MORE ABOUT WHY CODY IS MY HERO

[jkofferdahl]

Cody really is amazing. When I brought him home from the Humane Society he was very frightened, and spent a couple of hours hiding under the kitchen table. I was worried how he would react when my daughters got home; they were 6 and 10 at the time. But as soon as he saw them, children, he got up. His tail wagged, and he trotted to them to greet them. All worries were gone.

He'd never had any training in his first home, so I hired a special trainer and went to work. He was worried at first, but discovered that when he did right he got hugs, pats, and praise, and when he did wrong he was gently shown what to do and then given hugs, pats and praise. By the third day he would get very excited when it was training time, wanting nothing more than to learn what was expected of him.

Six years ago my current wife brought home a couple of Pug puppies. Cody is 75 pounds and was used to living with a greyhound his own size. But he simply adored the puppies. I can remember seeing him walk around the house with one hanging, growling playfully, from each jowl, his tail wagging. The female Pug is kind of nervous, and he immediately learned a different style of play with her than with the male. In fact, whenever he encounters another dog he gently figures out what they are about and then interacts with them accordingly.

Last month his partner of almost 10 years, Batya the greyhound, died. I had to take her to the emergency clinic late at night. Coday was home with my stepson. He called us at the clinic, worried because Cody had just begun to howl. It was at the same moment that Batya died. Cody knew it, and was mourning. He slept on our bed, right next to me, for three nights.

Cody is more than the dog who rescued my house from a potential fire. Simply put, he is the wisest, smartest, gentlest dog I have ever known.

[Lagoon]

OMG stop! Your gonna make me break out the tissue box
He sounds like a perfect family member, it was all meant to be.

That dog needs a thick steak, hee hee!

[kimstwin]

I enjoyed reading your posts about Cody. I didn't see his pic in there, though. Did I miss a post that included his photo? Animals are so amazing and inspiring.

[jkofferdahl]

I'll figure out how to get a picture in a message and post one. I'm slow with this stuff - I'm an old man!

[jkofferdahl]

Cody's here:

And my avatar is Hannnibal, one of the Pugs.

[Grandma M]

Cody is a beautiful dog and I loved reading you story about him.

Your story reminds me of my two little 6 year old twin Grandsons. On Sunday morning Matthew asked his Sunday school teacher to pray for his brother Michael. When she asked him why, he just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know why he asked that because Michael was fine. When my son went to check on the twins before he went to bed that night, he found that Michael had peacefully died in his sleep from a blood clot on his brain.

I believe in my heart that Matthew knew that his twin brother would die that night. I also believe that there is a special bond between twins to cause him to know.

Grandma Marilyn

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by Grandma M

Cody is a beautiful dog and I loved reading you story about him.

Your story reminds me of my two little 6 year old twin Grandsons. On Sunday morning Matthew asked his Sunday school teacher to pray for his brother Michael. When she asked him why, he just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know why he asked that because Michael was fine. When my son went to check on the twins before he went to bed that night, he found that Michael had peacefully died in his sleep from a blood clot on his brain.

I believe in my heart that Matthew knew that his twin brother would die that night. I also believe that there is a special bond between twins to cause him to know.

Grandma Marilyn

Wow. I'm blown away by this story. Completely. Michael and Matthew are in my prayers.