Koda-the Sidekick

24/12/2025

Merry Christmas, friends. 🎄🐾

Today my tail is wagging with gratitude — for the people who stop to pet me, the hands that reach for comfort, the hearts that needed a little extra love this year, and the humans who believe in the quiet magic of kindness.

My heart is also a little tender, because loving big sometimes means holding sadness too. But that’s okay — it just means we cared deeply.

As we look toward 2026, I’m hoping with my whole Koda heart for gentler days, brighter moments, and lots of reasons to keep showing up for one another. May we lead with compassion, choose patience, and never underestimate the power of a soft paw, a listening ear, or simply being there.

From me to you — thank you for letting me be part of your year. I’m grateful beyond words and ready to walk into 2026 together.

With love and tail wags, from my pack to yours, Merry Christmas. ✨ 🐾 🎄 ❄️

19/12/2025

🎅🐾 LAST CALL to fetch your 2026 Therapy Dog Calendar before Christmas!🐶✨

Santa Paws just reminded me that Christmas is right around the corner, which means this is your final chance to grab some tail-wagging good gifts and get them in time! 🎁🎄

✨ We’ve got options to make it easy:
📦 Mail it
🚗 Local pickup or drop-off
🐾 Or shop in person at these pawsome spots:
• Eastern Maine Emergency Vet Clinic (EMEVC) — plus Giving Tree ornaments!
👉 https://www.facebook.com/EMEVC/
• Maine Coast Veterinary Hospital
👉 https://www.facebook.com/MaineCoastVeterinaryHospital/
• Mainescape Garden Shop
👉 https://www.facebook.com/Mainescape/

(You’ll also spot calendars proudly displayed by staff at Northern Light Health facilities we visit!) 💛

🗓️ Our 2026 Therapy Dog Calendar features me and my Code Koda friends spreading kindness all across Eastern Maine — and every single dollar helps support therapy-dog programs and a local family in need this holiday season.

📚🐾 BONUS GIFT IDEA!
We also have paw-tographed copies of Fetch Me Kindness available — and trust me, they make a pawsitively perfect gift for kids, classrooms, and anyone who believes in kindness. Signed… with an actual paw. 🐾💕

💳 We accept PayPal, Venmo, cash, or check — whatever works for you!

Help us reach our goal to sell every last calendar and spread comfort, joy, and wagging tails far and wide this Christmas. 🎄🐶

Fetch yours here:
https://www.petpartnersofeasternme.com/product-page/2026-therapy-dog-calendar-1

Love & holiday snuggles,
Koda
Chief Snuggle Officer & Professional Gift-Fetcher ✨🐾

Celebrate kindness all year long with our 2026 Therapy Dog Calendar! Featuring our beloved Koda & Friends therapy dog teams spreading joy in hospitals, schools, libraries, and community spaces across Eastern Maine. Every dollar from your purchase supports local therapy dog programs and helps a f...

18/12/2025

And that’s a wrap! 🎄☕🐾🧑🏼‍🎄

Phew! My tail is still wagging after our second annual Hot Cocoa with Santa Paws! This is one of my very favorite holiday traditions across four Northern Light facilities, because it’s all about celebrating our amazing humans. We invite staff to take a quick break, sip some cozy hot chocolate, snap festive photos with us pups, and remind each other that joy is part of the job too.

Let me tell you… it was BUSY. So busy that my humans stopped counting cups somewhere along the way, but if I had to guess (and I’m pretty good at sniffing out numbers), we reached about 1,000 employees across all four locations. That’s a lot of smiles, a lot of laughter, and a whole lot of gentle ear scratches.

What made this day extra special was seeing happiness on both ends of the leash. My handler friends and I often walk into rooms filled with big feelings—sad ones, heavy ones, heartbreaking ones. That’s important work, but Santa Paws gives our teams a chance to reset, to celebrate us, and to soak in the joy we get to share. Watching staff light up when they see us? That’s the good stuff.

