KoKo’s Reflections on Puppyhood

KoKo didn’t know what to expect when she arrived at the airport, but she knew she was important. The airline employees worked late just for her arrival. But her long travel day wasn’t over yet. Another four-hour drive stood between her and her final destination. At least this leg of the journey was spent in the company of three other dogs and two humans.

After much sniffing, she found a soft and squishy spot on the human’s lap, curled up, and slept. When KoKo awoke, she discovered the house she would call home. Another human greeted her, smiling, laughing, and calling her name. She didn’t know how these humans knew her name, but she was thankful all the same.

KoKo worried that it would take a long time to train these humans, but lucky for her; they seemed smart. In only a few short days, they responded immediately to her sharp, howling outcries whenever the other dogs wouldn’t let her have whatever they were chewing on. They even let her pick where she would sleep on the bed. The humans took up entirely too much room for her liking, but she trampled over them multiple times each night until they let her have the best spot on the bed—the exact center.

In the bedroom, she found her best friend. Every time she went into the room, the other puppy would run alongside her. If she stopped, so did her friend. They even had the same toys to play with together. KoKo loved her friend; she was the most beautiful puppy she ever saw, and they enjoyed staring at one another for minutes at a time. Her humans called her friend Her Reflection, which sounded like a strange name. Her Reflection only ever gave her one problem—KoKo could never get her to leave the bedroom.

For some unknown reason, the humans got very upset every time Koko piddled or pooed on the carpet. She hated hearing all of their screechings and finally decided going outside for that business was much more peaceful. The perfectly sized, double-flap doggy door made this task a breeze. These humans were so thoughtful to install it just for her.

Outside proved to be a joy. The yard went on forever. KoKo sniffed out all of the plants, grass, trees, twigs, leaves, and bugs. There were so many things to entertain her. Even the flies proved vastly entertaining when they got trapped between the glass door and the screen. She could pounce on them repeatedly and watch them work their way up the glass again—so much fun.

Again, the humans didn’t like it when she brought in the longest sticks she could find from the yard. They didn’t seem to realize or care how much effort it took to drag those four-foot-long branches through the narrow doggy door. KoKo hardly ever got to spend more than a few minutes shredding them into tiny little pieces before the humans stole her prizes and hoarded them in the plastic bins. Knowing them, they probably played with them when she was sleeping.

Each day, KoKo grew stronger and taller. She loved to jump and explore. She mastered leaping onto every chair in the living room. Even zooming from room to room around the house no longer held her attention for long—even though her running always set Kiwi off, the old boy needed something to rile him up anyway. KoKo needed a new challenge.

One day, after launching herself through the doggy door, she spotted something new. The whiskey barrel halves were no longer too tall for her. She could stand on her hind legs and just reach the pretty flowers dangling over the rim. It was a struggle, but she had the flower stem in her mouth on her third try. As she fell back to the ground, the stem snapped, and she had the petunia blossom. This would be fun to shred inside on the carpet.

But the humans didn’t let her get very far—only seven pieces this time. It was frustrating. She needed to outthink these humans. Then inspiration struck again. She would wait until they were sleeping so she could do whatever she pleased.

It took several days before she put her new plan in place. Every time she determined to do it the following morning, she overslept. Finally, Keno woke her up, and they went outside together. They sniffed the entire fence line, watering interesting spots along the way. As soon as Keno went back through the doggy door, KoKo prowled around the giant flower pots.

None of the flowers drooped over the edges. All of them blew in the breeze just out of her reach. Maybe, just maybe, she could jump high enough to get into the flowerpot. She stood on her back legs, front paws resting against the side of her target. With little hops, she didn’t make any headway. She dropped back to all four feet.

She sat. With her head tilting one way, then the other, she worked through the problem. When she was inside, she ran to get into the chairs—maybe she just needed to get a running start. Popping up to stand, she stepped back a few feet, then a few more. With a burst of speed, she ran forward and leaped as high as she could.

Luckily, the flowers broke her fall as she landed square in the center of the barrel. She didn’t know so many flowers existed. Giddy, she flopped onto her back and rubbed herself into the plants and dirt, her feet flailing in the air. Why did these humans keep these flowers from her for so long? They were selfish, that’s what.

Having tired of flailing, she rolled over onto her stomach. Her nose couldn’t resist smelling the moist soil. What was that wonderful scent? Maybe if she moved some of the dirt, she could find the source. She happily dug, her paws industriously moving the dirt between her back legs.

Grabbing several stems at once with her mouth, she pulled and pulled some more. The plant broke free, showering her face with specks of dirt. Woohoo! Her prize was perfect. She shook her head, and dirt flew in every direction. This was going inside right now.

She jumped down and worked her way through the double-flapped doggy door. Dirt trailed behind her as she went. Another shake of her head cleared some of the soil from the plant’s roots.

She flopped onto her belly, holding the plant between her front paws. One by one, she plucked the yellow blossoms. Each of those blossoms had so many petals she shred and flung around her.

Thirst overcame her. She abandoned her prize and ran to the water dish. Slurping up her fill, she raced back to the giant clump of flowers. Grabbing it in her mouth, she raced through the living room, shaking her head and jumping for joy. Her life was perfect. The fantastic scent of dirt and flowers was now all over the living room.

Then the worst thing happened—the human whose lap she slept on when she first came home woke up. The human wasn’t happy. KoKo ran to keep her prize, but the human cornered her and took the plant out of her mouth. Without a single word, the human took the plant outside and put it back in the flower pot.

KoKo beamed with delight; she didn’t know the human knew how to play this game of keep away. As soon as she could, she’d dig it up again. Maybe tomorrow. Sure enough, the next morning, KoKo retrieved her new toy from the pot. This time she didn’t play with it as long. She shredded it to the most lovely little pieces before getting bored and moving on to pick a toy out of the pile in the corner.

Later that day, the humans went outside. KoKo rushed through her doggy door to make sure they didn’t do anything naughty. The older human held the garden hose over KoKo’s flower pot and asked, “What happened to my marigold flowers?”

KoKo pretended to investigate something along the fence but kept one eye and her ears open to find out what they said.

The other human pointed at KoKo and replied, “KoKo happened.”

KoKo needed to find another game. The flower pots were definitely off-limits now. Maybe Her Reflection would have some ideas. She flung herself back inside to find out.