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It has been 6 years since this goofy, smart, sweet, loving Black and Tan Coonie
hopped out of her aircrate and into our hearts. Keinai(keen-eye) had been found,
along with her sister as preweaned pups discarded on the side of a snowy road in
Colorado. Nearly frozen and close to death, a pair of cross-country skiiers
happened upon them, took their miserable, tiny souls to a Denver shelter. The
erudite staff immediately placed them with a surrogate mom dog who welcomed
their cold, hungry cries to the warmpth of her litter. They thrived and once
stable, were identified as purebred coonies, or quite close to pure. Who cares?
They qualified for the wonderful American B&T Coonhound group to find them a
foster home. They found one in Brigham City, Utah, with a family that had a
kennel of several rescues called Pets First. And they lived up to that name!
Keinai was 6 months old by the time she and Annie were placed online for
adoption. We had lost our beloved Morgan, a large B&T male who we had adopted
from the Bowling Green, Kentucky kill shelter some 6 years earlier, to cancer.
Sad and determined to give another Coonie a good life, for Morgan who died too
young, we were ready to take the Coon plunge again. We had shipped Morgan from
Ky to California and then to Hawaii so shipping Keinai from Utah to Hawaii did
not seem daunting. She arrived in Honolulu and greeted us through the crate, in
the quarantine release area. We had opted to complete the 120 day quarantine
required by Hawaii, by boarding her in the Utah facility she was already in and
just paid them to get all her required VAC's and tests. They were wonderful and
once in Honolulu, we were able to get her released in a couple of hours. We then
boarded her on an interisland flight to the Big Island and accompanied her on
the same flight. It was dark when we finally got home, but with 3 acres of
sturdy fences and a veteran companion /new big brother Queensland Heeler, our
beloved Kapa Kai, she was safe and bounded out of her crate, to freedom and her
new life as Queen of the Hula Hounds. She is the only Coonhound we know of on
this side of Hawaii Island, and possibly the whole island. The dogs of choice
here are largely Pittbull and mixed Pitt/hound breeds. Keinai and Kapa are the
best of friends and at 7 and 8 years, respectively, they are still puppy-like in
their daily play, run the acreage with wild abandon, give more love than anyone
can imagine and this Coondog has mended and melted our hearts from the first
moment we met online. Thank you B&T rescue!!! You saved Keinai and she saved
us!!! Mary Christopher, Island of Hawaii.
Mari Christopher
13 July 2014
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Our favorite Hula Hound is doing great. She recently had a minor accident when she put her head into a storage box to apprehend a mongoose (you can take the coonie out of the hunt, but never the hunt out of the coonie) and pulled it out, tearing her left ear in two places. She is now with stitches and a satellite dish, but completely ok with it-go figure. Anyway, she is pure delight and the best ever friend for our Heeler, Kapa. Keenie will be 3 in October and we could not love her more. Kapa was 4 in June, so they are well matched in age and energy. They play non-stop. We enlarged both their kennels to include a nice long run area, where they stay when I am at work. Otherwise they have 3 acres to run in and explore. We fostered some goats for the humane society for a while, which was interesting, to put it mildly. Apparently, coonhounds are expert goat hunters, it turns out. Who knew? The goats were glad to go to a ranch in Kohala as soon as their digs were ready. As always, we are forever grateful for your help putting us together. This is a love story for a lifetime!
Mari, Julien and Jordan Christopher
13 September 2009
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I wanted to send an update on Keinai. We have now been owned by her for 6 glorious months. She has brought more love and joy to our family than we could ever have brought to her life. She has adopted the Hawaiian lifestlye with gusto. She is now convinced that instead of a coonhound, she was destined to be a geckohound. Yes, she has mastered the art of finding and carrying around, geckos, skinks and the occassional chameleon. Don't forget that coonies are also quite adept at finding toads and those Caribbean tree frogs (Coquis) in the rainforest. She never hurts any of these creatures, but takes a lot of pride in bringing them to Kapa, her Queensland healer sidekick, for inspection and then lets them go on their harried and rather traumatized way. She is pretty sure that since she was sent to a place where there are not raccoons, she must be here to keep the coqui frog, gecko and skink population in line. This dog has the built-in coonie clock that says it's dinner time. She sits in front of the pantry where the Excalliber of the house lies in state all day,(the plastic bin that holds the doggie food)-at exactly 4:59PM. Feeding time is 5PM and no clock could be more accurate in heralding the time. She has a magnificent bay which the neighbors have told me can be heard across several large acreages, far and away. Our nearest neighbor is 3 acres away and he has 20 acres which he has heard her baying from about the middle of. Keinai has made it her mission to love us more than any other of the family members. She is on a personal journey to outdo the kisses, attention and loyalty shown by Kapa, Cali the calico cat and Corey the Amazon parrot. I think she is realizing her goals because she has nothing but love in her comical, goofy, athletic but a tad clumsy at times, beautiful heart and soul.
