Cody’s Story: The One Who Kissed Through the Pain
In Sayulita, Mexico, Gracie and I made friends with all kinds of local animals. But there was one dog who stood out, a scruffy little thing, so dirty you could barely tell he was white.
Every single day for almost 6 months, he would run up to us, greet Gracie with kisses, then gently wedge his head between my legs and wait patiently for some bum scratches. He didn’t ask for much. Just a little love.
Then one day we stopped seeing him on our morning walks… he just disappeared.
I walked that same path every day for weeks hoping I would see him again then one day, off in the distance I saw him. He was hopping down the dirt road, one front leg dangling and a back leg that he held up but wouldn’t put any weight on. My heart broke and I immediately knew something had to be done.
Within 24 hours, I tracked down his “owners.” It took some convincing, but eventually they let me take him to the vet.
The diagnosis shattered me.
Cody had two broken legs, a severe ear infection in both ears, an eye infection, fleas and ticks, and multiple complications with his testicles. The vet initially believed one of his legs would need to be amputated. The break was so bad the bones had fully twisted around and his little body started growing a joint in-between the bones.
While the vet was taking Cody’s X-rays, Cody looked up at him and started kissing him. In that moment he couldn’t amputate the leg, he knew he had to do everything possible to save it.
That was the start of a long, emotional, and exhausting journey.
Over the next eight months, Cody lived with me full-time. He had three surgeries, weekly vet visits, daily medications, and a long road to rehabilitation. His “owners” never came back to see him, not even once. They didn’t even ask about him.
But Cody kept loving, gave all the kisses and had the funniest little personality. He kept trusting. He kept healing. And when he was finally healthy again, I found him the forever home he always deserved. It was the hardest goodbye.
He’s now with a beautiful family in Canada and despite the drastic temperature difference, he’s the happiest he’s ever been. Two boys that love him endlessly and more humans to give him all the bum scratches and love.
Cody’s story reminds me that animals don’t give up, even when they have every reason to. And if they don’t, we can’t either.
“He came to me broken. But in the end, he’s the one who healed something in me.”