Hearts in Hawai'i
A Tribute to Kimo (& Kona) (2024)
4/2/2025
These entries (and the ones on following blog entries) are mostly pulled from Facebook posts I made at that time.
Tuesday, January 9
I remember Kona sizing up the snowbank on our driveway last year before deciding she could scale it (which she did). Today's snowbank is much lower so she just barreled through it on her path to the Highlands and her favorite spot to do her business. Required zoomies followed, of course!
Kimo's snowbank scaling days are pretty much done. He takes the path of least resistance to his spot.
With this bit of business out of the way, they had a somewhat raucous play session in the living room and are now napping in their favorite spots in my home office--Kona under my computer table, Kimo next to the DVD case rack.
Friday, January 12
Kimo deserves some equal time! My pics as of late have been somewhat Kona-centric. Can't ignore the Old Man!
Friday, January 19
Comparing Kona's inside zoomies to what Kimo used to do--fairly similar as for route, but Kimo used to stop upstairs in the loft, do some spins and then bark at me once or twice before continuing his assault on our carpet. Also, Kimo brakes better than Kona. She has a hard time slowing down after descending the stairs.
Monday, February 12
Two years ago we officially adopted Kona aka Boots aka Baby Girl Kona aka Spring aka Gimme Back My Sock! She'll be turning three in May and still acts like a kid, testing her boundaries with us and Kimo at every turn. She's a joy to have as part of our home.
Wednesday, February 28
Contemplating deep Kimo thoughts. Which is code for "Any treats in my near future, human?"
Sunday, March 3
WTF? Kona is used to being in Patty’s lap. Too used, to the point where she growls if Kimo passes by, like “Back off, bucko! My human!”
Problem is, he can’t hear her
Today she attacked him when he got too close. He, of course, defended himself. It got wild and violent until I could get over there and pull Kimo away.
Patty got bit on the leg, probably by Kimo, in the process. Blood drawn. Not enough for stitches but enough to scare me a bit.
Hindsight is always 20/20 but Kona probably thought she was Alpha.
She’s in the kennel now and access to Patty and Kimo is gonna be restricted for a period
Holy shit.
Tuesday, March 5
The guys had some time together under my supervision. They did fine with their usual play. Eventually, Kona just played with her Kong. I got on the floor with her but Kimo had to come over and seek my attention. Of course. Spoiled brats. She's still having a hard time with not being able to jump up onto Patty's chair or the couch, but she's getting there. The thing I don't like about this is we have to deny Kimo the same access, to ensure the dogs are being treated equally and fairly ("Fairly, my ass" Kona would say if she could talk)
Thursday, March 7
Doggo update--they were fine today. Had some play time, Kimo got to clean her privates (no delicate way to say that but you knew I'd say it) She tried to jump up on the couch a couple times, but finally gave up and took a nap in Kimo's chair, of course.
Their triggers are three-fold: 1) Kona being in Patty's chair 2) Every toy except the Kong 3) Food.
The food thing was dealt with long ago, and they now eat in different rooms. The Patty chair thing is solved by not letting her up there. The toy thing is solved by not letting them having anything other than the Kong.
They love it when I sit on the carpet with them! Kimo comes over a-licking and Kona brings the Kong to be so I can play with her. So, in most situations, they're perfectly fine with each other. Just these three triggers are a problem.
And, as always, they were perfect being in my office. Maybe it's a "we'd better behave with Dad this close" thing, I don't know for sure.
Saturday, March 16
Doggos update; doing okay lately. We've been keeping a close eye on Kimo lately. Last week, on a walk with Patty, one of his front legs suddenly collapsed, leaving him somewhat lame for a couple of days. He seems better now to the point where he can jump up on the bed again but he can't handle the long walks he used to manage. Limited to about a block per walk now.
I'm going to have fun finding a spot in bed tonight. Last I looked, Kimo was sprawled out across the foot of the bed, and Kona was using BOTH my pillows to snuggle! Spoiled little
sweeties.
