Shelter Dog And His Big Sister Do Everything Together

A child's love is wide-eyed, all-encompassing and sublimely innocent. Just like a dog's.

So it's no surprise that when a downtrodden puppy met a toddler named Leola Sterling, they got along famously.

And then they got along even more famously, thanks to the dog's burgeoning Instagram account, where more than 5,000 people melt along with their daily adventures.

The pair, who lives in Eugene, Oregon, became family in March, when the orphaned puppy was brought home from an Oregon-based rescue called the Northwest Dog Project.

Kodiak's journey actually began in California, where another rescue, Love Leo, intercepted a 5-week-old German shepherd mix who was on his way to the local shelter.

Northwest Dog Project then had Kodiak transported to its facilities near Eugene, where he was fostered for another three weeks.

"No mother. No siblings. Just him," Sally Roney, co-founder of Northwest Dog Project, tells The Dodo.

"He was really underweight, and covered in ticks and scabs."

But as his body improved, so too did his spirits. Candice Miller, who had been fostering him, started spotlighting the puppy's adventures on her Instagram account.

Then the Sterling family heard about him and paid a visit.

An 18-month-old Leola fell in love. The feeling was mutual.

"He loves that little girl," Roney says.

The puppy was dubbed Kodiak, or Kodi in toddler-speak.

And the pair became inseparable.

They play fetch.

They chill in Kodiak's cage.

They're gonna grow old together.

Think you might want to bring out the superstar in a shelter dog? Consider taking one home through Adopt-a-pet.com.