Meet Buddy — The Inspiration Behind Six Legs
A Kokoni from Greece… well… California, actually. But my ancestors come from Greece!
Since I was eight weeks old, I’ve been a professional road-trip trekker, stick inspector, squirrel watcher, snack quality-control specialist, and, according to my papa, the reason Six Legs exists.
We’ve explored 26 states together (so far), wandered through mountain towns, hiked countless trails, and put more than 45,000 miles on our trusty Outback.
I think every walk is an adventure. Every stick deserves inspection. Every stranger is a friend I haven’t met yet, and many people I have never met yet see me on the street and call my name, “Hey, Buddy! so they must know me!
Anyway, though, to explain how I added four legs to Six Legs, we have to go back to the beginning.
Breed: Kokoni — an ancient breed from Greece and Cyprus, thought to be the little dogs that appear on ancient Greek pottery.
Birthday: April 6, 2024
Born: Near Placerville, California
First Road Trip: 143 miles from Home Depot Parking Lot, Placerville, California, to Stinson Beach, California.- Second Road Trip: 1,259 miles home to Colorado
- 🏔 States Visited: 26
Favorite Snack: Beef-flavored chew stick, if you please!- 🏔 Favorite Place: Colorado’s Mountains
Favorite Sound: “Let’s Go Walking!”- Adventure Vehicle: Subaru Outback
- 🛣 Miles Traveled: 45,000+ (and counting!)
- 🥅 Life Goal: Meet every human in America
- 🙈 Least Favorite Thing: Baths
How We Met
A few years ago, a British friend introduced me to a little dog I’d never heard of before called a Kokoni, an ancient breed from Greece and Cyprus.
The moment I met her dog, Happy, I was completely taken. I fell in love with Happy and the breed. The fact is, I didn’t even know I would ever get a dog again until I met Happy.
But Kokonis seemed to embody everything anyone could want in a companion. They are incredibly intelligent, affectionate, and adventurous. And they’re just the right size for a life spent exploring. So, it wasn’t long before I started wanting a dog in my own life.
It became a longing because what I thought would be a simple search turned into six months of emails, calls, international breeder referrals, and dead ends. I was seriously contemplating making a trip to Greece, and then, one day, I received two short videos of a puppy near Placerville, California.
Buddy was only on the screen for a few seconds, but that was all it took.
I loaded up my Outback and drove 1,100 miles from Colorado to California. I arrived late, spent the night in a little motel, and the next morning headed to a Home Depot parking lot.
He was tiny, just a handful of puppy. They put him into my arms, and he immediately started licking my face.
It was Buddy’s first visit to the Pacific Ocean. It was my first in more than thirty years. We stayed on the beach only for a few minutes together, but it was a wonderful way to start our long journey back to Colorado.
Neither of us knew it then, but that drive home was the beginning of something much bigger than either of us could have imagined.
Over the next two years, we’d travel more than 45,000 miles together, explore 26 states, hike hundreds of trails, and discover remarkable people and places across America.
What began as the story of a puppy became the story of a friendship.
That friendship became Six Legs.
