book is in its second printing. Folks fight over the limited first editions on eBay, bidding more than $100 a copy!
Celebrating our area's four-legged, feathered and finned friends
Kona Downs-Siska
Meet Kona Downs-Siska, the oldest dog I’ve ever met in real life, and the only dog I’ve ever met who has her own personal elevator!
LowerTown Artist Char Downs smiles when she calmly says, “Oh, Kona’s 18.”
That’s an amazing age for any dog, but for a Dalmatian? Wow.
Char and husband Jay Siska brought Kona home as a wee, three-pound pup wrapped up in a baby blanket.
“She experienced her first snow here in Kentucky,” says Char, who came here with Jay and Kona from San Francisco with the Artist Relocation Program. For years Kona has been a familiar sight in the Lowertown neighborhood, first trotting along while Jay and Char biked, and then walking proudly with her peeps.
But lately, Kona is slowing down just a little bit. So? Jay and Char got creative.
“Her legs give out on her when going up or down the stairs to go outside,” explains Char. “So we installed an elevator for her comfort going from the upper back deck to the ground floor. She learned how to use it the first day.”
Jay shows me how it works. “A friend rigged it up for us. Kona just climbs into her crate. And then down — or up — she goes.” Brilliant!
“She is a beautiful intelligent old girl,” Char tells me. “She is the animal soul spirit that fills this home we live in and when she’s not here the place just feels empty.”
Rock on, Kona!
