Written on July 15, 1998.~

I have always wanted a big dog. We have a small, mini-daschund, he's a longhaired "wiener dog". But still, I have longed for a dog I could call all my own. One big enough to take care of me a little bit, as I would take care of him. Well, in December of 1997, such a dog crossed my path.

After talking with a woman who was once a friend of mine and still remains a friend of my parents, I was convinced that I could indeed coherse my parents into allowing me to have a big dog on our 30-acre farm. Well, the day after I brought the subject up, I looked under the "pets and livestock" section of our local paper. Mind you, our paper is very small and there is seldom more than one entry in this section. Well, there it was. "Free to good home", a two year old Dalmatian and something about not good with kids and needs a lot of space. Well, the added bonus to this story is that my dad had always mentioned that if we got a dog, a good breed would be a Dalmatian because they are built for running with long legs, short hair, and they aren't water dogs so they don't have oily coats (makes them smell).

Well, the call was made to the people giving this dog away. The dog's "dad" brought him out to see us. He lunged out of the car barking, snarling, and growling. His face was contorted with anger and aggression and he had this immense wrinkle going across his forehead with these expressions. But he was beautiful. His name was "Checkers". I said I would take him.

He moved in with us just before Christmas. He has since been re-named. Since he is a bit of a guard dog for me, I wanted him to have a different name then "Checkers" (read: "woosy dog"). I thought and thought and made up a huge list. I finally decided on "Cody"…I took the name from the woman that Madelaine Stowe plays in the movie "Badgirls". The character's name is Cody Zamora and she is tough! So that's how my boy got his name.

Cody has learned to play since then. He is such a suck around his mom! (me) Around most other people he comes off as a very aggressive and dangerous dog…I am still working with him…we have accomplished so much together. He has taught me much patience and I know that one day he will be a most excellent gentleman around other people. He gets better every day but the lack of socialization and attention he received as a puppy has weighed heavily on him. He will roll over and chew me playfully, do all sorts of tricks for me, run and play outside with me and never a bad word out of him towards his mom. But if a stranger approached, he would most certainly bite them. So he's good and intimidating anyway. Through reading some dog behaviour stuff, I have learned his aggression is not dominance related but rather fear related. He lashes out before anyone can hurt him. He is a lot like survivors, don't you think? Cody is my companion and I love him dearly. We understand each other. He is truly a gift sent from God when I needed him most.

Much love,
Meggie