Huge tail wags and sloppy kisses to Teams Annie, Holly, Loafy Bear, Aquila, Rosie, Koda (that’s me!), Dobby, Ollie, Mary, and Obie—our 2025 Santa Paws crew. You brought comfort, warmth, and a little holiday magic wherever you went.

“This season reminds us that warmth comes not just from cocoa, but from community.”

This season, togetherness truly was the gift. 🐾💙

18/12/2025

As we wrap up the first six weeks of our Animal-Assisted Intervention class, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting (mostly during naps, but still very thoughtful). Being a teaching assistant with this group of 8th graders has been one of my favorite jobs yet. From learning what it really means to be a therapy-dog team, to talking about responsibility, empathy, boundaries, and care — they’ve each shown up with curiosity, respect, and big hearts every single week.

I’ve watched them grow more confident, ask deeper questions, and understand how connection can support both human and canine well-being. They’ve learned that this work isn’t just about cute dogs (though that part helps) — it’s about patience, trust, and showing up for others with kindness.

And today, they made this old dog’s heart extra full by celebrating my birthday with a handmade crown fit for a very good teaching assistant. 👑 I wore it proudly and felt so loved — thank you for that special moment!

As we head into Christmas break, I want to wish each all my students a happy holiday and a hopeful New Year. Rest, reset, and take care!

I’ll be counting down the days until I get to return after Christmas, back to the classroom, to finish this journey and complete the course together. I can’t wait to see what we learn next — side by side. 🐕‍🦺💙

13/12/2025

Friends, I have to tell you—this might have been the BEST. DAY. EVER.

What a way to celebrate my 15th birthday! The Bangor Book Authors Fair & Festival was buzzing with thousands of humans, and I soaked up every smile, every kind word, and every gentle birthday pat. We sold lots of books and calendars, shared our story during a live storytime reading, and I got to see friends from way back—my pals from past programs, the Humane Society, and so many familiar faces who came just to say happy birthday to an old dog. That part meant everything to me. 💛

I also made new friends—future therapy dog teams, volunteers, and organizations who want to help spread kindness and healing. My tail says that’s pretty exciting.

My favorite part? The Kindness Tree. It filled up fast with paw prints sharing acts of kindness like give someone a hug, love everyone, help dogs, leave the world a better place. That’s my kind of tree.

By the time we got home, I was tired—in the best way. Then came my birthday celebration with my sister Ru: a cozy new pillow stuffy, a deer antler chew, and a custom cake made just for me. Fifteen never tasted so good.

Thank you for loving me, supporting our mission, and believing in kindness. I’m one very grateful birthday dog. 🐕‍🦺🎂🐾

13/12/2025

Today I turn 15, and my human says that makes me a distinguished gentleman. I say it means I’ve earned the right to nap wherever I want and take my time getting there.

I wasn’t always gray-faced and slow-paddling. Once upon a time, I was a spunky pup who could catch a frisbee mid-air and race the wind. These days, my steps are steadier, my swims a little slower — but my heart? Still working full-time. I’ve spent my life doing what I love most: showing up, listening without words, and reminding people they’re not alone.

I became a therapy dog without really meaning to. I just followed my heart (and my human) into hospitals, schools, libraries, and quiet moments that needed comfort. Along the way, I became the center of our pack — not the first, but the one who helped hold everyone together. I walked beside my human through big love and big loss, mentored younger pups, and learned that purpose doesn’t fade with age… it just softens into something deeper.

This year, I’m celebrating my birthday doing what I still love — sharing my story at the Bangor Public Library Authors Fair and cheering on a whole new generation of therapy dog teams who will carry kindness forward. I may be slower now, but I’m still healing hearts, one gentle wag at a time.

Thank you for loving me through every chapter. If you’ve ever crossed paths with me — at a visit, an event, a library, or on an adventure — I’d love to see it.

🐕‍🦺💛 Please share any favorite photos you have of me, or of us together, from the years past. It would mean the world to this old soul.

11/12/2025

Guess what? My human and I are heading to the Bangor Public Library this Saturday for the Bangor Authors' Book Fair & Literary Festival 2025 — and I’d love to see you there!

