Cody 13-080

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March 18, 2013

Cody arrived at his foster home in St. Paul after a LONG ride on Sunday. He met the two residents easily. We went into the house and he met the cat....she snarled at him, he looked away. We were all happy. After four months as Emit's foster (Ragom 12-363) that was my main concern....that the cat not be bothered.

He panted and he had lots of water and outside breaks and by evening he was all settled in. He ate his evening meal and slept all night. This morning things got exciting. We woke up to a few inches of new snow, then, another golden arrived for the week at 6:30 a.m. The humans went to work and I came home at 10 a.m. to meet another guest who is also staying for the week. He is a a black Standard Poodle. Cody met everyone in an appropriate manner.

Cody wasn't bothered by snow....nor did he love it like one of the residents did. He did his business and came in. We've been in and out several times during the day...I came home again in the early afternoon to check on the crew. I made an appointment at a RAGOM vet for this coming Friday morning.

Cody took it all in stride. He likes the toy box and he likes to eat snow. He's a typical golden in all ways. He is an 11-year-old owner surrender. His family of 11 years thought he'd be happier in a home with fewer small children, so they contacted RAGOM. He is quite a bit overweight....the two residents look like miniature goldens next to him. Personality-wise, he's as nice as they come. We will write again after our vet appointment.

At a Glance #13-080

Golden Retriever Born: March 2002
Male 90 lbs

Status: Deceased

Profile

March 18, 2013

Cody arrived at his foster home in St. Paul after a LONG ride on Sunday. He met the two residents easily. We went into the house and he met the cat....she snarled at him, he looked away. We were all happy. After four months as Emit's foster (Ragom 12-363) that was my main concern....that the cat not be bothered.

He panted and he had lots of water and outside breaks and by evening he was all settled in. He ate his evening meal and slept all night. This morning things got exciting. We woke up to a few inches of new snow, then, another golden arrived for the week at 6:30 a.m. The humans went to work and I came home at 10 a.m. to meet another guest who is also staying for the week. He is a a black Standard Poodle. Cody met everyone in an appropriate manner.

Cody wasn't bothered by snow....nor did he love it like one of the residents did. He did his business and came in. We've been in and out several times during the day...I came home again in the early afternoon to check on the crew. I made an appointment at a RAGOM vet for this coming Friday morning.

Cody took it all in stride. He likes the toy box and he likes to eat snow. He's a typical golden in all ways. He is an 11-year-old owner surrender. His family of 11 years thought he'd be happier in a home with fewer small children, so they contacted RAGOM. He is quite a bit overweight....the two residents look like miniature goldens next to him. Personality-wise, he's as nice as they come. We will write again after our vet appointment.

Updates

Thursday, April 3, 2014

 

Such a sad day as I write to thank you for blessing us with another great RAGOM friend and to let you know he left us yesterday after only 10 short months. I apologize in advance for the length of this note, but I feel his life with us, though short, was extraordinary. My husband went to pick up our dog from a friend who watches her while we're on vacation, who is also one of your wonderful fosters. He met Cody and it was love at first sight. When he came home he said, "You better sit down, I'm about to say something I've never said before, we need to get another dog. Cheryl has a foster and we need to get him."

Now, even though my husband loves dogs, he has never wanted to bring one home, especially so spontaneously and enthusiastically. I didn't even need to see him, we just filled out the application as he told me all about him. Unfortunately, he was already 11 years old, but my husband told me "He is so gentle and intelligent, he would be the perfect boy to train as a therapy dog, he could visit people with cancer." So we brought him home and just loved every thing about him. Two weeks later my husband was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. Quite a shock as he is young for that diagnosis, had no family history of cancer and was virtually asymptomatic. I remember so vividly coming home to a house empty except for the dogs after my husband's pathology report came back. I had a complete meltdown and laid on the floor sobbing. My dog Brook paced around me nervously, but Cody laid down beside me and laid his big paws and head across me as I cried into his neck. I literally said out loud "You can't leave me til he's better."

We took Cody to the lake with us for a week while my husband recovered from surgery and prepared to start chemo. He swam after balls, jumped off the dock, licked ice cream off kids and had a great time.

After surgery, Cody was by my husband most of the time. When he napped on the couch Cody would go up and always do the same thing, sniff his face, then his stomach and then his knees before laying down on the floor next to him. Gary was home for about 6 months during his illness, with Cody at his side,or under his feet, throughout.

Gary finished chemo in January and had a clear CT and normal labs by mid February and we're told his prognosis is excellent. He returned to work in February and we were getting on with our lives. Cody stiffened dramatically in his back legs about a week later. The vet said it was probably arthritis and possibly some neurological deficit, probably wouldn't improve but we started him on some meds to ease his pain and hopefully improve his mobility. They helped for a while, but then the first week in March he collapsed in the snow and couldn't get up under his own power. We spent several weeks lifting him and supporting him to go outside but each day was more of an effort for him and he just seemed so tired. 

When we took him to the vet yesterday he just honestly gazed at my husband as he went to sleep. We've said so many times over the past months how we wished we could have had him sooner, but were so glad to have him at all. He came into our lives at just our lowest point and really made everyday better.