Thanks to the Coonhound Rescue we have our doggie for all ages, the one that breaks all the cookie cutter ideas about pets and that unforgettable "deep in your heart" love only a true-blue houndog can give a family.
Aloha nui loa from the Hula Hound and her family:
Mari, Julien and Jordan Christopher
3 June 2008
Keinai has been with us now for 39 days and has figured out how to run the household without any effort at all. As it is written in the "Book of Coonies," appearing laid back and casual, but really running the show is their mantra. She has picked up on the house rules quickly, but has also made some of her own. For example: When we play "bowling for biscuits" she gets a head start in front of the Heeler, Kapa. That is pretty non-negotiable. Also, no doggies allowed in the Kitty's "throne room"(aka, Mom's bedroom), EXCEPT Black and Tan Coonhounds who are on a special assignment. Oh, she will convince you she is on a special assignment. : ) Also, when it's bedtime, she gets to pick the doggie bed she will begin the night on, before Kapa does. Then, she reserves the right to change her mind in the middle of the night, bumping Kapa off the bed of choice.
The counter surfing addiction is a work in progress. Keinai is in a 12 step program for that and finds it rather short sighted of the humans that they don't share the kitchen counters with the dogs in their lives. She sees no point in a counter that isn't 'dog friendly' also. More on that as time goes on. So far, we just make sure there is not even so much as a paper towel out on any counter, anywhere, or you lose it. Her throw pillow fettish is also in 'no doggie allowed' department. However, a few decorative pillows on the Hawaiian print doggie bed looks so welcoming, don't you think?
So, who needs those pesky tie- downs on the kennel rain cover? Not Keinai. She has eliminated any unnecessary frills, buttons or whistles in the kennel area. She runs a clean, tight ship there and any dead weight is eliminated. As long as it's dry in there, it suits her fine.
This dog continues to charm us daily. She is vibrant, playful and so happy to be a part of a family. She is loyal and has taken over the job of neighborhood watch. If anyone gets a visitor, she announces it with a long, low, melancholy bay. We love this dog so very much and are so grateful to the ABTCR for allowing us to give her a second chance in life.
Thank you to everyone who contributes to this organization, provides foster care for these wonderful dogs and gives people like us a chance to continue the Coonhound legacy in our family. We cannot imagine life without a coonie!
Mari, Julien, Jordan, Kapa, Keinai, Corey and Cali Christopher
29 December 2007
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Beatrice (renamed Keinai) arrived in Honolulu on November 20th, after
a comfortable 7 hour flight from Salt Lake City, Utah. The angel of all dog
people, Debbie Shaw, had fostered this wonderful coonie since shortly after
her rescue almost a year ago! When we saw her on the ABTCR website, we fell
for her right away. And so the saga began, with the 120 day mandatory
quarantine period, the vaccinations, rabies titer, lots of paperwork and
some money. Debbie was up for the challenge and willing to keep Keinai, take
her to her vet visits, drive her to Salt Lake and ship her.
Jordan and I left early on Nov. 20th to fly to Oahu from the Big Island of
Hawaii, to pick her up. Delta Air did a great job taking care of her and she
arrived in great shape. Once we sprung her from animal quarantine, we put
her in a cab and drove with her to Hawaiian Air cargo where everyone was
really interested in this Hula Hound! You don't see Coonhounds of any color
here in Hawaii. After leaving her there, we went back to the terminal and
boarded the plane for the Big Island. At 8 PM, we all arrived in Hilo, some
11 hours since Keinai had left Salt Lake. Still quite calm and very quiet,
she peered out of the crate with interest at all the smells and strange
people's voices. We let her out as soon as we got to the parking lot and the
nose hit the ground immediately. She was inspecting every inch of this new
turf. She was happy to jump into the car and feel the ocean breeze as we
drove home. As soon as she found her way around the property, she finally
let out a long, low bay that we won't soon forget! She was home and had a
family!! Kapakai, our Heeler, greeted her with lots of kisses and offers to
play. They have been playing ever since and sleep, eat and hotlap the
property together. She is a joy to have in the family and has learned that
the Amazon parrot, Corey, is the real boss of the house. The 18 year old cat
is second in command, and she doesn't disturb her most royal kittiness,
ever. Quick to learn and easy to love, Keinai carries on the legacy of
Coonhounds in our family. She is the 4th rescue black and tan coonie we've
had over the past 24 years. Thank you ABTC Rescue, Jayne Schlegel and all
the foster families who do such a herculean job of saving these outstanding
dogs.
Mari, Julien, Jordan, Kapa, Corey and Cali Christopher
12 December 2007
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