In Memoriam

Cody
August 5, 2003-June 12, 2008


Really, is there anything better than a wiener dog in a funny, tiny racing outfit? Well, perhaps watching many of them compete against each other in a dash across a basketball court in a completely packed stadium. Perhaps then, yes.

The tension was palpable as six little doxies were loaded into their racing boxes one Saturday in April for the Doxie Derby, a (the) highlight of the 99th annual UC Davis Picnic Day.

The mini-daschunds, in this, the sixth heat of the mini division, were prepped with their racing gear and assigned their matching-color starting box. Owners, fanatical and perhaps a bit frantic, tried desperately to keep their pups’ attention with whatever they had at their disposal—some used toys, others had pom-poms, flags, floppy mop heads and the like—and ran to the finish line to greet and, perhaps, cajole their furry friends to the end in the hopes of Derby glory.

“Ready, Set, Go!” The announcer piped into the mic and the starting gates were raised. They’re off! Sort of. Red takes an early lead and yellow heads diagonally into the crowd. The doxies in purple and orange seem content to hang out in their starting boxes for a while.

And then there’s the little lady in blue.

With all eyes on her, she emerges from the box a bit dazed, but motivated nonetheless. She sees the end of the court and spies her two humans in matching TEAM CODY shirts frantically waving and bouncing about looking generally ridiculous. She’s pretty sure there’s a treat there. So she runs. The crowd roars. Her paws pick up speed and Cody Lightening Johnston races to the finish, just slightly behind the red racer and barely behind the dog in yellow. Third place!


For her triumph she is rewarded with a treat and then is carried back to the starting boxes for heat #2.

Once again the dogs are loaded into their boxes and this time, Cody begins barking in her box. The barks are drowned by the cheers of the immense crowd that has filled, even to the very top bleachers, the entire basketball stadium of the university.

The race begins again with the announcer’s cry and they doxies are released. Once again red takes an eager start. And Cody… well, Cody gets sidetracked with the pup in purple. They decide to do a lap around the starting boxes first. You know, for warm-up. A kind and officiating veterinary medicine student stops Cody from more in-depth exploring of the back of the start boxes and points her in the right direction. Aha! That’s the way to go! And she’s off. Some of the crowd is on their feet! The purple and orange smocked racers set off in varying directions to visit their fans in the crowd. But Cody’s focus in unflinching now, and she runs the length of the court again-- straight into her owners’ loving arms (after stopping first at some other human’s loving arms.) Fifth place! Not bad all things (warm up laps in the wrong direction) considered.



TEAM CODY drew attention all day at the Picnic Day event as passersby asked about her races and cheered her on. Cody strutted around campus in her own TEAM CODY shirt and enjoyed the free treats and new toy as part of the gift bag for race participants. Challenges conquered for the day, Cody slipped into a dreamy sleep for the whole ride home.

And now TEAM CODY faces its biggest challenge yet: separation.

With a rare, dibilitating cancer, Cody's time with her humans was cut tragically short. She leaves behind a void that can not ever be filled, for there will never be another Cody Lightening Johnston. And her humans are left with holes in their hearts-- hearts that ache for a tiny brown furry body to hold, a wet nose to feel poking us in the night, and a white tummy to rub.

Cody is in heaven now, most likely showing all the other dogs how to do some of what she mastered here in her just-shy-of-5-years on earth:
--the crazy run
--beg for food groundhog-style

--execute the perfect face-plant with which to wake a sleeping human
--wolf down an entire microwave burrito without chewing
--ward off large neighborhood dogs by barking from under the covers of the bed
--pee/poop on the floor when visiting other people
--pee/poop on the floor when at home
--steal food from small children (i.e. microwave burrito)
--claim to not be a dog person and refuse to socialize at dog parks

--be the cutest puppy in the entire history of the world
--steal treats from mild mannered dogs
--sneeze in sleeping humans' faces
--sleep on human faces
--chase cats, but secretly be scared of them
--refuse to come when called
--sleep in the sun
--burrow in hot laundry
--eat any and all human food except for, only sometimes, lettuce
--remain adorably sweet even when sick

Thanks for being such a big part of our lives, Cody. You brought smiles to all and made even the worst day bearable. We will miss your little licks, your big brown eyes and the greatness of your love, and your silly little waggly tail--which wagged even until the heartbreaking end.

And we will always admire the Lightening speed with which you ran straight into everyone's hearts.