Wednesday, March 27
Annual check-up for Las Perras at Daugherty Vet and they're both in great shape! Kona has gained five pounds in the past year and is now just three lbs lighter than Kimo. She's filled in nicely from the fairly emaciated dog we adopted two years ago. She does great with vet stuff, never reacting to anything including getting her anal sacs expressed. But while she was up on the table, Kimo was looking up and whining, being the protective brother he is.
Thursday, March 28
Spirited play by the puppers tonight, starting with Kona taunting Kimo with their Kong. Kimo got low, growled at her, then barked, then went and yanked the Kong out of her mouth. Thought it was nice of him to immediately drop it so she could grab it and they could repeat the cycle.
But tonight included a first--he chased her around the living room coffee table! They made a few orbits before he must have thought "Oh, screw this" and jumped back up in his chair.
After taking a nap with me this afternoon with her head on my pillow, she's now in bed with Patty. With her head on my pillow.
Thursday, April 4
Kona is a weird one. She has totally different locations where she's comfortable peeding/pooping depending on which human has her outside.
When she's outside with Patty, the Highlands are the place to be, that grassy slope on the other side of the north driveway.
With me, she won't go anywhere near the place, and she'll stand in the driveway staring at me, glancing toward the other building until I relent and walk her up by the mailboxes on the west end of our complex. There is a fire hydrant next to the cul-de-sac she likes to pee near, and the grassy (now snowy for another couple days) area adjacent to the mailboxes where she likes to poop.
Why? How the hell do I know? Do I look like Cesar Milan?
But I don't mind, now that the temps are above Freeze My Ass Off levels. The exercise is good for the both of us.
Friday, April 12
Grab an apple and here come The Beggers!
Sunday, April 14
On guard against rogue dogs, rabbits and (in Kona’s case) blowing leaves!
Saturday, April 20
Kona is hanging out in my home office this morning, with the office door open. Normally she'll leave when this happens and go exploring (which is code for "bugging the shit out of Kimo"). She's limited to the upstairs however as I have the gate up at the top of the stairs. It's just a gate which I lean against the side walls on the stairway. Kimo figured out how to pull the gate over years ago to access the downstairs but apparently he hasn't taught Kona this yet. I'm sure she'll figure it out eventually as she's pretty smart.
Right now she's looking up at me from under the computer table with a "Some attention please?" look
Tuesday, May 7
Baby Girl Kona is 3 years old today! She (and Kimo) got special wet dog food this morning to celebrate. Taking her up to PetSmart tomorrow morning for a bath--she needs it!
Friday, May 10
This morning came time for Kona's doggie wash at Pet Smart and she did great. Until the dryer came on. The sound and feel of the blown air freaked her out to the point where, twice, she jumped over the far side of the dog wash bathtub, leaving her stuck against the outside of the tub (the leash which anchors them isn't very long, for good reason). Finally I said "The hell with it" and finished drying her as best as I could with the provided towel. A more thorough drying commenced after we got home.
She smells great! With the Sargent's Oatmeal and Vanilla shampoo, of course. But I've also come to the conclusion that we're far better off paying the extra money to have this done at Bark Avenue
Wednesday, May 29
Las Perras had a good day today. I knew Kona liked to chase stuff so after getting my car out of the garage, we spent a long time in it playing chase with a tennis ball. She had me in stitches trying to catch the thing--so uncoordinated! And once she had it, she wanted to play keep away with me, running around and around while I stood in the middle of the garage. Once I figured out how to get her to bring me the ball (treats!), it went better. As soon as she got back in the house, she crashed on the couch for a couple hours.
Kimo must have thought "Thank God! A respite!" Yeah, that didn't last very long. As soon as her batteries recharged, she went bouncing across the carpet at him doing that funny low growl she always does when she wants to play. And so off they went. He goes from bitey face to licky face with her all the time. Kona doesn't really like being licked and I'd like to think he understands this but does it just because she doesn't want him to. Payback for her bugging him so much, as it were.
An hour later, they were both crashed out, Now I know how to drain her Energizer Bunny self down a bit. 😁
I'm still not sure if the glucosamine tablets I'm giving Kimo are having a positive effect. It seems like his energy is better (he got the zoomies in the side yard yesterday for the first time in at least a year) but maybe that's just me wanting to justify the expense. As any rate, we're keeping him on the supplement.
