Kai
Who knows how a dog
really ends up in a shelter?
There are many reasons,
some are excuses,
some are a necessity
and some are strays.
In the case of Kai,
he was owner surrendered.
The owner was moving
and couldn't have pets in his new place.
I think it would be very hard
to leave a pet after seven years,
but who am I to judge,
never having been in a similar situation.
Anyway,
that's how Kai came to be
at the shelter in Santa Cruz
where we met him.
Our daughter, Tami,
volunteers at that shelter
and since we lost our sweet Buddy
last year,
she has kept us informed
of many of the wonderful dogs
up for adoption.
We didn't feel ready
to welcome
another dog into our life just yet
and it took awhile for
her to wear us down!
But the minute we saw Kai's picture
it was a done deal.
Thank you, Tami,
for your perseverance.
You are the true meaning of the old adage:
If at first you don't succeed,
try, try again.
We drove to Santa Cruz last week
and met Kai.
The name that he came into the shelter with
was Kanai.
It is Hawaiian in origin
and means content or champion
but we kept forgetting
how to pronounce it
so we settled on Kai.
He is starting
to respond to it already.
It was love at first sight
all the way round.
He is a
small miniature black poodle mix,
very sweet
and gets along well with humans
and other dogs
but wants to chase cats.
He bonded with us,
especially the Captain,
right from the beginning.
If we are not all together in one place,
he will start searching
for the missing.
When I first went to my office car
this morning
and the Captain was walking the dogs,
he had a little melt down
of separation anxiety at first
but, as you can see,
he finally got over it.
On the way home
after picking him up,
I noticed a similarity between us...
...it was meant to be!
He had a beauty treatment
at the salon
and he looks less like a ragamuffin
and more like the refined little gentleman
that we hoped
he would be.
He looks very black
in real life
but more silver in most photos.
Kai and friend at Pet Smart
Kai goes to the vet tomorrow
for his wellness check-up
and then we will decide
if he needs obedience training or not.
Although he is seven years old,
Kai doesn't know
the meaning of the word 'sit'
and we are working toward that goal
for the time being...
...until then,
little guy,
you are learning to dance
and we love you.
Welcome home.
...Judy...
I would say
the "content" meaning in his name
fits him well.
Sharing at:
