National Pet Day: Meet Best Friends Sway and Kona

Today is National Pet Day and we want you to meet best friends—Sway from Westshore and Kona from Downtown Tampa.

I had the opportunity to interview Sway’s mom, Melody, and this is what she had to say about her little boy and his best friend Kona.

Hi Melody, thank you for giving me the opportunity to interview you. Let’s get to know Sway and Kona, shall we?

Can you tell us a little bit about Sway and Kona’s personalities?

Sway and Kona are very similar in their playful and active personalities, but mainly their mischievousness. They love being little trouble makers, especially when they are together. They run after each other for hours and love their play dates. They have so much energy. Kona is a playful and loving black lab and pointer mix puppy. She is almost 7 months old, so she is definitely in her toddler phase. Sway, a very active Dorkie (a dachshund and Yorkie Mix), is about to be 2 years old, but when he is around Kona, he definitely channels his puppy years. I have to say that they are both very intelligent and receptive to our commands and attention.

How did they become part of the family they are in?

Kona was adopted from a breeder by his dad, Ryan Nelson. Sway was purchased from a puppy store by my boyfriend Marcel Robinson and I. When Marcel and I bought Sway, we had no idea we were going to come home with a puppy nor we had planned it, but the moment we saw Mr. Sway, we knew he needed to come home with us. So, we brought him home!

How did Kona and Sway meet?

Kona and Sway met on an evening when Ryan brought her over to my house. At first, Sway wanted nothing to do with Kona. He was intimidated by her, probably because of her high energy and by her size, since Kona is a lot larger than Sway is. Every time he saw her, he would bark and growl whenever she was around as he felt she was an intruder. However, once Sway noticed my welcoming reaction to Kona’s presence, and realized that she was, in fact, just a puppy, he adored her. Now, they are inseparable. They will cry and whine if they see each other at a distance and all they want to do is run towards each other so they can play.

How did you and Kona’s dad meet?

Ryan and I met in college, during my freshman year. We met through my roommate at the time and ended up becoming best friends. We have been best friends since then and now our pups are best friends.

Tell me a funny story about something that happened to them? Or, about some trouble, they got themselves into?

While Ryan was trying to potty-train Kona, there would be times when she would have accidents inside the house. If I was over at Ryan’s house with Sway, he would feel bad when Kona got in trouble for peeing in the house. So sometimes we would be sitting on the couch and they would be playing around and, all of a sudden, there would be two puddles. One for Kona and one for Sway, even though Sway was already potty-trained. So, Sway probably felt bad for his friend and so she wouldn't feel bad, he would pee too, even though he knew he was supposed to go outside.

What are their favorite things to do as friends?

Their favorite thing to do is run around in circles after each other. Sway is tiny in comparison to Kona, but he is fast and agile. Kona is a lot bigger, but since she is a puppy, she can be clumsy at times, therefore she struggles to catch Sway. She is slowly catching up to him though. They also love to share their toys. Kona loves all of Sway’s toys and always picks one up and brings it to Sway, so he can join in on the fun. Sway tends to get jealous and tries to steal the toys from Kona. But he also doesn’t mind sharing. He just prefers to have her chase after him since he loves being faster than her.

Also, they both love the dog park and the dog beach. They get so excited every time we arrive. Sway and Kona love dipping their paws in the water and then running through the sand.

Tell me about a scary moment you guys have experienced as parents?

Definitely, one of the scariest times as Sway’s mom was the day he had to get surgery for a bowel obstruction. After a vet exam, it was discovered that Sway had ingested two foreign objects and they were stuck in his intestine, so the objects had to be surgically removed. Thank God Sway’s surgery was a success and he has fully recovered since.

In Kona’s case, she had a lot of sicknesses as a puppy. One of them was a skin condition called dermatitis, which is a condition that causes a bad rash and a lot of discomforts. Also, one day, Kona swallowed a piece of a rope which caused her to completely lose her appetite and be sick for multiple days. She ended up throwing the rope up a couple of days later.

Any plans for their future?

Definitely lots of playing and meeting new friends. And daily exercise so they stay fit.

Anything else you want us to know about Sway and Kona?

They are both very protective of each other. Any time Kona sense trouble and barks, Sway is right there with her barking as well. Also, when either of them gets in trouble with their parent, the other one is the first to go up to them and comfort each other.

Well, there you have it, guys. I hope you enjoyed this interview and that you got a chance to get to know Sway and Kona better… two best-friends with different personalities, but with the same job in common… to bring happiness to whoever gets in their path and to, once in a while, get in trouble for the sake of keeping things interesting.

About the Author:
Marielys Camacho-Reyes is a freelance writer from Central, FL. You can follower on Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook.

You can also follow Sway's Instagram adventures on @sway_the_sausage_boy