Name
Came to us with the name of Champ, but we renamed him Kodiak because, well, everyone who owns Siberians has to have a Kodiak sooner or later.
Nicknames
Kodi, Kodi Joe, KoJo, Kodi-Monster, Kodi-Master, The Big Galoot
Origin
Came to us as a rescue from Siberian Husky Assist in Bristol, Virginia in October 2006. Like Kiska, he was a skinny stray who had been clearly well cared for in rescue, but needed some stability. His age is a big question mark. We were guessing around 18 months at adoption, but my vet (who is great) guessed he could be as old as 3 years based on wear on his teeth (or, as she said, he has chewed a lot of rocks – an extreme possibility). But while we may not know his chronological age, my vet described him perfectly as saying “he has a lot of puppy between the ears.”
Health
About a year after we adopted him, Kodiak tested positive for Heartworms. We were concerned because he never could gain weight and were looking for a cause. A great learning for me that despite blood tests by both the rescue and us, the heartworms were not detected. Heartworm infestation will not result in a positive test until after several months. Fortunately, the preventative we were providing kept the infestation under control until we detected and he responded well to treatment. He has gained weight and is almost 60 lbs today.
Personality
Goofball extraodinaire and loves to be a lapdog (which I have to convince him is difficult). Loves to wrestle and play. Head over heels in love with Kiska, worships Natasha but petrified that she will correct him, and, amazingly, subordinate to Rusty (though dominate to Qannik). My favorite trait is the “Kodi hug.” He starts from across the room, slams his body into your chest, wraps his paws around you, and hugs. After a few seconds, he runs back to playing with his pals.
Voice
Ranging from an actual bark, to a woo, to full fledge, ears touching his shoulders howl.
Where he sleeps
In a few short weeks, Kodiak graduated from sleeping in his crate to sleeping on the bed, preferably curled up against me. Of course, with all of the puppyhood, he would roll over and fall off the bed with a thud at least once a night. I also had to convince him that curled is the only way that will work, because he does like to stretch out in his sleep. Very common to wake up to paws on my chest and his head
under my chin. Finally, as he gained confidence, he graduated to sleeping off the bed and he now claims a corner arm chair as his personal bed. He can leap from the chair and onto the bed in a single bound, usually right on top of me to say good morning.
Where he rides in the car
Seat belted directly behind the driver. Necessary position because he would hang out the window if we let him. No danger of him falling out because of his seat belt (all of The Herd wears seat belts), but we still insist he rides inside the Jeep.
Favorite activity
Wrestling and being a goof ball.
