In February of 2004, Taryn and I decided we wanted a dog. It was simple as to what we wanted. Pure bred, Yellow Lab. With the help of our friend Kristine Kelsey, who is involved with Rottweiler and Pit Bull rescue, we found a two year old, pure bred Yellow Lab in a shelter in Westfield NY. Due to heavy snow storms, his transport to us from the shelter needed to be cancelled and we had a decision. Either drive out and pick him up, or have him stay in the shelter until transport could be arranged, risking someone else would adopt him. Since he was exactly what we were looking for we decided to drive out and pick him up. The night before we were scheduled to make the 7hr journey to pick him up, Taryn's Grandfather passed away. We made the decision to still make the trip to pick him up even during this sad time. We left early that Saturday morning, staying over night in Buffalo NY, at extended family. The following morning we finished our trip. The shelter was nice enough to open on that Sunday for us. I remember the first time I saw him. 70lbs of yellow and white energy. They let him out in the backyard and he must have run full speed around for 10 minutes. His name at the time was Gus. He was a stray and they didn't really even know his name so that is what they called him. After about 20 minutes of Gus running around, jumping on us and him being generally spastic, we loaded him in the car and started the 7hr drive home. This is where our life journey with Kona really began. The entire ride he either slept or sat up to nudge us to pet him for a minute, then he would lie back down. During that drive back, we realized he was special. Quiet and loving. He just wanted to give love and receive love.
When we got home, we were in full gear with the services for Taryn's Grandfather. One day not even a week into having him we needed to leave him at home for a full day by himself and he had an accident in the house. I'll never forget his face when I came in. Tail wagging, his head and big brown floppy ears down, knowing he had an accident. There was no getting mad, no saying bad dog. Just letting him know that we realized he's new to our family and those things happen. Such a great boy.
So many stories with Kona. Another realization of him being a great dog was one of the first times having him in the woods with no leash. He saw a deer and took off chasing. All I thought was "Well, he didn't last long", fearing I'd never see him again. After about 20 minutes of waiting, I decided to go look for him. After not finding him I returned to where I last saw him. There was a man sitting on a bench and I asked if he'd seen a big Yellow Lab. He said "yeah, he just walked by here. He looked like he was looking for someone". Almost on cue, here comes Kona bolting up the trail, looking happier to see me than I was to see him. He was always great at that. He take off in the woods for 20-30 minutes at a time. Just had to wait and he'd always be right back. Sometimes bleeding from getting the big floppy ears or tongue caught on briar's or with porcupine quills stuck in his face. There was the time he came out of the woods with deer intestines (hunting area) in his mouth which he got lead poisoning from. Pancreantitis? Yeah, he got a case of that too.
He took our move to NC in stride. His hijinx continued. Catching cats and squirrels, chasing deer across soccer practices, flying through the woods on mountain bike rides. He loved it. We loved him for it.
He loved our girls. Always the protector of not only them but Taryn. He would always stand between the girls and unfamiliar people. If they were not home, he would always be looking for them. That's who he was. Our big Yellow Lab protector. And he was so good with them. They would pull his ears, his tail, crawl all over him, poke him in the eyes, you name it.
Three weeks ago Kona was diagnosed with cancer. It had progressed to the point where treatment was moot. He had pretty much been himself up until a few days ago. He didn't want to walk, wouldn't eat, and you could look in his face and he wasn't happy. Yesterday, we put him to sleep.
He is going to be so dearly missed. He taught us so many things. Most importantly, he taught us how to be parents.
We love and miss you Bubba.....
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