Adopter Name

Gabi, Paul and Leslie

Rescue Dog’s Name

Koda

Where Did You Find Your Dog?

Hawaiian Humane Society

Tell Us About the Moment When You Knew that You Two Were Meant for Each Other.

Gabi and I (Leslie) volunteer at our wonderful Hawaiian Humane Society. We also live on a school campus here on Oahu and have a very large Wolfhound cross rescue named Puck at home; we weren’t really thinking about getting another dog … until a litter of six adorable ”shar-pei cross” puppies were brought in to the shelter. One by one we saw these sweet pups go home with nice families … but the two brindle babies in the litter were having a hard time. They were as sweet and friendly as their litter-mates, but time and again we heard people note their coloring and say ”pit bull.” There is a great deal of prejudice against pit bulls here as elsewhere … and it just seemed so wrong that two wonderful dogs were being judges because ”of the color of their skin.” (Where have we heard THAT before?!?) So Gabi went home and made a presentation for her father, who had to be convinced. That weekend we all went back to HHS, and sure enough, the little brindles hadn’t been adopted. So we cuddled and played with both and decided Koda would be going home with us! For having been the most resistant, Paul fell the hardest for Koda’s sweet demeanor and irrepressible good nature, and they can often be found napping on the couch together on weekend afternoons! Puck loves his ”little bruddah” and has taken Koda right under his wing. The best part of this story has to do with Koda’s real sibling – the other male brindle pup who was the last of the litter at HHS. On the advice of a friend, I called HHS the next day to see if we could bring the other pup over for play dates so he could be socialized … but he had been already been adopted. Turns out, the young couple who adopted him visit the same veterinarian we do. When we went for Koda’s first visit, the vet tech got all excited because she was sure these two were brothers – and she was right! The vet’s office got us in touch with each other, and now Koda and his brindle brother Hercules have a romping play date every Sunday afternoon … and our family has made new friends, too.

How Has Your Hero Changed Your Life?

Koda has opened our eyes to breed prejudice, and just how important it is to look past unfair categorizations. Our brindle boy may well have pit bull in him, but he is the friendliest, most affectionate dog on Oahu! Our school’s hula halau is right by our house, and the high school hula dancers beg me to bring him out while they have lunch. Koda goes from lap to lap with pure aloha in his heart, and we all agree his mana makes our community a better place!