Kodiak T. Bear, TGD November 5th, 1992 - November 8th, 2004

Friend's Tributes To Kodi T. Bear, TGD:

Kodi's Daughter Mr. Peterson

Mrowr. :(

Grandma Ellen

Although I grew up with dogs [labrador retrievers], I became a cat convert in the 60's... I just didn't want the responsibility of a dog, and our cats met my needs for animal companionship. Imagine my surprise, then, when I first met Kodi... she won my heart immediately, both for her charming sweetness and for the way she made David light up. Over the years I've loved Kodi, and she's the only dog that ever made me wish I had a dog of my own... but, of course, there was only one Kodi. Her joyous response to our greeting chant of "Kodi! Kodi!" and her patience with my endearments were very, very special. We will all miss her. Mom

Kodi Familymember Carrie

Kodi Bear episodes are among the sweetest memories of my life, more so than even my own dogs. The way she always remembered Erik and me and went thundering around in circles, even if we'd been away for years. It always made me feel proud when a relative newcomer to Kodi's world saw that and said, well, she sure knows you! And I'd say, we're old friends.

If you were alone in an apartment with Kodi, she'd know when it was Dave coming up the stairs. She recognized me from blocks away once in Paris when Dave and I accidentally got separated, and Dave was wondering, why the heck is Kodi pulling me towards that woman way up there? On the same visit, she saw my nutso French landlord go by on his bike and growled at him. You were lucky if Kodi took the time to assess someone's character for you, and if you were smart you listened.

I admired the stoic way she sat there and drooled when carsick, and the way she held it until she got to a grassy area, even when in Paris or SOMA or some other area where grass is not that easy to find. She was a genius in conflict resolution, too. When my bratty little dog Libby foolishly tried to take her on, Kodi firmly but humanely made sure that Libby never tried anything like that again.

Kodi Familymember Justin

Kodi was incredibly dedicated to Dave. I would watch Kodi for a week or two while Dave was out of town. After a few days of his absence, it was obvious that Kodi was in Dave withdrawal. When Dave returned from his trip Kodi went completely nuts. Kodi loved Dave dearly, he was her life and she was completely dedicated to him.

"And the lion will lie down with the lamb." I vaguely remember this to be some kind of biblical apocalyptic description of The End. Originally when I remembered this quote I replaced lion with dog and lamb with cat, and thought of Kodi and Mr. Peterson. I know there have been plenty of instances of dogs and cats getting along, but they were truly bonded at the hip. Kodi was Mr. P's mother. I think Mr. P liked Kodi more than anybody else.

On a couple of trips with Dave and Kodi I was able to witness Kodi's reaction to snow. She would go absolutely bonkers at the sight of snow. She would run like hell out of the van towards the snow, rolling in it, eating it (no matter how dirty it was) and generally having a blast. Her big smile quite evident.

Kodi's coat was amazingly beautiful, truly one of kind. You could get lost in petting her thick, soft fur. I think I liked petting Kodi more than she did.

When animals and people leave my life in the form of death I like to think that they continue to exist. Not in some kind of animal heaven or anything like that (but who knows). Hundreds of people met Kodi and have memories of her. The strength of all these memories accounts for an existence in consciousness. In little ways Kodi will change the fates (if you will) of people she has touched for a long time. Kodi is the stimulus, and those that met her, love her, and admire her will respond consciously and unconsciously to having spent time with her. Memories are very, very powerful.

Kodi Familymember Bert

One day when I was visiting Dave, we were doing the laundry. As I tossed the clothes to Dave, some of them landed on Kodi's head. She had been standing around, innocently enough, and just got in the line of laundry fire. The best part was, she just stood there, unmoving, with her head entirely covered in laundry, waiting to see who would free her. Dave covered her head in laundry and we got a great photo. Kodi was always the best, most loyal dog around. She was sweet, loveable, and willing to take stray laundry fire if it meant being with Dave. They were very lucky to have found one another.