We’ll be hanging out at our very own interactive table (I’ll be doing quality control on all head pats), and my human will be doing a live reading of our book at 10:30 AM during the children’s series. I might even make a special appearance… you’ll have to come find out. 😉

And the best part? There’s a Paws for Tales session happening in the story room! If you want to read a story to one of my real Code Koda friends, you can meet Holly the golden retriever — she’s one of the stars from our book and gives excellent snuggles. ✨🐕

I can’t wait to wag, meet new friends, and share our story with all of you. Come say hi, get a book, and soak up the magic of the day!

See you Saturday, buddies! 💛🐾📖

03/12/2025

I’m officially halfway through my very first gig as a Teaching Assistant at Leonard Middle School, and let me tell you… these eighth graders are PAW-some! They listen so well, ask amazing questions, and give A+ pets (my favorite part, obviously).

So far, my human and I have taught all about what it really takes to be a therapy dog team—teamwork, patience, good manners, and lots of heart. We’ve also talked about how to communicate with us and how therapy dog work helps both humans and canines. Yep, we dogs get just as much joy out of helping others as you do seeing our happy wagging tails.

I’m pretty proud of my students—they’re engaged, curious, and already thinking like future handlers and animal-assisted therapy champions.

Can’t wait to finish the second half of class with them. Teaching is hard work, but someone’s gotta bring the fluff! 🐶❤️📚

02/12/2025

Happy Giving Tuesday, friends!

Sending you wags, a boop, and an invitation to spread a little kindness today. 🐶✨

This year, our Pet Partners of Eastern Maine therapy dog teams have contributed over 1,200 hours of comfort, joy, and support in hospitals, schools, libraries, workplaces, and community spaces. That’s a whole lot of tail wags and healing moments… and we do it all for free, thanks to caring people like you. 💛

If you’d like to support our work this Giving Tuesday, here are three pawsome options:

🗓️ 1. Fetch a 2026 Therapy Dog Calendar

Our very first calendar is here, and it’s packed with adorable photos of me and my therapy dog friends who spread kindness all year long.

You can grab yours online, or if you prefer, just DM my human and she’ll help fetch one for you!

https://www.petpartnersofeasternme.com/category/all-products

💌 2. Make a Donation

Every dollar helps keep our programs running, supports training, enrichment and resources for our teams, and ensures our services stay 100% free to the community. Your kindness stretches farther than my longest leash!

https://www.petpartnersofeasternme.com/

🐾 3. Share the Love

Even sharing this post helps us reach more people who might need some comfort, joy, or a good ol’ fashioned dog hug.

Because of you, we get to keep making Eastern Maine a little brighter — one visit, one tail wag, and one smile at a time.

Thank you for supporting the work we love to do.
You make the magic happen. 💛✨

Love,
Koda
Chief Snuggle Officer & Professional Joy-Spreader 🐶💕

27/11/2025

🦃💛 Happy Thanksgiving, friends! 💛🦃

Today I’m extra thankful for all the moments I get to spend comforting people, sharing tail wags, and bringing a little light into someone’s day. Every visit reminds me that kindness isn’t something small—it’s something powerful we get to choose every single day.

I’m grateful for my fellow therapy dogs, our humans who drive us everywhere, the staff who welcome us in, and every person who lets us sit beside them when they need it most. You all make my heart (and tail) so full.

One of my favorite reminders at this time of year is:
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi

And trust me… I’m always happy to lose myself in a good snuggle or two.

Wishing you a Thanksgiving filled with warmth, kindness, and maybe a little extra turkey if your human says it’s okay. 🐾🧡

— Koda 🍂

23/11/2025

Sound up! 🔊

Order online for mail delivery, or drop a DM to pay cash or Venmo for local drop-off. They make perfect Christmas gifts!

https://www.petpartnersofeasternme.com/category/all-products

22/11/2025

Quiet day at Bangor Public Library today but grateful for some stories from new friends and old 📕 🐾 ❤️