Koda the Cheesecake Defender Memorial

21/04/2025

Koda is often the subject of discussion in our family, and occasionally friends too. A repeated phrase describing him is how well trained he was.

I laugh each time, because a LOT of time, love and attention went into 'training' over the years. In fact, for the first 4 to 5 years, we heard many comments on how poorly trained he was! His behaviour never changed tho. Koda was the same at nearly 15 years as he was at 5 years only slower.

I tell people it's not fair to compare how Koda behaved as an older dog (which is how everyone best remembers him!) to how our current pups (2 year old Irish Wolfhoundx) act now. They haven't got the same seasoning as Koda did.

We miss him still.

12/04/2025

We have worked with this organisation before and they're reputable people. Miss Dixie and the furballs came to us through them.

https://www.facebook.com/share/198xgAw443/?mibextid=xfxF2i

22/11/2024

Tawny Frogmouth is a native Australian bird. Usually they are mostly nocturnal birds with a carnivorous diet.

Today's rescue:

25/08/2024

01/07/2024

One of many in our yard!

08/02/2024

The pain of losing Koda has never really gone away. While it had gotten easier to handle, it was still there like a fresh bruise being poked and prodded. Just as it was getting to the point where grief had faded enough to be managed, something else bad happened.

Miss Dixie - who had been struggling with an increasingly painful degenerating eye condition - woke up one morning and chose violence as her life's choice. The result was an emergency visit to the vet for MacTyr and doggie jail for Miss Dixie.

We know that she didn't fully understand what was happening or what she had done. We also know that Dixie couldn't fully control herself. After a few days, Dixie again did something bad and tried to attack Freyja.

Unfortunately, during this incident, one of her humans was between her and Freyja. It was only extreme good luck that there was a metal cage with solid bars between Dixie and the human's face. Not that she was aware - Dixie had bloodlust and there was no mercy or sanity in her at that stage.

After the painful realization that due to circumstances, Dixie wasn't going to be able to safely be around any other dog again, and some serious conversations with the vets, some intense examinations and a lot of hard thinking, the decision was sadly made to say good bye to our Miss Dixie.

It was a very hard thing to do, saying goodbye to Dixie so soon after losing Koda.

After careful consideration, we decided to let the page stay Koda's memorial. Over time we will be uploading our memories of Koda. When it hurts a little bit less.

19/07/2023

Miss Dixie - Southern sass, full of zip and a boundless capacity for love when it came to her people. July 20, 2017 - July 19, 2023. RIP sweet girl.

03/07/2023

Hello world! Today the family started discussing SNOW! Mom said that it's time to invest in snowshoes, heavy duty coats, and some more sleeping bags so she can make a king sized blanket for all the furballs that like to steal her bed. I dunno what she means by that, but from the excited squeals of my human brother, it sounds like fun!
The two furballs, Freyja and MacTyr are getting to big for their britches too - they seem to think that the entire bed is theirs!! Oh well, I guess that means no one can complain when I stretch out on the couch, right?

29/04/2023

So Mom has had an interesting few days! She said if she had remembered how exhausting just one baby was, she may have reconsidered getting two!

MacTyr and Freyja move the swingset across the yard. They are only 14 weeks old. (I can do that by myself, so I don't get why it's such a huge deal?)

Mom said, "🫣🫣🫣 they are so cute! But o m g !"

Further adventures of the dynamite duo are more involved and Mom wrote these on the other dog page (she says it doesnt count as cheating on the doggies since she never actually TOUCHES those other dogs!):

1) *tiny* MacTyr figured out how to separate himself from his lead (a vital need until the big fence is built !!) AND had a rocking GREAT time chasing our three free range drakes. He herded one of said drakes straight into reach of big girl Miss Dixie who had NO clue what was flapping in her face but reacted exactly as one would expect of a great hunter - blindness doesn't hold Miss Dixie back 😂😂 - by snapping her jaws of death onto the hapless feathered fiend.
(In my defence, I thought it was a moving snack!)

