The life of kodiak
 
Chapter One :   The beginning

I will never forget the day Kodiak came into my life. A short time before,  a still young German Shepard of 9 months that had been given to me about 7 months earlier had escaped the area where I was living at and had jumped the fence .. he was struck by a car. I was stricken and shocked. This feeling stayed with me for weeks.  A lady I had worked with at the time noticed my sorrow and had asked me about it. I mentioned to her what had happened. She then said she would help me out with my grief...at the time I did not realize what she had meant. I knew that she had always searched for homes for dogs and cats. After about a weeks time she had called me over as I was walking out of the door to go home. My then landlord had a horse trailer parked on his property. I was to look in the trailer and there would be a suprise waiting there for me. I rushed home with excitement. A warm rush of happiness came over me as I opened the door and looked inside. There was a little bundle of black and tan. He looked (I did know the sex then) up and it was love at first site
He was such a cute puppy. A lovable bundle of joy. He was such a bouncy little guy! As he had run in front of me, I had noticed he was bowleged.. A strange site. After a few months of running and romping around he did manage to lose most of the bowlegs but to his late age he did have a slight bow in them.
     The first night was something to remember... I gave him water and dinner, afterwards he strolled around the room just sniffing away. By the time it was time to go to bed I could tell he was tired. I had just recently purchased a large blanket . I lifted Kodiak unto the bed and almost right away he cuddled up into the blankets and was sleeping. I placed my pillow right new to him, laid my arm around him and fell asleep.
     As time when on, Kodiak and I had to moved to a trailer park. The trailer park was huge in size. Plenty of space for Kodiak and I to take walks. There was an added bonus though, there was a small area where one could let boats into the water. I took him to the water and tried to get him in…what a laugh! He only went in when the water went up to his belly.  a few years later, I had let him go into the water and he loved it…he was actually swimming and loving it ! As a matter of fact I had to pull him out!
     Life in the trailer park was good to us though  a problem   did occur. I had to leave Kodiak along for a longer period of time. Sure the trailer is hot in the afternoon, but I did keep the air conditioning on low, therefore it did stay nice and cool during the day. But the problem that still remainedwas kodiak being alone all day. This problem was solved when a friend had mentioned she had a kitten to give away….hmmm kitten, lets see what happens. As can be expected Kodiak did give the kitten many strange looks but did not do anything to hurt the kitten.
I named the kitten junior as soon as I knew exactly what the kittens sex was. I named him junior due to the fact that he was jet black with not a spot of other color on him.  Since his new found brother was also mostly black, hence the name junior. After a couple of weeks, Kodiak and junior really got to the point of being comfortable around each other. As a matter of fact when I got home in the evening I noticed the fun that they had together. Pillows and other objects laid around on the ground. One time I was lying on the couch and watching tv. I had a good chance to observe the two. The trailer had a long hallway. Junior would chase Kodiak towards the end of the hallway into the bedroom and then Kodiak would chase junior down towards the living room. This then explained how everything was untidy when I got home. This was no problem for me because I was happy that they were having fun and Kodiak was not lonely. The best part was once when I got home I sort of snuck up on them. And the site I came up upon ... I was quite surprised, here was Kodiak spread out and junior lying right next to his stomach. I did take a picture of that , this you will be able to see on the images page.

Chapter Two:   The trip to Germany

     We were all a happy family, myself, Kodiak and junior. But things were not going well with work and money wise. I had decided to go back to Germany, meaning going back to live with my parents. I then got every thing in order to ship out Kodiak. Junior now  that was a different story. I made a decision not to take him with, not out of the financial situation but due to the fact I had a neighbor that loved cats and was crazy about them . She already had about six of them and they were all fat and well feed. I knew junior would be taken care of.
     I had talked to my mother over the phone about Kodiak, at first she was a little scared of a dog that did not have a good reputation to begin with.  I assured her that he is like a little child and that she would automatically fall in love with him at first sight.
     The trip went over with no problem at all. Kodiak and I got over the ocean with out any complications.  My brother and father had picked me up at the airport.  When we arrived at home we were greeted well and Kodiak was greeted with a wary eye. But as I knew he won over their hearts immediately.
As a matter of fact he won many, many hearts over in the years to come. That time period, Rottweilers were in the newspapers a lot. Dogs attacking people and little children for no reason, they were called beasts. Many people were wary of Kodiak in the beginning but after just a few minutes with him any fear was gone.
Kodiak was known around town, even when school was out and Kodiak was outside in the yard, many a children stopped and petted him through the fence.
There he began to be a ladies man. The ladies just went crazy over him.  And…what did he do you ask? Just lapped it up. They started making nicknames for him, hugging up to him and just saying how soft his fur he was. But all in all he was everyones friend. He was loved by all.
     Well speaking of ladies, there was a lady in my life, a very pretty and intelligent lady who I had met in the states. We started writng to each other, and soon it was time to visit her. To make a story short we did get married and it was time for Paula to come over to Germany. Oh brother I thought….would the two of them get along? Well the only way to find out was to wait out time and see how things turn out. Well as it turned out once again…love at first site.