Kodifriend HaleyMo

i remember coming to your house after the 9 20 knowing that as soon as you opened the door kodi would be there waiting excitedly for you, and the first order of business was to go for a walk in the park. i loved walking to the park with kodi. the first time i was surprised that you didn't put her on a leash or at least bring one with you, but most people are more likely to need a leash than kodi. she was always attentive to whatever you said to her and of course was intelligent enough to do it.

i made a hat with the best fuzzy fake fur i could find to buy, and it had big fuzzy ears on it. but it was nothing close to the fuzziness of kodi's ears, they were the best ears ever. and even when she was so sick and in the hospital they would perk up a little bit as soon as she saw you.

she trusted you so much to help her out when she needed to go down the stairs or get into the car.

but a lot of my memories are things that i wish i could have seen. i always wanted to see kodi in her backpacking gear, and the astronaut bubble you were going to build her for burning man. i wanted to see her happy and healthy again so that we could walk to the park when i came over. i wanted to see her out dancing at lindy in the park. i wish i had taken the time to get to know her a little better.

i loved sitting on your floor next to her, lying on my back with one arm swung around her neck, talking to her and petting her fuzzy ears while you did work on your computer. we would just hang out and watch in quiet company. sometimes mr. p would swagger by to say hello too.

Kodi Familymember Mike Lusignan

When we lived on Bassett St. Kodi got something really cold to eat. (Whether it was frozen or cold or whether she got it as a treat or unintentionally, I don't completely remember. It doesn't really matter.) Kodi wrapped the food in the bath mat to warm it up.

I remember getting a bedframe to move that doghouse you found to the house on Bassett so Kodi would have a place to be outside. We pushed that doghouse for blocks. One of the wheels on the bedframe eventually came off, but we finally got that doghouse to Bassett. It's not exactly a memory of Kodi, but it makes me think of her.

Every time you called her back on Bassett street from play, she came, no matter how much fun she was having.

Kori and I were in San Francisco for a wedding, and Kodi still recognized me after four years. :)

She was such a great, sweet, smart dog.

PDSC member Anne and dog Lucky

I fell in Love with Kodi when I first met her six years ago. Lucky fell in love with her 3.5 years ago.

We both miss her very much.

I remember the way that Kodi would storm into my house with her ears down and her tail wagging.... She would shoot straight past anyone in her way and run to the back where she hoped that Lucky had left some food. Dave would storm past as well and together they would come back from the kitchen with big grins on their faces and then greet me. Lucky liked sharing his food with Kodi. She was one of his best buddies. I will miss her cow-greeting.

PDSC member Kelli and dog Figment

Whenever Figment saw Kodi in the park, his ears would go way back and he'd trot off towards her with his tail swinging in circles - a clear sign that Kodi was one of his favorites. They were a lot alike - older dogs who were very well behaved, very attached to their owners, and always got along with all the other dogs. Figment will miss Kodi, with her soft gray ears, her sweet demeanor, the way she'd always come running up to greet us, and her big doggy smile. She was always smiling. Both Figment and I will dearly miss wonderful, fuzzy Kodi.

Kodifriend Mitch

I have plenty of fond memories of the Kodi Bear T, we used to play the pillow game back in Madison, in which, I told her to come over to me and she would frop down on the ground. After which, I would place my head on her tummy and watch Dave's antics or tiddle with the guitar. Although, like a parking meter, there was a time limit and my pillow would venture off. We also had another little game where I would grab her nose and she would fight back with her paws, and like a boxer, brush her nose for more. My entire heart goes out to my Brother Dave's grief and loss. She will be deeply missed.

Kodifriend Jesse Litven

You remind me what it means to be happy on a Sunny Sunday afternoon, romping around on Dave's hardwood floor
For me, even in my distance
all my old San Francisco memories are scented with you
Here, in my hot Indian streets, there are tons of dogs all sleeping in their character
but none as sweet as you
When I see hot girls I think of Dave
And when I laugh I think of you
Photogenic and witty
Smart and Pretty (they're a rarety these days, I'll tell ya)
So, anyway, thanks for keeping me warm, smiling, happy
And your cozy fur and elegant eyes will always be in heart

Kodifriend Laura Hetzel

I was hanging out on Library Mall in Madison with a group of my friends, when all of a sudden this beautiful and friendly dog came running up to us. We were all secretly hoping she didn't have an owner and we could take her home, when Dave came trotting over yelling, "Kodi!" To this day, I am convinced that Dave and Kodi had this move totally choreographed and had used it many, many times in order to help Dave pick up women. [editor's note: completely and totally (mostly) false!] Kodi always listened to Dave, and they were so in sync with each other, that she even understood when he wanted her to be disobedient. I am grateful to Kodi because without her, Dave and I never would have met.

