Listen to the story of Cody the German Shepherd. It tells bittersweet goodbyes to old friends, and difficult hellos to new ones.
The story comes from Marlaina L. Lancaster. We’re told of two other dogs they’d rescued just before – one of whom died from bone cancer, the other from a stroke. They were 10 and 11-years-old respectively.
It might be inevitable, but losing a pet is never not painful.
Many pets, especially dogs, have a special talent for being your anything and everything. Almost as if they’re born wanting to be someone’s best friend.
Dogs will live just around a decade, much shorter than we do. You and I might know dozens of dogs in our lifetime, but those dogs won’t know many more people besides their family. So in those brief 7-12 years that they’re panting and barking in our homes, give them the best life you can.
When both dogs passed, they left a huge empty spot in the writer’s heart.
So when the opportunity came to take care of another dog, they welcomed it with wide, open arms.
The dog was a German Shepherd named Cody. They’d learnt of Cody from a local pound that said he may not live much longer.
This dog deserved to enjoy the (supposedly) little time it had left.
Cody was not old dog. He was only 18 months old, but had seen his fair share of things. The one and a half-year old Shepherd had several bite marks left across his face, and his ears were of uneven length. One was noticeably shorter than the other.
These were telltale signs of a dog that had suffered some abuse as a puppy – most likely at the jaws of another dog. Nonetheless, Cody survived those injuries and made his way to where he is now.
He arrived at the pound through no choice of his own – but you can say that for any dog at the pound.
Cody was dumped there, where he lived the first year or so of his life.
All this made it difficult to care for Cody at first. Seems like Cody has a host of other health issues besides the physical injuries on his head.
Feeding the Shepherd was a bit of a chore, but Cody’s new parent put in the work.
They had to cook home-made meals, and only home-made meals, every single day.
This paid off little by little. Cody’s behavior and outlook showed notable changes. But he wasn’t completely okay just yet. The German Shepherd hadn’t completely adjusted to most things yet. Car rides and certain jarring scenes would frighten him.
When Marlaina got a female Rottweiler as a friend, Cody slowly began picking up cues on how to interact.
Sometimes, the best way to learn is with a guiding hand- or paw in this case. The Rottweiler’s name was Rayne Marie.
Cody gained some extra weight, and some extra confidence too. He came a long way from being that shaken, lonely pup with the bite marks on his face.
Now, Cody and Rayne are like brother and sister. Needless to say, this was everything Marlaina wanted.
It was just what they needed too after having lost two other dogs.
Read the original account of Cody’s story in the sources below, and please share this article too!