Sunday, June 2
Love how Kona sits up so high! Kimo used to. Now he stoops but he still scolds me when I come home
Friday, June 7
Kimo found his place in the sun this morning!
Tuesday, June 18
I think the dogs like being home. Kimo is sprawled out on his double-padded bed, Kona is stretched out across one of my pillows. Both are crashed out hard.
Friday, June 21
One of Kona's favorite spots! "Favorite spots" being defined by any place I had been in--she seems to love my scent
Thursday, June 27
I had Kona in my office tonight until just before 11:00. She was sacked out with her head up against the DVD rack, looking sweet as ever. Came time to get her downstairs and into her kennel for the night:
"C'mon girl, let's go kennel!"
I open up the office door and she runs through the loft, stopping and looking up at the bedroom door in the hope I'd space out and let her in so she could jump up on the bed with Patty, her first choice of where to sleep.
"No girl, downstairs!"
She promptly runs down the stairs and stops in front of Kimo's chair, her second choice of where to sleep. He's on his double padded bed upstairs so maybe she just wants to keep his daytime bed warm for him. So thoughtful that way 🙂
"No girl, go kennel!"
She begrudgingly walks into the kennel, her last choice of where to sleep.
Kids. 
Sunday, July 28
Twelve years ago today, Patty and I met Kimo (Harold) for the first time at CHA (Chequamegon Humane Association in Ashland). They couldn't get him to focus on us because he was running with a Border Collie named Fred on either side of their outside cage. As they tried to get Fred away from Kimo, Kimo lunged through the fence and took a chunk of fur out of Fred! "Holy crap, what kind of a devil dog are we looking at here?" was my initial thought. But he behaved as well with us as one would expect from a first meeting. It was Instant Love for Patty and I was pretty taken with him as well. It was a great choice and we'd like to think we've brought as much joy into his life as he's brought to ours.
Thursday, August 29
More of The Beggers!
Friday, August 30
Kona really wants some apple!
Friday, September 13
This is interesting; either Kimo can still hear a bit (Patty calls it Selective Hearing, an apparent male trait) or he can read lips.
He was laying at the top of the stairs, looking down while I was in the living room. I walked past the stairway and asked "Want your Yumove, boy?", and he ran down the stairs toward me. He loves those fishy treats but I normally have to show him the container before he comes to me.
But if he's truly deaf, then how did he know I wanted to give him something? I made no gesture of any kind which usually tells him I want him to approach.
Now for Kona. She was sitting next to the couch this afternoon when I told her "Go kennel, girl!" She responded by jumping up on the couch and putting her head in my lap. Funny girl and a total sweetheart.
Monday, September 16
You know how sometimes you see something and wish you had your cellphone handy just to take a pic? Today was a perfect example of this--I woke up from a nap and looked over to see the dogs laying on the bed side by side with Kona's head resting on Kimo's shoulders. As cute as they've been together since we rescued Kona in Feb. 2022, this was their sweetest moment together yet. He usually doesn't like the close stuff so I'm amazed he let her do this!
Thursday, October 3
This was unexpected--I got on the floor and both dogs came over to me for attention (expected). But after only a few seconds, Kona walked away and Kimo got closer for extra scratches, pets and rubs. I really thought she was going to make a deal out of this after seeing how I was lavishing attention on Kimo. In the end, she was more interested in looking out the front door hoping to see one of her rabbit "buddies" than anything else.
Kimo has been more clingy lately and I'm more than happy to oblige his attempts to garner attention.
Wednesday, October 9
Kimo needs to go to RTA (Rabbit Turds Anonymous) meetings. He loves those things!
Thursday, October 10
Kona looks wiped out and I don't know why! They hardly played today.
Friday, October 11
Kimo is an athlete. He can catch tossed treats like Brooks Robinson used to catch ground balls. Kona? Nope. I tossed her a treat the other day and watched as she closed her eyes, the treat bouncing off her forehead. She's great at tracking squirrels and rabbits but treats? Not so much.
