We first met Cody right after he was adopted in 2002 from the Sacramento SPCA by our friend and neighbor, Ginger Brownrigg.
Ginger loved bears and tended to adopt dogs who shared bear-like qualities: big and furry!
He was only about a year old, bright-eyed and very friendly. What a handsome boy! Six months later, we adopted Bella from the Front Street Shelter (she was being fostered at the time). Cody met Bella and sparks flew! They became instant friends.
Rough-and-tumble play dates gradually turned into laying around and eating grass. But, just like an old married couple, they still enjoyed being with each other, even if it was to do nothing.
After a long battle with cancer, Ginger passed away in 2007. We adopted Cody and he started learning to live with Bella and our three cats. Cody had a reputation of being a Cat Hater. He loved to chase cats and bark at them. However, it didn't take him long to learn that cats are in charge. After a hiss or two, and a few sharp swipes, he acquiesced to the mighty felines.
Rule #1: never look directly at the cat.
Cody always said yes to going for a ride. He was one cool dude!
Head out the window, sniffing the air, barking at cows, checking over our shoulders to make sure we weren't speeding...we think of him often when we go for a ride now.
He was a happy-go-lucky guy almost all of the time, but he probably was at his happiest back then on our annual trips to Bandon, Oregon. We rented a house right on the beach where he could run free and play with his girlfriend.
"Mom, Dad! There are dogs out there!"
Crazy on the Beach!
He was our big furry woodland creature.
One Halloween, we dressed up the dogs and took them around the neighborhood for Trick or Treat. We dressed Cody up as a lumberjack. Cute, but not very practical.
You see, even if you have a dog do its "business" before putting pants on said dog, a dog will probably have more "business" to do. Needless to say, the pants went into the trash when we got home.
Poor Cody was mortified. We took the back way home so none of his friends would see him.
In 2011, we adopted a stray kitten named Scout. She took an instant liking to Cody and decided he would be her best friend.
He still remembered Rule #1!
By the way, Cody had THE best-smelling dog paws. Have you ever smelled a dog paw? Unless they've recently stepped in something unpleasant, their paws usually smell like warm pretzels, or Fritos. Try it!
In 2012, we moved from an 800 sq. ft. house in California to a 2,200 sq. ft. house in Northern Idaho.
Cody quickly staked out a spot right in front of the wood stove.
Eventually, we got a big fluffy dog bed for him, but the other animals in the household decided they liked that big bed just as much as he did and he was lucky to ever get it for himself. He decided to make the end of the couch his "spot".
It was mid-November when we moved to Idaho and there was already snow on the ground. "Snow" was Cody's favorite time of year.
The best part of living on ten acres in a rural community is..."No Stinkin' Leashes!"
Cody always respected the wildlife in his backyard. We only had to tell him once "No chasing deer".
When we moved to Northern Idaho, we thought we would be escaping the usual heat we experienced in Northern California. We were unpleasantly surprised when it got into the 90s the first summer we were here. Cody had to get his usual summer hairdo.
He looked kind of silly for the first few weeks, but we're sure he appreciated shedding that thick, heavy coat.
A feral cat visited for a few weeks that first summer with her four kittens. She eventually took off with two of them, leaving the other two with us. I guess she decided our home would be a good place for them to grow up.
They took up residence in our log deck at the end of the driveway. Every day, Bruce and Cody would go out and leave food and water for the kittens.
The kittens stayed in the log deck, watching all the while, but Cody would make an "oooh oooh oooh" sound as he walked near them. He sounded a little like a monkey. Eventually, the kittens began to climb out of the log deck as Cody approached. They still kept their distance, but that monkey sound must have made them feel safe.
They soon grew and left the log deck to explore their new home turf. They would hang around our porch but run if we went outside. One day, I saw Cody through the front window, doing a little dance with Seraphim, one of the (now grown) cats. He was still making that monkey sound, and Seraphim kept getting closer and closer.
It wasn't too much longer before they were fast friends. Whenever Cody went outside, Sera would come running from wherever he had been sleeping, playing or hunting to be with Cody.
Cody was also known as "Papa's Helper". He absolutely loved being outside, and as soon as Bruce started gearing up to go out, Cody would start his "hop toad" dance. He would show his excitement by leaping backwards several times, knocking over whatever (or whomever) might be behind him.
Cody followed Bruce up and down the driveway, keeping watch for lions, tigers and bears.
In August of 2013, Cody was diagnosed with prostate cancer and given six months to live. We were devastated.
He didn't let a little cancer get him down, though. He helped Bruce finish the woodshed in time for winter.
Ginger had a pet health insurance policy for Cody with Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) that we continued after we adopted him. Thank goodness, because they really came through for us. Fast and easy claim service with quick turnaround time. Thank you, VPI!
January 2014 came and went and Cody kept chugging along. He would develop a new symptom now and again that our wonderful vet would mitigate. He lost a little pep in his step and would sometimes just lay on the snow for what seemed like hours (we were afraid he'd get frostbite) but his demeanor remained upbeat and jolly. He was just happy to be alive.
By April, he had slowed down quite a bit. But he still did the "hop toad" dance whenever we asked him if he wanted to go for a ride.
We got the boat out of storage early so he could have a few last adventures on the lake.
He sure did love being on the boat, and that boy had sea legs! Bruce put the pedal to the metal and drove in circles, and Cody was completely unfazed.
We started working on our garden about this time and Cody was our supervisor. Even though he was really winding down, he insisted on being out there with us, and accompanying us on each trip we took hauling rock and soil from the driveway to the garden.
He would rest in the cool soil under the teepee at the front corner of the garden, where he could still keep an eye on us and make sure we weren't slacking.
A few weeks before he passed away, Cody finally made friends with Shadow, our other feral kitty (Sera's brother). I guess Sera convinced him that Cody was not a big furry monster and was, in fact, a great friend to have.
I'm sure Cody thought that was his crowning achievement. He had grown from being Cody the Cat Hater to... Cody, Cats' Best Friend!
Cody finally lost the fight on May 28th, 2014. When we had to decide where his final resting place should be, we thought there was no better spot than under the teepee, where we could see him from the house and he could keep an eye on us forever more.
We planted catnip, among other things, on his grave so that Sera and Shadow could hang out with him.
R.I.P., Sweet Cody Bear Brownrigg. We all miss you to this day.
