DAKOTA

As I turned my head to look at the cage behind me I saw him…… a perfect little tan and black puppy with eyes that seemed to bring you closer to God. He was adorable. He wasn’t yapping or spinning in circles like the other pups that day, he just seemed to look at us with longing eyes that said “ I’m yours, take me home” He was sitting there in total silence among the other barkers, head tilted down and big brown eyes looking up. None of the other puppies had that emotional effect on us that day and we knew he was ours. We scooped him up, asked a few questions like how big would he get etc, and off we went with our new furry member of the family. We named him Dakota. It was a cute name and he looked like a Dakota. The name seemed to suit him perfectly although we didn’t know why.

Dakota was a quiet and almost shy guy. He was more on the submissive side, but would play easily and hard when you wanted him to. He fit our family perfect. We are not hyper people and Dakota seemed perfectly content just sitting at night with us being hugged. He thought he was a person and often tried to sit on the couch with his front paws on the floor and hind end on the couch. It was hilarious to watch. I’m not sure he knew how large he was and often didn’t think twice about climbing onto someone’s lap who was sitting on the couch! All 100 pounds of him. We loved our “family time” and so did he. As a puppy he was potty trained in a week, and never did anything wrong. If he on the rare occasion he did do something like chew a rug by the front door his head would go down with his tail between his legs and you could tell he was truly sorry. His big brown eyes when you looked into them, really did make you closer to God , as if you could see his heart through them. They were truly the windows to his soul.

By January of the year we go him, we had moved into a new house with lots of room and a fenced yard for him and the kids. He would run and chase the kids and play with them. He seemed to love his life and loved our family. Dakota’s size was becoming larger and larger and we couldn’t believe the size he was becoming. Although they were not sure of his breed at the pet store we were told he was Shepard mix and would probably weigh about 50-60 lbs. At his largest Dakota ended up being almost 120 lbs! He was enormous, but the gentlest dog you could ever imagine. He was knick named “Gentle Giant” and “Moose Paws” by us. We didn’t care what he weighed or what mixed breed he was. We loved him, and so did everyone that met him.

Dakota loved us all and would protect us to his death. Although he was very gentle and submissive in nature he would become like a father bear if a service person entered the back yard or came to the door. I had to make sure that I reassured him, by saying “Its ok” with a happy tone. If not, he would jump up on his hind legs and would look as if he was a bear ready to attack. I must say it gave me a chuckle every now and then when I would see the look on some poor guys face standing by the front door. I knew how gentle he was but I knew that he loved us and would protect us at any cost.

Dakota loved us all deeply but there would be one person in our family that he lived for and that was my husband Steve. Dakota loved him so much that it would make my heartache and still does when I think about it. He would become depressed when Steve would leave for a day at work and would often go hours without eating and drinking. He would wait by the window almost every night as I started fixing dinner, just sitting and waiting for his master to return. When Steve’s car would pull in I would sometimes say “Daddy’s home.” Dakota, with a strange sound that was only reserved for only Steve, would begin a happy, but desperate whaling. Steve would come in and the kids and Dakota would run to him. Dakota’s tail thumping loud and knocking into everyone or anything that came in its path. I often thought he would break his tail off with the strength that wagged it with. After he knew that Steve was home and safe he would begin the routine of gulping down water, food and going outside a few thousand times. As if he was celebrating another day of his masters return. I have truly never seen a dog love someone so much. I think because Steve and him were so much alike. Both kind and gentle souls.

These past few years, Dakota has grown older and more weary. His legs didn’t work as well as they once did and he wasn’t able to come upstairs as much. He didn’t run and play like he used to, but he was always such a presence in our lives. Almost human in nature. His face turned grayer and we knew his time with us was limited. You could almost sense it in his eyes. Dakota loved us everyday and gave us something that no one in this world has….the most unselfish and unconditional love that we could ever imagine. He has grown with us, and with our children over the years and enriched our lives beyond belief.

Dakota died yesterday as we held him in our arms and told him one last time that he was a “Good boy” It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to witness in my life. As I sit here writing this with tears streaming down my face, I know that he was sent from God. I believe that animals are sent to us for reasons, and that through them we see the unconditional love and unselfishness of the man above. Our family will never again be the same without him, but though the pain is unbearable, we would not have changed a thing. It was a blessing to have him in our lives and we still feel his spirit with us today, even in our grief.

A few months ago, before he died, I came across something that made so much sense to me. Its funny how things work out and how things have so much meaning. I came across something that said that Dakota in the Native American people’s language means “Friend.” At the time he wasn’t sick, but I thought about these past 10 years and and its intense meaning that it had for me and our family. Little did we know why that name seemed to suit him so... He came here with a purpose and he did his job perfectly.



We miss you and will always love you boy!

“Kota”
August 20th 1994 - October13th 2004
Love, Daddy, Mommy, Tara, Joe and Nikki.

I am so very sorry for the loss of your wonderful friend. The one sad thing all of us here have in common, is the ability to type while we cry! Heck, I'm a pro at typing-crying! After reading about darling Dakota, I'm doing it again. Thanks for sharing how wonderful he was with all of us.

Amy

Hi!

What an absolutely BEAUTIFUL and moving tribute to a wonderful furdog, named DAKOTA......

How much more RICHER you and your families lives were because of one of God's wonderous creatures!!!!

I love how you picked him out as a puppy, with those big brown eyes, that "just seem to know.......
"Please take me home, I'm yours"............. And, you did!!!!!!

Your whole tribute was a joy to read, and I want to say, "Thank you for letting me in, and for sharing your lives with me......"

I too, believe that our furkids are sent to us "for reasons", from God..... I don't question that AT ALL!!!!

Your quote,

I believe that Dakota's spirit will be with you and your family always.....

Please know that I truly share in your grief.....I know the pain hurts terribly, but it will slowly get better..........
There will come a time that you will be thinking of your beloved 'friend' KOTA, with smiles and laughter, rather than
the tears that are falling now.....
Your sweet Dakota would want his family to always remember him with happiness.....

God Bless you, Always....

Love, Denise, Ben, Ms. Lucy and Mr. Yoster

p.s. I read Amy's post.........it's true.........good thing we can type while we cry.....I do it so often, reading all of these posts, and then replying to them....

I am so sorry for the loss of Kota. By the time I finished reading I was crying and still am while writing this. I guess most of us here have become pretty good at typing while crying! Your writing of Kota is so beautiful!

Once again, I am so sorry for your loss.


Wanda

Thank you so much for sharing your memories of Dakota with us. He truly sounds like great companion. You were lucky to have each other.

I love to here stories like that.

Vicki (Stymy's Mom)

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our Kota. It makes me feel so much better to share the story of his life and what a incredible, loving soul he was. I need other people to hear it and know how blessed we were to have him in our lives.

I cannot say thank you enough to all of you. This site is helping me so much.

Once again ........typing and crying ! (Tears of joy and sorrow)

Thank you for sharing your story about your Dakota! And I too, am perfecting the art of typing/crying....wish I could say more but I am facing my Maxi's end on this earth......
God be with all the babies we have let go .....

Suzanne