Chapter Three:   Paula and Kodiak

             Paula and Kodiak is a complete story in itself. Not one being a human and the other an animal, but as a mother and a son. I had spoiled Kodiak to a large degree, but Paula, talking about spoiling him…whew! I had spoiled him by letting him sleep on the bed, hmm by the way..imagine a dog that has grown very big and a large man in one bed. We were always fighting for space on the bed. Well Paula was here and I was thinking the three of us would not fit on the bed so I left him out in the next room. So I thought. After about a half hour of whining we let him in..Paula decided on that one. Let him in and let him lay down on the floor. So what happened next …tell me ? Here you have a grown dog, a grown man, and thank  goodness Paula is small. Well the first night I have to say was a toss and turn one. But all went well, and we did get some sleep. After that night Kodiak started to sleep on Paulas side. I was larger in size so the both of us did not fit on one side, plus I was pushing him off with my feet.
As time went on Paula and Kodiak found a new love in each other. As I had mentioned before it was more like a mother son relationship. Paula took so well care of Kodiak that many a times she did not think of herself first, she thought of him always first. After getting up in the morning, she took care of Kodiak meaning food and letting him out to do his business. In the meantime my job took me to a different town so we had our own apartment. In the meantime when I was a work, Paula cleaned house, cooked and even started to do crafts. Both of them were doing just fine. They had company with each other and loved each other. Many a times when I came home for breakfast break I would sneak into the house and open the bedroom door. Here are the both of them snoring away. The both of them did like to sleep in long. Now with the new apartment, coming home was a different story. Here you had both your wife and dog there to meet you …it was and excellent feeling, believe me. It is something that will never go from my mind. Every so often we took a drive to my parents. It was an hour and half drive. Oh by the way did I mention that Kodiak loved driving in a car? Yes very true, I even went to the point one time of buying a used station wagon so everyone and everything would fit. So here we are off to my parents, Kodiak riding shotgun in the back. We stocked up on water before we started the trip. Many a times we would take our time driving and stop for a rest, get something to eat. But you cannot resist the magic Kodiak look. It is almost to the point of him hypnotiesing you, making you give himself something to eat. But what the heck, why not. But continuing with the car, Kodiak loved to hop in the back seat. many a times  when we were outside and going towards the car he would start dancing around the car, just waiting to hop in the car at first chance. Which brings us up to the next part of the story….

Chapter 4:   Life with Kodiak

     The car…..well I should say Kodiaks car, his first car was a lime green vw  passat station wagon. The station wagon was just perfect for us because of obviously the space. At the time my buddy Peter and I did a lot of kite flying. Not the average kids kites but self built kites that were huge. So Peter, I and Kodiak and the load of kites went down to the field. Kodiak loved those kites. He just went nuts, running like a mad dog after them. Many a times he actually almost caught up to them and even once he got bumped on the nose quite heavily. Like always he brushed it off and off he went, He had such a stamina when it came to chasing kites, be it going after kites or the model rockets we sent up. He was crazy about kites but he really went nuts after the models rockets. You had to actually hold his neck chain in order to stop him from going directly to the launching rocket. All in all he loved to go on car rides, if he was outside in the yard and you were planning on driving off without him…oh boy what a ruckus he made. Almost as if he was saying, please daddy take me with…waaaaaa !
Up to his last months he still enjoyed the rides even though you had to help him up in the car.