Kodifriend Mel Varriano and dog Casey

One of my favorite things to look forward to when visiting San Fransisco was the warm welcome I received from Kodi, each and every time. Almost as if she knew I was coming before I even got there. Dave would then loosely wrap her leash around her neck (because she never needed to wear it) and we would all go for a walk in the park. Afterwards, we would stop on Haight street for something to eat and Kodi would wait patiently outside for Dave to bring her a treat off of someone's plate.

I will never forget the day that I almost got Kodi in "trouble" with Dave. Kodi would always wait patiently at a street corner for Dave to give her the command "let's go" before she would cross the street. One day I was lagging behind the group because I wanted to walk with Kodi. I stepped out onto the street, expecting her to follow me, but she stopped and sat down like she knew she was supposed to. So I said "come on, let's go" and she happily jogged behind me. Then Dave turned around and, with a look of shock, noticed that Kodi was crossing without his command. I was sorry to have stepped over Dave's authority, but it felt great knowing that Kodi trusted me so much to accept my command without waiting for Dave's approval. Although, that only happened once!

I miss you Kodi Bear.

Kodifriend Aileen

Kodi was indeed a great dog. Everywhere she went, people would gather around and shower her with affection and presents. She was sweet, caring and nonjudgmental. I think that once she cared for you, she cared for you forever. She was also a very brave dog. There was one time when a large splinter somehow got stuck in her and she looked like she was in discomfort but she did not complain. We thought she was just being stubborn or extra slow that day but she must have been in great pain. When the splinter was finally found, we had to cut a part of her skin to take out a big chunk that had broken off. She didn't twitch or bark or even move. After we got the splinter out, she just licked the area a bit, nudged us and curled into a smaller ball.

PDSC member Julie and dog Charles P. Buttercup

My fondest memory of Kodi is of how patient she would be with Charlie jabbing his wet nose into her ears immediately everytime he saw her in the park and then proceed to try and make out with her for the next 10 minutes. She would also sit so sweetly and politely waiting for me to dish out a treat she absolutely knew was hiding somewhere in my pocket, and just one look into those big sweet brown eyes made it extremly difficult not to just want to hand them all over to her. We both miss her dearly. The PDSC just won't be the same without her.

PDSC member Heidi and dog Stella

Kodi was so gentle and sweet - even Stella's persistance couldn't rile her up, a testament to her patience. I suspect her reluctance to play was both due to an utter lack of aggression and also to a reluctance to be more than about 3 feet from you.

SFLindy Hopper Kristen and dog Phoenix

I have many memories of Kodi, but the thing I remember most is her gentle eyes. One look in those eyes and you could tell how much sweetness she had. Sometimes my dog would get up in her face and try to start something, and she would just l ook at him in that calm manner and he would instantly relax. Also, she was such a staple at Lindy in The Park. -The best moments were when she tried to join you out on the dance floor (which she frequently did)! The tourists always loved her! And it was hilarious to see the two of you squished into your little red car, -you with your arm around her. I kept meaning to get a picture of that, -now I regret that I never did.

Kodi Bear was a true beauty, -she will be missed.

Wil Klass, Kodi walker and temporary housemate

Kodi was really the most amazing dog I ever met. Pretty much every time I took her for a walk total strangers would come up and pet her and make compliments. I've never seen a dog have that sort of effect on people. On myself included. I was so glad to have spent the time with her I did.

JP Batson, International Troublemaker

I'm really sad to hear about Kodi. I was looking forward to walking her again sometime. Honestly it was a pleasure walking her, even when she woke me in the middle of the night. She was so patient, calm, and incredibly obedient. I loved the fact that I could walk her off leash (I never walked her on it) and never worry about her walking into the street. Wow! Kodi was the greatest! I do, and will, miss her.

SFLindy Hopper Debbie

She was a mainstay in the swing community. She always brought a smile to my face whenever I would see her bounding up to Lindy in the Park. I will always remember the times I saw her at improv and swing events.

Chicago Lindy Hopper Dan Skibo

To the memory of the most amazing dog I ever met:
I will never forget Kodi. She was serene, highly intelligent, and quite compassionate. Though I was only able to spend a short time with her, she made an impression that will last my entire life.

Kodifriend Lila Patton

kodi was such a sweet and cuddly presence. i was always very much a cat person and never liked dogs at all; kodi was the first dog who ever won me over. it was impossible not to love her! the two of you were very blessed to have found each other.

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Kodiak T. Bear, TGD                     \ \/     |
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