Lilikoi: The Lesson She Taught
By Sayui Stock
Have you ever wanted something for so long, and you would do anything, absolutely anything, for? That is how I felt for the first 10 years of my life. What could be better than a cute, snuggly, small adorable fluff ball? I do not regret getting my dog, but she came with many responsibilities I was not sure I was prepared for.
I wanted a dog for an excruciatingly long time. I wanted one so much, primarily because; could you find any fault with a fluffy, snuggly, playful, puppy? I promised I would clean up her poop, keep her from chewing socks, take her on daily walks, and see to her every need. I even wrote an essay on why we should get a dog and what the best dog for our family would be. For the seemingly longest time, the answer remained a firm, “No.” My parents said that my brother was too young, I wouldn’t take care of it, and it would be too much work. It seemed as if my parents could find every excuse not to get a dog.
After some time of begging, pleading, essays, and letters, my parents finally started to consider my plea. The answers went from solid Nos to considerate Maybes. I finally felt hopeful, and after so long, maybe my dreams of a puppy were finally becoming reality.
One warm spring night, my parents pulled me aside into their bedroom. “Sayuri,” my mother began, casting a knowing look to my father. “We decided that it’s time we get a dog.” I remember staring at her, lost in my thoughts, completely dumbfounded.
“No way,” I said tersely. A burst of happiness exploded inside me, and I remember jumping on the bed with excitement. A glow of happiness set in my face, and I wanted to scream my happiness into the sun. That was the best day of my life.
I was extremely happy and thrilled at the idea of getting a dog. My parents and I began to research places to get dogs, breeds, genders, how-tos, etc. However, it soon dawned on us that due to the fact that dogs were in high-demand because of the pandemic, it would be a good long while before we could actually get a dog. This was pretty heartbreaking to me, and my hopes were crushed once more.
I tried to stay positive, and my mom signed up for multiple waitlists, and my family decided we wanted a female aussiedoodle puppy. I waited patiently, hoping every day that my mom would say that we could adopt a puppy now. I waited a whole nine months. And finally, on that life-changing day, my mom said to me, “Sayuri! Come pick out a puppy!” My heart skipped a beat, and I sprinted down the stairs, careened around corners, jumped over the couch, and almost crashed into my mother. I was so excited! “There’s an Australian shepherd named Sugar who just had another litter.”
She showed me a screen, with a litter of 7 puppies on it. Their names were Captain, Marvel, Auggie, Praline, Flash, Arrow, and Bo. Bo, Auggie, and Phoenix were apricots, which are a pale orange-ginger color, and they had white paws, ears, forehead marks, etc. Captain was a black phantom merle, which means he was black, gray, white, brown, apricot, and many other colors all swirled into one dog. Marvel, Flash, and Arrow were blue phantom merles, which means their colors were blue-gray, white, black, and apricot. “The litter is located in Indianapolis, but we’ll figure out some way to get a dog there.” She promised. “Which dog do you like on here?” I personally wanted a red merle - which is tan, apricot, and many shades of brown mixed with white - but I decided that I wanted one of the blue merles. We had researched and learned that females were easier to train than males, so that left us one dog that fit the criteria: Marvel. Marvel was a swirl of so many colors, gray with black splotches, a gray tail with a white tip, gray face with apricot and tan spots, a black nose, and a white forehead. Her chest was white rimmed with apricot, and her legs were apricot as well. Her hind legs were gray rimmed with apricot as well, and she had extremely long eyelashes, as well as heterochromia. Her eyes almost looked like round pies or pizzas, in the way that her left eye was ⅔ brown and ⅓ sky blue, and her right eye was ⅚ sky blue and ⅙ brown. Her eyes were the most beautiful part of her, and I still marvel at their beauty every time I see her. So, we decided to choose her. She seemed like the right dog for our family, as she was playful, funny, not to mention absolutely adorable. My mother filled out the paperwork, and we chose to adopt her. We also thought her name didn’t suit her, and wanted to pick something different. Having recently moved to Maui, we decided to give her a Hawaiian name. We thought of classics, like Leilani or Kaia, we thought of fruits like Mango or Papaya, and we also thought of some English names like Phoenix or Shadow. Finally, after many weeks of thought, my mom suggested the name Lilikoi. Lilikoi means passionfruit in Hawaiian, which made it still a Hawaiian name, but not so hawaiian-sounding and hard to pronounce. My brother and father agreed, and so we decided to officially rename her to Lilikoi.
