​At times, Kaoru would infuriate me and simultaneously make me love her more; she would purposefully take advantage of my affection for her by refusing to come in at night, forcing me to chase her around the dog pen in a game of tag. Then, the moment I would give up, she would gladly respond. 
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Towards the end of my time working with Kaoru, she was the leader of the pack and even took the initiative in training, communicating the correct behavior to the other dogs better than any human ever could, as SHE knew what was up.

I loved that dog. I really did. Working at Canine Valley were some of the happiest days of my life and a large portion of that happiness can be attributed to both Kaoru and the team, both of which gave me a greater sense of home and family than I’d had in a long time. 
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By Sean Holt