Zoe and I let Codi, Zoe's foster dog from SAINTS, go this morning. She was a little off yesterday and she progressed over night in to having effort breathing and by the time we got down to emerg she was quite pale. So we made the difficult decision, with the vet's recommendation, to let her go. She was covered in lumps and bumps, much like Nola, so we suspect there was something bad growing under all those lumps and bumps.
Codi came to SAINTS almost 2 years ago, she was surrendered for euthanasia at Burnaby Vet Hosp. and they had ask if they could instead rehome her as there was no reason for her to be euthanised. Her owner agreed and she came to SAINTS via Meghann who then worked at BVH.
Here at SAINTS her main goal in life was to sit outside on the cement and lie like a bump on a log. She rarely moved and very easily, blended into the background. So much so that when Zoe was looking to bring a foster dog home, I suggested Codi and she didn't know who she was. She was the large black dog who lies on the cement and she was kind of a boring dog. Zoe wanted someone silly and crazy like Oka.
Well, she took Codi home anyways (I belive it was because of guilt!!!). Codi needed a home of her own.
She quickly showed that she wasn't a boring or quiet dog by any means. She was a stubborn cow alot of the time. She had to be walked slowly down the front stairs because her back end was quite weak, but once she got outside, all she wanted to do was stay there. And when you would ask her to get up and come in, this is what she would do:
She would roll on her back and wave her arms around like an idiot. And she would keep doing this until you would let her stay outside. So stubborn.
She was very good at barking to get her way. If you were in the kitchen and she was in the living room, she would bark and bark until you came and got her. (she didn't need any help getting up, she just wanted you to walk all the way over and to walk her back to where you were).
Zoe was quite determined that Codi would be able to go for walks. And earlier this year they did. They just took many breaks during them. Then this summer Zoe got her a wagon, so she could go out for a walk, without being exhausted. It was possibly one of the funniest sights to see. She even got to take trips out to trout lake.
She started spending the days downstairs in the basement with me when Zoe would go to work as she couldn't hold her bladder all day and when Zoe would come home, she would, again, bark like an idiot, in excitement and when Zoe would ask her to get up, she would roll on her back and wiggle around and continue to do so until you made her get up.
That's when we knew something was up with her. Yesterday when Zoe came home, she only lifted her head, no barking, no wiggling, no rolling over. She wasn't our silly, ridiculous barking fool.
Just wanted to share who Codi really was as I don't think many volunteers had the pleasure of really knowing was a fantastic and silly dog she was.
Rest in peace, fatty.
Codi came home with us two days after I moved into the house with Nicole and Michelle. She had her one year anniversary with us at the end of October, which also marks one year since she decided to eat moldy pasta sauce and scare the hell out of us.
Our house is not the same without Codi in it. Getting home at the end of the day is not the same without immediately hearing her very "distinct" bark....she is in every single room of the house.
Truth be told, Codi was with us a lot longer than we expected, and as Nicole mentioned, she became a completely different dog than the one we all met at SAINTS. Determined, stubborn, somewhat neurotic, lovely, and incredibly vocal.
We rode around in the truck, which she loved, because it always meant she would get some kind of snack as she lounged on the seat next to me.
Our routine at Trout Lake consisted of me either pulling her in the wagon or carrying her to the edge of the lake, where she would hobble around before carefully placing herself, front half completely in the water, back half out on the beach. She would sit like that, perfectly content, and just check everything out. Whenever we went out, at least one person would tell me how inspiring seeing Codi was to them. And she was.
She was blissfully unaware of her physical condition. Just a week ago, she was playing her own special version of fetch with Michelle in our living room. Fetch!! Codi. Playing fetch.
Losing her is very painful and very sad, but I am so happy that we were able to have her as long as we did. She was an absolute gem.