Bond Unbroken

Since the weather has cooled considerably, Kodiak and I have been spending a great deal of time sitting on the deck, usually in the early morning after our walk and in the evening after a bit of play in the backyard.

Two nights ago, we were in the backyard, playing with his giant tennis ball when the sound of breaking glass startled both of us. A new neighbor bought the house two doors down from us and has been cleaning out the home, throwing things into an industrial dumpster in their driveway, so I knew that's where the sound came from, but because a line of old Pine trees obscures our view of that house, Kodiak was scared, unable to locate the cause of the noise. He wanted to go up on the deck, so I unhooked him and we went up to the front of the deck.

I brought my folding chair out on the deck and sat down, as he curled up between my feet. We sit out on the deck and watch, photograph, the sparrows that visit our bird feeder, so we enjoy many hours of relaxing time together in the fresh air.

Suddenly, there it was again... the sound of metal and breaking glass. Kodiak rose and went to the storm door, he wanted inside in the worst kind of way. He whined and grunted at me until I went to the door and let him go inside.

Once he was inside, he sat down and looked back out at me with quite the inquisitive look on his face, as if to ask, "Aren't you coming too?" I reassured him I would be right there, he could still see and hear me through the screen and I sat back down.

I hadn't been seated for more than a minute or so, before I heard him whining, grunting at me, like he does when you're not paying enough attention to him. He was standing at the door, his face against the screen, his tail wagging, so I went to the door and opened it, telling him to come back outside.

He bounced out the door and as I let it close behind him, he stood up on his hind feet, wrapping his front paws around my arm and pushed me down into my chair, where he rested on my lap with his elbows. He licked my face and glasses until I couldn't see clearly... I gave him a big hug.

When he put his feet down on the deck again, he immediately went back to the storm door, turned and sat down, so handsome and alert, looked at me and started to whine again. When I made eye contact with him he looked at the storm door, then back at me again.

My son was now standing in the doorway. He looked at me and said, "He wants you to come inside." I told him I knew that, but I wasn't ready yet. He continued, "He wants to be where you are, but he wants you to be inside, you should come inside. He doesn't think it's safe out there."

I knew he was right. Kodiak is very protective, wants to be with me all the time, doesn't want so much as a screen to be between us, or he cries. He'd detected a threat, the loud sounds he couldn't locate and wanted to be inside, but wanted to be with me, wanted me to go inside where he felt we would be safe.

So, I packed up my chair and camera (which I always have with me these days) and we went inside. Once I had put my things away, Kodiak led the way to my recliner, waited for me to sit down, then put his paws up on my belly and licked my face, before settling at my feet, where he let out a big sigh, before putting his chin on the floor and closing his eyes.

All was right in our world again.

He Just Knows

Yesterday, my son's service provider was coming to take him out to do some personal shopping. I had put together a list, with the help of my son, of the items he needed to buy, the brands and scents he uses and prefers.

Before she arrived, I handed him the list to put in his waist-pack, but he put his money and the list on the couch cushion instead.

When his 'Habilitation Aide' arrived, she sat on the loveseat across the room from where I and my son were sitting. When my son got up to collect the rest of the things he needed from his room, Kodiak stood and went to the couch, where he carefully picked up the list and walked across the room to my son's 'Hab Aide' and handed it to her.

She thanked him and sat there with her mouth hanging open, in awe of him, as no one asked him to do that, no one told him what to get or to whom he should take it. When she looked at me puzzled, he used his nose to push it at her, as if to say 'you're supposed to read it.'

The only thing she could say was "He's amazing. You're such an amazing dog." She puzzled over how he knew what to do. I told her I stopped trying to figure it out a long time ago. He just seems to know.

Typically, he brings things to me that he retrieves off the floor, as I've trained him to be my service dog and pick things up for me. Occasionally, I'll ask him to get something from someone else or take something to someone else, but in this instance, he knew the list was for the 'Hab Aide', how he knew that is a mystery.

He is such an incredible dog, his intelligence and intuitiveness are sometimes unbelievable. Other people who don't know him as well are stunned by the things he does, but I'm at a point where nothing surprises me about Kodiak anymore.

