Kaitlyn and Kota’s Story
Last fall, Kaitlyn said goodbye to Copper, the dog who had been by her side since high school. For 14 years, they went through a lot together. So, even as his quality of life declined, letting go wasn’t easy. Especially with the holidays around the corner.
Copper was always part of Christmas. Kaitlyn wrapped presents for him and filled his own custom stocking. That first year, without his gifts under the tree, “it definitely felt like a big part of our holiday traditions was missing,” Kaitlyn said.
In time, Kaitlyn and her partner, Andrew, felt ready to welcome another dog into their lives. They reached out to Arizona Animal Welfare League, a PetSmart Charities® adoption partner, hoping to find a dog who would also be a good match for their cat, Valerie.
That’s when they met Kota.
They brought him home for a slumber party to see how the animals meshed before fully committing. And they saw something they hadn’t seen before: Kota’s connection with Valerie.
“That was the moment we knew Kota was going to be ours,” Kaitlyn said.
The Gift of Adoption
The Saturday they brought Kota home, it already felt like he belonged. “We like to really relax and decompress on the weekends, and he just fit in so easily,” Kaitlyn said. “He just laid down, watched TV with us. It was like he was part of the family.”
Three months later, Kota has settled in, and his personality has blossomed. He could never replace Copper. But Kaitlyn believes Kota and Copper would have been great friends.
“I think he would be so happy to see that I’m happy again and I have somebody to walk with every morning and cuddle with at night,” she said.
PetSmart Charities® works with many adoption partners to give people and pets the same opportunity Kaitlyn and Kota had: to find a meaningful connection.
For anyone going through a loss and considering adoption again, Kaitlyn shares the valuable lesson she learned.
“Don’t diminish your grief because it’s a pet,” she said. “But you can find another animal that needs that love just as much as you do.”