Chapter five:   coming to and end

Shortly after Paula and I got married, we decided to settle in the states. Sure Germany was fine and we could not complain, we had family there, we have excellent people we are lucky to call friends, and the countryside is stunning. The actual reason for planning to leave is that we both had plans for opening our own business. The business we had planned on opening was arts and crafts. The oppurtunities for opening a business in the states is easier than most places. A lot less red tape and taxes and what not. We had time to plan ahead for this step in our lives. Time meaning until all the paperwork for Paula’s visa went through. As time went on we could tell Kodiak was feeling his age. Mentally he was fit as a fiddle, but physically one could tell he still wanted to run around and romp, but he got tired very fast. when Paula did notice that, she went out with him to do his business in the yard. She stayed with him until he was finished, if she did not, he would not go by himself. He now  would frequently have accidents in the bed meaning peeing. It was not always fun to clean up after him, but we did not get mad with him. After all think of it this way, when we get of age  we would like to have someone look after us and take care of us. Paula had mentioned to me before that Kodiak was starting to really act his age and that is health was failing. I knew this fact also but I did not want to accept this fact apartentlly. Heke my brother took him many of times for a walk in the nearby park. But as time went by, one had to really take his time walking with Kodiak.
     Paula’s paperwork finally went through, the day was coming to make the big move. Paula was to go first to start work and look for an apartment. I was to leave with Kodiak but first tie up loose ends. The day came where Paula was to leave, she was saddened days hince before that time. Many a tear was shed, but all in all the move she was ready to make had to be done, I was not happy about the fact we would be apart from each other for a few months, but sometimes sacrifeices   had to be made.
 I t was a strange feeling at first being without Paula, just Kodiak and I, I could tell he was missing her. When I was at work my mom looked after Kodiak, I knew she was the type to baby him also. She would make sure he got something to eat before she made something for herself, but she was always that way when it came down to pets and children, first the others then herself. The nights were lonely, I still did visits to friends but I made sure the time would not be to long. After awhile I would get nervous and could not relax when being gone from him. Plus when I got home the joy that I received is a hard thing to describe. He would be on the bed of course curled up in the blankets and the pillows, jump down of the bed and then start to romp around., even to the point of schussing him because he would start to bark and carry on. It would always be a joy to come home and Kodiak greet you like that. Months later I believe this is still the main reason for missing him. You come home, Paula is at work and the apartment is empty. No one or nothing is there to greet you.

 
Chapter six:   the final days

     Paula and I talked very rarely on the phone to save money as much as we could. We talked back and forth using the instant messanger or e-mails. As time went on Paula was having a hard time with finding a place to live. She was staying at her sisters home for the time being. My mother in law and Paula were looking around for an appartement complex that would accept medium to large dogs. This proved to be hair raising experience in itself. If the places would accept dogs of the mini dog type, meaning they would be the same size as a cat. The other places that would accept large dogs were number one outrageous in price or have some restriction or hidden cost. At this point in time I would like to give my 2 cents on this particular subject. It is a shame that many people make money off the misery of others. I see the point that many pet owners leave their apartments in shambles. I realize this to be true. I can see their point. But all in all what a good way to make money off of people. They know that people will either have large dogs or animals. They know  how  hard it is to get a decent place to live with a large dog. You are basically at the mercy of the owners. Paula had even looked into renting a house. That proved to be a headache also.
     The point we were getting to was to leave Kodiak behind until we found a place that would not only accept dogs but would be reasonable.  Time passed at this would not come to be . The time passed so that I was ready to leave germany. My heart felt heviear and heaviear. I knew the time to depart was near , and somehow  I knew the final hug and kiss would be the last. the next day I was to leave... that night i took kodiak and put my arm around him and sqeezed him next up to me. tears were in my eyes, my heart felt heavy. that night i did not get much sleep,first kodiak on my mind then the ideas of traveling 10 hours on a plane did not help much either. The morning did come and so did the farewell to kodiak, as i went down the steps , i looked back to my door, through the small window, kodiak peeked out and i could tell that he knew  i was leaving for good. Peter and Esther drove me to the airport . on the way i had to fight back tears and fight back the feeling that i had to howl for anguish. All through the fight i was having good thoughts. i was finally seeing paula after several months. the only thing to tarnish these feelings is that kodiak and i could not share these feeling and joy to see paula.

chapter 7:   the end

     seeing paula again was like life starting all over again. my mother in law  joan and paula had really made the appartment compfortable . i really had no reason to complain. time as it was went on again . we had a wonderful christmas together. paula did not say much in regards to kodiak and i did not either. the last christmas we had all three spent together was a wonderful one. it was the one were we all three were  in our appartment in buttlar. it was a wonderful one, and we did not ruin the memories by talking about it.
the days still passed on. i spoke to my mother, she told me how kodiak was getting to the point were he was messing the bed and could hardly walk. my mother and father being of age already had a hard time keeping up with cleaning the mess kodiak left behind. but the effort was made and love was given to him.
     at this point i want to spare the readers of the story the  details of kodiaks final hours, needless to say it was not nice at all.
My parents called the vet and she had come out to the house.........
kodiak passed away on january 12 , 2001 at 11:45 in the morning. ...it took several days before my mother called to tell me the news. several days and many many tears. She knew how hard it would be to break the news to me.

chapter 8:   to think and feel toward the future

     all in all kodiaks death was hard, but it opened my eyes also , i realized something, this something was the fact that one should never take something or someone for granted. if you love either a person or an animal, show  how  much you love them each and every day. one might have problems , but one should never forget that you love someone or something and that they love you also. take the time and tell them of your love, show them that they are loved. when the time comes of passing , they know and feel that they were loved. it will make the trip to the other world much easier.

People who do not know the love for an animal,,,how can they know the love for an human ?

manuel thomas   june 21, 2001