of her life weren't easy. In her old home, she was used only to have several litters of pups that would be sold, and we are lead to believe that she was also treated very poorly. She was fairly skinny, and scared of everything that moved, even if a pencil dropped on the floor she would run away with her tail between her legs.
When we first brought her home, she didn't even know how to play fetch. Every time we would go to pet her head she would shut her eyes tight and lower her head to avoid contact, no matter how slow we moved, assumingly she feared we would hurt her. We also believe that it was a man that had inflicted these things on her, as if one would enter the house she would immediately bark, growl, and shake, but if a woman walked in she would happily approach after a couple barks.
Typically, she has been very shy to other animals, but over time she has managed to move past that fear and make some friends. One of which is a 5 year old purebred Shih-Tzu named Taffy. That life is far over now. In our care, we are giving her the best life a dog could want. We live a distance in the woods from the main road, which gives her plenty of room and places to explore offleash. Most times, she'll go out to do her business and come back to the door when done, other times she'll sniff out something interesting and make us go look for her in the middle of the night.
Koda enjoys exploring because there is almost something new to see everyday. Since the area around us is somewhat heavily wooded, there are large amounts of birds, rabbits, and squirrels, which she will not hesitate to chase and bark at. Not only that, but shrews and mice are fairly common around here, and she'll sniff out their tunnels and dig them out, no matter how small.
She may have gotten it from us, but in a way she has developed attitude overtime. If we take a stick away from her for example, sometimes she'll throw a mini puppy tantrum and roll all over the place.
After we've been out for a while and come back, she will be waiting at the door, with a huge smile on her face, literally.
And most importantly, Koda is special to me because she is like a best friend. Not only this, but how far she's come from a scared little puppy inspires me to keep going when I sometimes feel low, and because as I struggle with anxiety, there have been countless times when she's come to me and made me feel safe.
I can't thank her enough, but I can try by giving her all the love she deserves.
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