After filling out the adoption papers, we flew to Ohio during the summer because my dad’s side of the family lives there, and would drive to Indianapolis to get Lilikoi afterward. It was a very very long drive-about 10 hours- but I just thought of the adorable puppy waiting for me-10 hours away. We finally got there, and having decided to meet the breeder with Lilikoi in a random McDonalds parking lot, we waited. After about 10 minutes, a red jeep appeared in the parking lot next to us, and out stepped a tall,black-haired woman.
“Hi! My name is Jennifer. Are you guys here for Lilikoi?” She had a very warm and friendly voice, and I decided I liked her.
“Yes! We’re very excited to meet her.’ My mom replied, putting her arm around my younger brother.
“Great. Give me one moment.” Soon, she stepped out of the vehicle once more and beckoned to my family with one hand, and led us to the trunk of the car. Inside the trunk was an adorable speckled gray and black puppy.
“Oh my gosh!” My older brother breathed. My younger brother let out a squeak of excitement and ran up to the car and stopped abruptly, staring in awe at the small bundle of fur in the trunk. Jennifer then picked her up and handed her to my mother, who held her like she was the tiniest, most fragile being. I slowly approached her and stroked the puppy, marveling at her beautiful physique and gorgeous eyes.
“Hello, Lilikoi.” I murmured.
I soon began to realize that there was more to dog ownership than fluffiness and walks. For one thing, Lilikoi was not potty trained. My mother and I had to spend hours and take her to multiple classes a week to teach her to not use the bathroom inside and to sit down, not jump on people, etc. I also began to realize that I would soon have to choose between the fun things I wanted to do with my friends, family, etc, and taking care of my dog. I tried to keep all my promises about taking care of Lilikoi, but it was hard work. Towards the beginning, I was able to walk her a decent amount, maybe 5 days a week. As time progressed, though, I really stopped walking her altogether. I became extremely busy with volleyball, ballet, and piano, and suddenly I didn’t have time to deal with her. I began to feel guilty, as I had made a promise to my parents and myself that I would work hard to take care of this dog, and she was suddenly my parent’s problem, and not mine.
I started to notice that my mother was the main person taking care of Lilikoi, and I recognized that I would need to help out with Lilikoi more. I had not realized that there was more to a dog than snuggles and cuteness. I would have to do better to take care of her, and do my part in making sure of her well-being.
Only a couple weeks later, my friend wanted to call me about a hangout date and to just say hi. However, my mother said I needed to contribute to Lilikoi’s care and take her on a walk. I knew I needed to walk my dog, but I also really wanted to call my friend. My mother looked at me sternly and said, “Remember your promise, Sayuri.” I knew she wouldn’t get me in trouble or reprimand me if I didn’t walk her, but it would disappoint her, and I would feel guilty as well. Torn between my options, I told my friend I would call her the next day and took my dog on a walk.
Looking back on that day, I understood that that was the moment where I finally discerned that I had to do my part in taking care of Lilikoi, make sacrifices for her, and once I did that, I would be rewarded by her loving and loyal personality.
Lilikoi taught me to be a more responsible and kind person. I had to understand that it was partly my job to take care of her, and I had to sacrifice things that I wanted or things that were important to me for the well-being and happiness of my dog. I understand now that sometimes I have to make sacrifices in life for the things that matter most, and sometimes not everything goes my way. This is how adopting my dog shaped my personality into who I am today.