"I'm right here, are you okay?"

Recently, I've started experiencing a great deal of pain in my left hip and groin. I've found that I have to be careful how I sit, that my hips are aligned and I can't allow my left leg to 'turn out' because when I try to draw it back to center or to stand up, it feels like my hip joint is slightly dislocated. I can hardly put any weight on it at all.

Earlier this week, when I was getting up from my chair, so I could use the bathroom, the pain was so intense, I actually made some noise, groaned, as I stood. It nearly brought tears to my eyes.

My husband was sitting three feet from me, but didn't offer to assist me, as I couldn't put weight on my leg. When I cried out, Kodiak got down off the loveseat and ran across the room to me, his ears up, eyes alert, ready, if I needed him, as if to say, "I'm right here, are you okay?"

My husband said, "She's alright buddy, it's okay." Kodiak stayed by my side, watching, keenly aware that I was not okay.

My feelings were a little hurt, that my husband wasn't as concerned as Kodiak was. I said to him, "I could use a little help. It's pretty bad that Kodiak recognizes that, but you don't." He shot back with, "I don't see what I could help with." To which I replied, "You could give me your arm for support so I don't have to try to put so much weight on my bad leg."

He did get out of his chair and let me lean on him, so I could make it to the bathroom. He told me he didn't know what to do, that I like to try to do things myself, so he never knows whether to offer or not, so he waits to be asked. I guess I can see where he's coming from, sort of a lose/lose situation for him... if he offers to help he risks offending me (causing me to feel as if he thinks I can't do for myself) and if he doesn't offer to help he risks hurting my feelings and appearing to be oblivious to my pain and struggles.

Kodiak led the way to the bathroom, where he curled up on the floor outside the bathroom doorway, keeping his eyes fixed on me, until I was ready to leave the bathroom, then he escorted me to the bed, where I changed clothes and he then took me back out to my recliner, where he waited for me to sit down, then he pressed against me and curled up at my feet.

We are so 'in-tune' it sometimes boggles my mind... he knows me, knows when I'm feeling good and knows when I'm in pain and his moods change as mine do. He is an incredible companion.

Protector

Since Kodiak was a young puppy, he's demonstrated an ability to sense whether someone is a 'threat' or not. If he doesn't trust someone, he barks, won't get close to them, won't let them get close to me. He makes quite a production until the individual is out of the house.

I've seen him do this in the past with three individuals. The first was a 'technician' for the provider who was to service my power chair. The man couldn't come into the house without Kodiak just losing his mind, barking, snapping at the man, being keen to stay between the man and I. He even barked and howled when the man touched my power chair. He simply didn't trust him.

The second individual was the owner of the business that was to be servicing my power chair. He had come into our home several times and made threatening statements, issued ultimatums and was really very verbally abusive. Kodiak really had no tolerance for this man whatsoever.

My niece's husband is another individual that Kodiak does not react well to. He tries to nip him and in fact, did bite the back of his jeans (though he didn't get a hold of any skin), as he chases him when he's walking away from Kodiak.

Kodiak seems to be able to sense when people aren't being genuine.

Tuesday night, an old friend of ours came to visit for a little bit. Kodiak greeted him as he does all strangers, barking and howling, snorting and trying to scare him. We told him to come in and sit down and ignore Kodiak, that he would stop making noise in short order, as soon as he no longer detected a 'threat'.

Our friend sat down, we all had some pizza. Our friend offered Kodiak some pizza, which he hesitantly accepted. He seemed to be more comfortable, the longer he was in the house sitting on the couch.

When our friend stood and approached me, to show me something on his laptop, Kodiak got up and hurried to get between us. He stood between us until our friend took a step back, at which time Kodiak lay down on and between my feet. He stayed in that position until I handed the laptop to my husband and our friend was again sitting on the couch.

He behaved himself, staying ever alert, but quiet, until our friend got up to leave, then he walked him to the door.

My husband said he was comforted to know that when he's not here, Kodiak would protect me, get between me and an intruder or someone untrustworthy.

I'm learning to follow his lead and trust his instincts more and more. His judgments about different people's character have been justified.