Koda and her three siblings were born in an overgrown field, part of a coffee farm. They were rescued by Luki Godoy, who contacted us to ask if we could help her get the pups sterilized and help her find homes for them. The pups were quite shy as they had not had much contact with people at all.

Dr. Jim spayed the little pups at the end of June, and we have been working with them, training them and getting them comfortable with people ever since.

Koda is friendly and playful with the other dogs and puppies. She and her siblings are still very shy of new people and startle easily. We believe that Koda’s shyness is a genetic trait rather than early trauma as she has never had any bad treatment. Koda is slowly becoming more trusting and is responding well with confidence building behaviors we are training, and positive experiences and exposure to new sights and sounds. With other dogs and with people she knows and trusts she is a funny, affectionate and energetic dog. But when confronted with strangers in close proximity she becomes overwhelmed.

With a little patience and some quiet interaction, she quickly comes around and will approach, begin to solicit treats, and warm up. Every month that passes brings her confidence up and she will now happily interact with many volunteers after only one meeting. She has a lovely, quiet and gentle nature, and is one of our all-time favourite dogs.

Koda is healthy, spayed, up to date on her shots. We are still training and working with her daily to continue to increase her confidence. She has beautiful general obedience, walks great on leash, and has a great recall. Koda is fearful of new people by nature. She is fabulous with all dogs, gentle and sweet with smaller dogs and puppies, and a great playmate to bigger, more active dogs. She does have a high prey drive and is blindingly fast; a combination which generally doesn’t end well for local squirrels!