With both dogs' business done, Kona jumped up on the couch to take a nap. Kimo walked over to her, stuck his face in hers and made this sound which is part whine/part growl. It's Kimo-speak for "C'mon, c'mon, let's play!" Kona ignored him. But she was interested in getting her snout in my face and sniffing my Gatorade breath
Tuesday, October 15
We've been watching Kimo closely ever since starting him on Yumove joint supplement to see if they're actually working. Well, last night, he tore across the living room after Kona and forced her to retreat onto the couch. He had a self-satisfied look on his face as he strutted away like "I think she's learning!"
Thursday, October 17
Last autumn, Kona was a fearless leaf chaser. She’s not doing that this year—i think she’s figured out leaves aren’t an enemy which must be caught and destroyed.
Saturday, October 19
Kimo was on the carpet tonight, Kona on the couch next to me. "What do you suppose she'll do if I get on the carpet next to Kimo?" I asked Patty.
It took her a minute to realize "Hey! Dad is giving the old guy some love!! What about me?" And so she jumped down and tried to get between us. Kimo wasn't crazy about the idea, so I sat up. She got between my legs and started smooshing her face into mine. Then Kimo got up and started licking my shoulder. And then he started licking her face. She's not a fan of this so she retreated. I swear Kimo smirked when Kona did that.
And now Kona is sound asleep in bed. On my pillow, of course.
Such is life with Patty and the dogs. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Monday, October 28
When you live in a house with two dogs and have been using a fairly mediocre vacuum cleaner for years--and then you turn a Shark loose on it--expect a furry glop in the dust cup after the first vacuum! Patty said "It looks like a squirrel in there" in reference to Ron White. I said "I think there's a quilt in there" also in reference to Ron.
Thursday, October 31
Usually if I keep my home office door open, the doggos won't stay in here for long. They like it better downstairs. This morning, however, they were in there for quite a long time. Once they left the room, Kimo walked out into the loft and settled back down. Kona hovered over him (nearly always a precursor to taunting him into some kind of play)--when he didn't react, she came back into the office and put her head on my knee. Sort of a "Dad, make him play with me!" thing.
So I said, "Kona, go play with Kimo" and she hauled ass out the door, across the loft, ending with a two foot leap before skidding to a stop inches from his face. That got the reaction she was looking for and they were off in a spirited game of Bitey Face.
Goofy guys.
Wednesday, November 20
Happy 13th Birthday, Kimo! This is his Pup Cup to celebrate.
Thursday, November 21
I wanted to find an earlier pic of Kimo which hadn't been posted before. This one was shot a few weeks after his adoption finding him falling asleep behind Patty's chair. Yes, those bite marks on the recliner handle are from him!
Wednesday, November 27
I hear a low, content growling out in the loft and then the stamping of paws. I turn to look out there and Kimo is staring at me. I know what this means--"C'mon, let's play!" And so begins a spirited session of Squeaky Egg. He loves that.
Tuesday, December 3
Kimo coming into my home office late at night is part "You coming to bed soon?" and part "Hey, got something to eat?"
Kona does the same exact thing.
Sunday, December 8
They love the loft, too! ❤️
Monday, December 9
Kimo had a bad limp a couple days ago. He has recovered to the point where he can jump up on the bed again but still isn't at 100%. He was bad enough on Saturday that Kona left him alone. Somehow they understand these things.
Wednesday, December 11
A Tale of two dogs on a winter's morning:
Kona ran out of the garage where a wind gust was waiting for her. Ran back in the garage where she resisted my attempts to get her back outside. "It's okay, Dad, I'll just hold it!"
Kimo ran out, fluffed up his fur with a quick shake and then sauntered over to the nearest pile of snow for a casual turd search. "Might be some rabbit turds in here, ya never know!" And then HE resisted my attempts to get him back inside!
She's now in her kennel while he's upstairs with me, begging a taste of Baja Chipotle Chicken Teriyaki sub from Subway. He'll probably get a bit of bread for the effort
Wednesday, December 11
Doggo line-up!
Thursday, December 26
Posing girl!
Previous: 4/1/2025--A Tribute To Kimo (& Kona) (2023)
Index of Blog Pages
last updated april 2, 2025
|