A Dog's Tail - Cody Roadie

A Dog's Tail - Cody Roadie

submitted by Jon Fowkes on behalf of Cody Roadie

Chapter One

Everything happened so quickly that I’m sure I’m going to get some of it wrong. One morning I was resting comfortably with my sister in our home outside of Phoenix, AZ, when I was taken for a ride to visit some other people. I always liked getting out of the house, but I was still really young, so everything was such a new experience for me. Though leaving the comforts of my home didn’t happen often, this time it seemed different. My handler — I called him that, not knowing any other relevant term — took me to meet a lovely couple that I immediately took a liking to. I couldn’t put my paw on it, but I think it stemmed from watching their reaction when we first met. Their look was so infectious that I found myself ferociously wagging my tail and licking their faces, and, to my surprise, they were kissing me back at the same time. Now, I was used to folks making a big deal over me, but this time seemed to be special and whatever was going to happen between me and these folks, I was all in. Later, when my handler explained that I was going away to my new home with these folks, I couldn’t have been happier. What I didn’t know at the time, was that my days of hanging loose in a comfortable house were going to become a thing of the past.

Now, I know these new folks aren’t really my Mommy and Daddy, but they insisted that I refer to them as such, and they, without my input, decided that I was to be called Cody. It was explained to me later that there was a thing with Daddy’s friends and family about naming pets after places in Wyoming. His sister named a puppy after a lake in Wyoming and one of his best friends named theirs after a mountain pass, so it made perfect sense to him to name me after a town there. I’m happy that Daddy took the lead here because I found out later that Mommy had named a couple of her pets with baseball terms, Shortstop and Dugout. It’s not that I have anything against baseball — I enjoy playing fetch with a small soft ball — it just doesn’t seem right, or for that matter even safe, to go through life worrying about having a hard baseball hit at me over 100 miles an hour!

Having left a nice comfortable home, I was fully expecting transportation to a similar place with my new family. Well, that night I discovered that the transport was actually going to be my home. At first, I was confused because this seemed strange to me, but quickly, I came to realize that it wasn’t a bad thing. I always liked going for drives with my handler, so now I could go for a ride anytime with my new family without leaving my home. How cool is that?

Though I didn’t gain the nickname Cody Roadie until a few months later, I became comfortable with being a roadie because Mommy and Daddy adopted me while on a trip across the country. After Phoenix, the next stop was Los Cruces, NM. Mommy explained to me while traveling there she found this really cool app for her phone called Harvest Host. I don’t quite understand all the technology, but she explained that they could find wineries, breweries, and farms across the country that let them stay for free and all they asked was for us to patronize their place of business. This seemed a perfect fit since Mommy loves wine and Daddy especially likes beer. This time Mommy won and they decided on a winery just outside of Los Cruces that had space available and when we arrived it was very festive with a band playing outside with lots of happy folks drinking wine and dancing to the music. Daddy had gotten a harness with a pouch where I could be front and center to all that was happening, like a baby kangaroo. As we entered the area, a lovely lady came running up to Daddy and me and she excitedly explained that lots of women like her were going to be coming up to us. Naturally, I thought she was referring to adorable me, but to my surprise Daddy said, “of course, I’m gorgeous.” The woman rolled her eyes, totally ignoring him and started playing with my ears and cupping my head in her hands, I knew I was right! http://codyadogstail.com/