Scott Hussy and I met when I started working for Network Computing Architects in the fall of 2001.  We quickly found out that we had grown up within a couple miles of each other and had graduated from the same high school.  (Let's just not go into the details of how many years there are between when I graduated and when Scott did.)  Scott is a workaholic with a sometimes brusque nature but a heart as big as Mount Rainier.  He's also brilliant and a great resource for me every day on the job.  We hit it off quickly and became good friends.  Since I take the dogs with me almost every time I go into the office (my primary office is in my home but our corporate office is just ten miles from here and I pop in and out a couple times a week), Scott gradually got to meet the pack.  He also became a frequent visitor despite the amount of dog hair that he'd leave with.

As much as Scott loved playing with my dogs, I was a bit surprised when he mentioned that he'd love to have one of the pups from the litter I was planning.  It didn't quite fit his work day image of the hot young professional in the high tech industry.  But as we talked more, I could see that a dog was exactly what Scott needed.  Scott was eager to help with the whole puppy-raising process and even made me two new whelping boxes to my exact design and dimensions.  By the time Jenna's pups were born in November of 2002, Scott and I had decided that he would take one of the boys if the right pup presented itself.

Jenna whelped her pups easily, delivering five within the space of a couple hours, I thought she was finished so I took a break from the whelping room to start a load of laundry and make a fresh pot of tea.  When I went back in to check her later that evening, there was a surprise sixth pup, all dried and warm and nursing contentedly.  The whelping box was immaculate with no signs of his birth.  The pup was a gorgeous silver blue gray and the light reflected off his coat as if he were shining.  We named him Cougar since the other pups already had animal names -- Fawn, Mink, Bear, Otter, and Badger.

Scott was a constant visitor, starting when the pups were just 24 hours old.  Almost every day he came up for a visit on his lunch hour or after work.  And he was drawn to the silver pup right from the start.  Cougar was a very lazy pup.  He didn't wake up other than to eat until he was over five weeks old.  He was the last to walk, the last to open his eyes, but always first in line at the milk bar.  But when he finally did wake up, he was a live wire.  Scott watched his progress carefully even though we had agreed that I would pick the pup that was best for him.  Many of his visits included his brother Jeff, with whom Scott shared a house.  Jeff was just as excited about getting a pup as Scott.  They were even here to play with the pups on Christmas Day.

As the excitement built about bringing the new pup home, Jeff and I got our evil minds together and planned a surprise "puppy shower" for Scott.  All our friends from work joined in the planning and Jeff recruited Scott's other buddies and family.  One Friday when the pups were seven weeks old, I brought the whole litter over to their house and we hid them in the kitchen.  Friends began arriving and the party was already going by the time one of our co workers finally brought Scott home (she had convinced him that they just had to go out for a drink after work then she convinced him that she had left a jacket at his house on a previous visit so they had to retrieve it).  The look on Scott's face as he came around the corner and saw all of us and all the puppies in his kitchen is something I will never forget.  Even Scott and Jeff's parents were there and everyone had brought presents for the new pup.  There was a total look of pride on Scott's face as he showed off Kodi and his siblings and told everyone about Chinooks.  Two weeks later, cougar went home with Scott and became Kodi.

	Above left, a great head shot taken in April of 2005 by Pan Graf Photography (used here with permission). Above right, finishing his championship by going Best of Breed, August of 2003 (also used with permission of Pan Graf Photography). Above, Best Male at the 2003 Chinook National Specialty.  Kodi was only seven months old and it was one of his first shows. Left, sledding with his sister Taaku.  They are well matched in harness. Right, Kodi surveys his kingdom from the back porch (photo by Scott Hussey)

Over the years Scott and Jeff both spent a lot of time working with Kodi on tricks and taking him to training classes.  When it was time for shows. Scott either handed Kodi off to me or delivered him ringside for me to show.  Though Kodi had tough competition from his sister Taaku, he was a champion by the time he was a year old and had started sledding.

Perhaps Kodi's most remarkable trait is his total lack of aggression and his love of every dog he meets.  Even as a mature intact male, Kodi just wants to play with every dog he meets.  He loves small dogs and puppies and is so gentle that he has helped me raise a litter of his younger brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews over the years.  He spends many weekends at my house if Scott is out of town or if we have a show that Scott can't make it to and he's always a good house guest.

Kodi has sired one litter with Ch. PR Thunder Paws Nany.  Eight Noble Thunder pups joined the world on April Fools Day of 2005.  All the pups are gorgeous and one very special pup, PR Noble Thunder Solo of Rain, is now living with Scott's brother Jeff who has moved to Arizona to start a new branch of the family business (Backstreet Frames & Art in Bellevue, Washington).  Hopefully other hot dates are in his future.  In the meantime, Kodi enjoys hanging out at the local dog park or wrestling around the house with his best buddy, Rhodesian Ridgeback Porter who belongs to Scott's house mate Ryan.  Cool weather means rigging and winter means sledding.  Kodi is a great puller and has two of the three legs he needs for his UKC weight pull title; hopefully he will complete that winter of 2005/2006.

For information on using Kodi at stud, please contact Ginger Corley at ginger@rainmountain.net.

Kodi and his son, PR Noble Thunder Solo of Rain. Solo currently lives near Phoenix with Scott's brother Jeff Hussey.

Kodi and his canine roommate, Porter the Rhodisian Ridgeback

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