Kodi

“Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one is a life diminished.” ~ Dean Koontz

On Sunday, after a pleasant drive through central Wyoming we arrived at the KOA in Douglas. Kodi had slept most of the ride, barely lifting his head to stare out the window. We fought the cold, rain and wind to set up our camp and settle in for a cold winter’s night. Snow was in the forecast.

Kodi was feeling unusually sluggish. He had no appetite. We set up his bed and settle him in as I prepared dinner. He fell quickly asleep and at five fifteen o’clock Kodi appeared to be having one of his animated dreams in which he howls, sings and whines like he’s doing battle with a pack of wolves; but this was extremely animated. This time, while in his dream-like state, he raised his head while vocalizing. It only lasted a few seconds before he took one last gasp of air, his head fell back on bed and his handsome frame became lifeless of an apparent heart episode. Treva and I performed CPR by giving him chest compressions and breathing into his nose but we soon realized he was gone. Gone, quickly, without any warning. Just gone.

The pain of losing someone you love is simply devastating. Crushing. Overwhelming. Period. How do we go on without him? It seems so horribly unreal. He was our boy, our dog, our son who was, to everyone who knew him, one of the most amazing beings to ever walk on four legs. Kodi was the most intelligent, loving, kindest dog that any of us have ever known. The painful emptiness and his joyful memory will both echo his extraordinary twelve year life for years to come.

I will leave you with a handful of the thousands of photos we have of Kodi. The first three photos are from the day we rescued him from a shelter in Houston, when he was just a puppy.