Natalie Freeman and Kyron Grasso couldn’t have asked for a better duo of dogs than Koda and Oakley.
“They love each other and get along super well,” Ms Freeman said.
“They both just want to be friends with everyone, and other dogs.”
Oakley is a one-year-old German Shepherd-cross-Labrador, and Koda is a two-year-old Akita.
As for how they ended up with two very different dogs, Mr Grasso drove to Newcastle to collect Koda because he “fell in love with the breed”, and Ms Freeman adopted Oakley from the Shepparton Animal Rescue.
“I still talk to and text photos to the lady who fostered him when he was like six weeks old,” she said.
When it comes to their taste in toys, it’s fair to say they have a particular fascination with Disney. Well, they used to.
“They used to have a few Eeyores, Winnie-the-Poohs and Tigger toys, but they’re all dead now,” Mr Grasso said.
“We come home from work, and there was fluff everywhere.”
These days, they’ll settle for a rag.
“Most of the toys are destroyed, if they did have a favourite one it’s gone now,” Ms Freeman said.
Despite the stereotype that Akitas can be aggressive, Ms Freeman said they “lucked out” with Koda.
Mr Grasso agreed and even said that Koda has more feline than canine characteristics.
“He’s more like a cat than a dog,” he said.
“He cleans himself, and you won’t hear Koda bark very often, whereas Oakley barks all the time.”
Like all dogs, they go for walks every day, but more often than not, they’re taking charge.
“Oakley’s not aggressive or anything, but when he walks, he walks. He’ll walk you,” Mr Grasso said.
“We went to puppy school for both of them, which has taught us a fair bit, like how to walk them properly.”
After a fun day of going on walks and destroying their toys, Koda and Oakley like to have a laydown.
However, not in the beds Mr Grasso and Ms Freeman built for them. They’re much comfier on the table outside.