MUCH to the dismay of the 10 year old skin child who was following MacTyr and happened to see his prize drake become a tug of war chew toy between the two furred terrors. Screaming banshees anyone?? (My ears are still ringing!)

Well. Now that the furballs are in the literal doghouse, we have a drake to nurse in hopes shock doesn't finish off what the dogs started. 😳 life with hunters, ain't it grand!
(Mom said it's a good thing she loves us, because the drake died. Oops.)

2) #1 reason I always teach my dogs to "LEAVE IT" - (When Mom says "LEAVE IT!" we better listen or else! Mom's time outs are a HUGE deal!) Poison!

MacTyr and I were headed over to visit the neighbour when he grabbed one about the size of my hand. Before I even knew it was in reach and could react, MacTyr chomped the cane toad. (Guess he was paying attention when I chomped the duck. Who knew??)

He was frothing and foaming within SECONDS!! It's a very good thing I have my emergency vet on speed dial. (That's never a good thing, because when Mom has to call them after dark it's a BIG visit!!)

Vet called, aggravating treatment done and after some miserable moments of telling me how he felt about the whole process later, MacTyr is snoozing comfortably.

He was throwing up ten minutes after that. Totally gross because then he wanted face kisses!!

CANE TOADS!!! ARGHHHH!!

And through it all, Mom keeps telling ME I have to be a big girl! Sheesh!!

13/04/2023

Hello world! It is I, the great and wonderful Dixie! Little (adopted) sister to the one and only cheesecake defender! Since my big brother, Koda, has been gone, I've had to step up as the family and farm's guardian. Its a lonely job especially for a nearly blind and *mature* young lady as myself. So lonely that I've had to take on an apprentice. Or two.
Mom said that it takes TWO puppies to fill such great paws, and she must have meant that for real because we now have two new members of the household.
They are so hyper and full of energy, they even wear ME out! Me - the super duper hyper dog that runs on pure energy!!
Mom thinks we are going to have to double (or maybe triple!) the butcher budget just to keep up with their growing. As long as we keep getting the good stuff!
Meet Freyja and MacTyr.

04/01/2023

Hi! I'm Dixie, the younger, sparklier and by far way more energetic sister to Koda. And since my brother Koda has gone over the rainbow bridge, that means I'm the only pawed, furred dog in the house.

This also means I'm gonna take over posting on this page. Mom said we won't change the name, since it was originally Koda's page and she isn't ready to let that go yet but that's OK. I miss him still too.

Ok, some of you already know me, but for those who don't let's start at the top.
Mom did a foster rescue with me in July 2017 and I got the name Dixie. She said it's because I have good ol' southern sass!

The vet told my human brother I was only around 6 months old at the most. She also said that his ideas that I was going to be a big dog was correct.
Mom thought I was being adopted by a family about 8 hours drive away, but surprise! I stayed local! But a few weeks later, in August, my foster family called and said they were moving and couldn't take me with.

Mom took me straight back and after a few interviews with families said I wasn't going anywhere! Which made me really happy because my youngest human brother REALLY needed my company.

So about a year after that, we had another vet visit because it looked like someone had bashed me in the eyes while Mom was out. Mom was REALLY angry, saying she was gonna bash the person when she caught them.
Turns out, (which I COULD have told her of she had asked ME!!) no one bashed me. The vet said I was born with a degenerative disease where my body thinks my own eyeballs are invading germs and so attacks my own eyes. The vet said I'm going to be completely blind.
So now here we are today, January 2023 and I'm almost fully blind. I wear a lot of things that are printed with "BLIND DOG" to let people know. I bump into things a lot when I'm in an unfamiliar place, and I don't jump out of the truck alone because there might be something ultra scary down there!
I think I have a big scary woof, but for some reason, Mom always tells me I'm not fooling anyone! She listens when I growl though, so I guess she believes me when I have stuff to say.