Captain Kody: Kody's First Halloween Ends with a Visit to His Most Loyal fan!

From the trauma of witnessing the carving of scary jack-o'-lanterns in his house to the incessant ringing of the doorbell on Halloween night, it was one exhausting evening for Kody. But before we allowed him to retire and take off his costume for the night, he paid a much-anticipated visit to his neighbor and unwavering blog follower, Athena Roumeliotis.

Perhaps you know Mr. and Mrs. Roumeliotis as the former owners of the fabulous Geneva restaurant, , or you may recognize Athena in her role as a popular math tutor at the Geneva and Batavia public libraries. Or, if you are like me, you know Athena as an incredibly hospitable Greek woman who is kind, encouraging, supportive and also happens to adore Captain Kody!

Since of life as a very content canine in Geneva, Mrs. Roumeliotis took an interest. As with most people who encounter Kody, she found his looks irresistible and his profound affection for humans unbelievable. She also enjoyed that she could live vicariously through as Kody has been proudly introducing his blog followers to many fun activities and great places to go in Geneva.

When Kody arrived at Athena’s home, he was wagging his tail before she even came to the door. He seemed to think that throughout the night every time the doorbell rang at our house, it meant that someone had come to see him. Too bad the variegated visitors were only interested in collecting candy, but Kody doesn’t have to know that. While at Athena’s house, Kody played the role of the visitor, returning the kind favor. He simply thought that he was supposed to go up to the door, wag his tail and play the trick-or-treat game the way all of the other kids did when they came to our house.

When Athena and her husband came to the door, Kody was ecstatic to see them and Athena welcomed Kody into her beautiful home! Of course, Kody is potty-trained, but with such a lovely home, Kody was lucky to get an invite inside. He did behave himself, but he was a little rowdy because he was so overjoyed to be there. After all, sitting on the staircase when we entered her house was a special bag marked: “Treat for Captain Kody.” At least someone spoiled him on Halloween! The only thing I gave Kody for Halloween was a belly rub and a silly costume.

Inside Kody’s special treat bag was a large, orange-frosted, dog-friendly pumpkin biscuit cookie. It looked so delicious that I personally wanted to eat it. Had I not known it was for dogs, I probably would have. Kody was very enthusiastic about receiving such a scrumptious, Halloween treat and was more than happy to start munching on it before dinner. Hand selected just for him by Athena from Le Doggie Divine in downtown Geneva, Kody once again proved that he is an exceptionally lucky dog!

And I guess I have to say that I, too, am one lucky owner. I have an amazing dog and even more amazing neighbors. Mrs. Roumeliotis is one of the reasons that I still enjoy writing Kody’s blog on the Patch and have continued to search for publication options for my other writing. I am grateful to have such a wonderful neighbor in Athena not only because we share the bond of being Greek, but because she sincerely cares about others—whether they are covered in toasted marshmallow fluff fur or not!