Heartwarming News & Entertainment
Therapy Dog Travels Across States to Grant Cancer Warrior’s Final Wish
Gabrielle LaFrank
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As therapy dog Koda knows, with great power comes great responsibility. By now, she’s used to fans reaching out from all corners of the globe, but when she got a particularly heartfelt voicemail from a woman named Linda, she knew she had to help her.
Linda was fighting stage 4 lung and liver cancer when she made her heartfelt plea for Koda to visit her. She felt lonely, exhausted, and ready to give up after rounds of brutal chemo, but the therapy dog’s acts of kindness had given her a beacon of hope. There was just one problem–Linda lived in Tennessee, while Koda and her family call Florida home but something like distance wasn’t going to get in their way!
Granting Linda’s Last Wish
As ‘Koda the Fluff’ and her owner shared in a series of YouTube videos, it took an entire team of people across multiple states to make this visit happen. They began by contacting their local police department’s Crisis Response team, who then coordinated with the FBI in Florida and Tennessee to make Linda’s wish come true.
While the trip was being planned, Kota called Linda on the phone to get to know her even more. She found out that Linda had been feeling especially lonely during her cancer treatments, and she had been missing her dog, Pebbles, whom she lost many years ago. She had been married to an abusive man who gave away the dog during a yard sale without any warning, and the loss was weighing heavily on her. Fortunately, Koda the therapy dog did what she does best–helping people feel better–before she even got on the plane!
With the help of several sponsors and connections, Koda and a few of her friends flew from Florida to Tennessee to finally meet Linda. The cancer warrior knew her wish was coming true, but she didn’t know what other surprises Koda and her team had in store.
A Dog of Her Own
Koda’s friends prepared the greatest surprise of all–an emotional support dog for Linda! No one wanted Linda to feel alone once Koda went back home, so a local trainer, vet clinic, and FBI alumni association partnered up to provide Linda with all the supplies and vet care she would need for her new emotional support dog. They even arranged an ‘angel family’ to care for the pup when Linda wasn’t able to!
As you can see from Koda’s heartwarming TikTok video, Linda immediately lit up when she saw her new dog for the first time. The pup even arrived with a harness that read ‘U R LOVED’ so that Linda would never forget.
Source: Youtube
It must have been so emotional for her to hear that the pup is half Pomeranian–like Koda–and half Yorkie like her previous dog, Pebbles. She named the dog Mika, and they spent several months together before Linda ultimately entered hospice. After this once-in-a-lifetime meeting that left Linda feeling so special, she passed away only five weeks after meeting Koda.
A Gift of Love
This special journey that Koda took is a fantastic reminder of the power of love. In Linda’s most difficult days, she turned to this fluffy therapy dog for a smile and a sense of hope. Koda and Mika brought her comfort, company, and unconditional acceptance when the rest of the world could not, and for that, Linda’s loved ones and new social media fans are forever grateful.
Thank you Koda, Mika, and the incredible teams involved in this special case. This is just one example of how the love of a dog can change the world, even just by posting a few videos on TikTok.
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