A Special Soft Spot for Ku

I have a soft spot in my heart, and it’s reserved for my special friend Ku from Haiku by Ku. A couple of weeks ago, that soft spot got a little bigger when a package addressed to “Beautiful Miss Harper Lee” arrived in the mail. Well, as if that wasn’t enough, inside I found my very own pawtographed copy of Ku’s new book, Kuruk: The Little Bear That Could–One Rescue Pup’s Journey of Healing, along with a lovely note.

I just had to sit down so I could take it all in, and so I could nibble on Ku’s book a little. I had never nibbled on a book before, so it was extremely clear to my humans that I was super excited about this one.

And then I grabbed my new book and ran to my bed, because that’s where I take all the things I really love. I settled into my bed and started to share Ku’s story with my favorite toy, Alli Gator. Ku’s book begins in an Alaskan puppy mill. “My first year of life was rough,” he writes. “When I was about one year old, some of our pack members started to die. It was very traumatic and sad to see my family members pass away before my eyes.” At this point, Alli Gator and I were very, very sad for Ku and his Alaskan Malamute pack. I have been loved by humans since the very first day of my life, and Alli Gator has been loved by me since the day I got her. We so wanted Ku to feel that same sort of love. Fortunately for Ku and the others, things started to look up when some caring humans arrived at the puppy mill to rescue all of those sweet pups. Ku eventually ended up with a group called Washington Alaskan Malamute Adoption League (WAMAL) and then with his foster mama Miss Cindy.

That’s when Ku’s dreams really started to come true. A pretty lady and her big Malamute named Simba came to Miss Cindy’s home to meet Ku. “Inside the pretty lady looked into my eyes and spoke to me. She did not use words though,” Ku recalls. “She knew how to talk with her eyes!” Ku had found his forever home with the pretty lady, handsome Simba, two cats, and chickens. Alli Gator and I looked at each other and gasped: chickens! I am constantly asking my human daddy if we can have chickens and he always says no. But back to Ku’s story. Sadly, Simba passed away, but not before teaching Ku some very valuable doggy lessons, and Ku got a beautiful sister named Nalle from the nice people at WAMAL. The pretty lady, Ku, Nalle, and the two cats eventually moved to San Francisco (the chickens found a new loving home) and that’s where Ku now lives.

It might be easy for some animals and lots of humans to have a bit of bitterness in their hearts if they had the kind of start to life that Ku had. But Ku isn’t at all bitter. In fact, he has one of the most loving, generous, and optimistic souls you could ever imagine. His beautiful book ends with these words:

“My healing journey will continue on, but I know I can do it! And if I can do it, I know other rescue pups, and kittens, and horses, and other animals can do it too!”

And now for a special footnote: Ku has promised to donate a portion of the proceeds from his book sales to animal rescue. You can click here to visit Ku’s blog and find out where you can buy the book. My mommy loves Ku as much as I do, so she bought a copy of Kuruk: The Little Bear That Could several weeks ago, and now she’d like to share that copy with one of our blog readers. Just make a comment by this Thursday evening at 6 p.m. central U.S. time and you’ll be eligible to win a random drawing for a copy of Ku’s heartwarming story of rescue and healing. Good luck!