I'm so grateful for all you do and realize it's for the dogs but our lives were enriched because of you and Cody. Thanks for continuing to do what you do so well.

Sincerely, Sheila and Gary Grammond

 

Monday, June 24, 2013

We've had Cody (L) just over a week now and love him so much!! Here he is with his "sisters" as the only boy invited on a girl's weekend to the north shore. He is such a great guy and he seems very content and relaxed at our house and we are just enjoying each day with him. Thanks for another great dog!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Cody got to attend the event in Shakopee this past Sunday...it was pretty last minute so we didn't post to his page. In fact, when I got up that morning, I didn't even know there was a Ragom event that day, and by 11 a.m. we were in Shakopee. According to the scale at this Chuck & Don's, he weighs 88 pounds....excellent progress. He had a good time at the event. He got snarked at by another dog and just backed away. On the way home, we stopped and shopped and Cody waited in the car.

Not much else is new to report.,..it keeps snowing and he takes it all in stride....unlike the humans in his life who are getting pretty darn sick of it. He likes to be brushed and he lets me clean out his ears once a week or so. I think his coat is looking better. He's eating good food and he's getting fish oil daily so I expect he will look gorgeous in a few months. He's very cute now....he looks like a big bear!

I'm attaching a photo that was taken by Devon TT, Ragom's photographer ---

Monday, April 15, 2013

I don't think I've mentioned enough in previous updates that Cody has the perfect Golden Retriever temperament. He loves everyone. He attended two events this past weekend thanks to other volunteers.

Kris N. picked him up on Saturday morning....thank you Kris! He went with her happily. He went to the event in Byron, Minnesota, where he was nicknamed the "Walmart greeter." He said hello to every dog and human he met. He spent the night with Kris and her family...and apparently he was the perfect house guest. She took him the event at the new Chuck and Don's in Edina....where he again said hello to every person and dog that came near him. I'd like to thank Julia R. for handling him at that event. I picked him up near the end of the event. While he was glad to see my dog Bob and myself, but he was more interested in greeting new people. I guess he scored a few treats, sorry C&D's but the bins are stored too low for that not to happen. Despite that indiscretion, I was told that he weighed 91+ pounds on their scale....still in the right direction!

Once we got home, he checked out the yard and once in the house, he crashed. He woke up long enough to eat and go outside a couple more times, but he was exhausted after his long social weekend.

I've attached a photo of Cody and Bob (on the left with the blue scarf) taken at the event.

I was told he pulls "like a freight train" on his regular collar. Because of his weight (and the weather) he hasn't been on any walks since he arrived in foster care. Now that he's down several pounds if the weather improves we'll get some walks in...we'll probably start by going around the block. We have a harness (that might be big enough) and a gentle leader in our arsenal since he pulls too much on a flat collar. We'll update again in a week or so.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

This last week was pretty quiet for Cody in his foster home. It was a work week....and all of the dogs we took care of went home. He also went back to the vet for a re-check on his ear infection and he is so happy it's gone....nobody is sticking drops down his ear twice a day anymore! Cody was a good patient, but he sure didn't like getting the drops. We have more good news - he's lost a few pounds, he is now a svelte 93 pounds....well maybe not so svelte, but it's progress in the right direction!

He likes his toys and always comes to the door with a toy, usually a Kong in his mouth. He wants to take the toys outside, but willingly drops it when he realizes that's not happening. He never plays for long, but he does pick up a toy and play for a short time at least a couple of times every day, in addition to always greeting people at the door with a toy.

He came with a big brown bed. I will have to say he really likes his bed. He never sleeps on it...but at least once a day he humps it. Like I said, he really likes his bed! I used to dogsit a big old golden that did the same thing...his owners thought it was hysterically funny and brought his bed along just so he'd have it when he wanted it...he too never actually slept on the bed. Here is a photo but it's hard to take a picture of him because he's in constant motion.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Cody has been in foster care for almost a week. Today is Saturday and he came here one week ago tomorrow. He has adjusted well. It was a pretty big test for him to come here the week he did because it's spring break in several local cities, which means we have extra dogs. He has already met several dogs and he will be living in a multi-dog household until March 31....then it will be just Cody and the two residents. Each meeting is a total non-event as far as Cody goes.

 

We went to the vet on Friday. He weighs 98 pounds...eeck! He should weigh more like 70 pounds. Needless to say we recognized his weight issue before the vet told us, so he's been on a diet since his arrival. Other than an ear infection in one ear and his weight, he checked out well at the vet. They called today with the news we wanted, no parasites, no major abnormalities in his bloodwork. He is now up-to-date...poor guy, he needed everything plus a microchip. He was an excellent patient but he was glad to leave the clinic.

He's easy to photograph. He sits when told and stays too. The one image is of Cody and the residents....I took it mostly to show the size difference. We also have a crate in the kitchen which Finnegan uses when nobody is home....Cody seems to like it too. He's been in it several times just to hang out, but we've never closed the door. He also likes toys....but it's usually pretty short-lived. He does like to have a toy when somebody comes to the door and he continually tries to take toys outside with him...but he is easily convinced to leave the toy inside.