We first met Cody on the walking trail here in our home town.  He was enjoying a lovely day with his foster family.  We had become fast friends with his foster family because of their love for dogs.  Their two bassets and our 18 month old Beagle, Rosie, got along great whenever we met.  On this day they had not two, but THREE bassets!

"Did you get another basset?" we asked, marveling at this sight!  "Oh no," our friends said, "This is Cody and we are his foster family until we can find him a suitable home. You aren't, by any chance, looking for a new dog are you?"

Without hesitating, I responded "Oh no, one dog is plenty for..."  My sentence was cut short by the glance I received from my wife.  "What do you mean NO?" she asked.  And then turning to our friends, she proceeded to find out all the details about Cody and how a person could go about adopting him. I couldn't believe it!  I have always love dogs, but with our busy lifestyle I didn't think we could EVER handle two dogs.  Rosie was a handful on her own!!

Within days, however, my wife had talked me into it!!  Our friends told us that Cody was truly a pleasure to have around, and that we could take him on a trial basis for a couple of weeks.  They also told us that Cody was a very social dog, and that Rosie would probably be very good for him...and vise versa.  The next thing I knew, we welcomed Cody into our home.  There was a VERY brief adjustment period (a couple of days), while we all established a schedule.  But before you knew it, Cody was a part of the family.  It is now hard to imagine life without him.

Cody is absolutely the most friendly, loving dog I have ever known.  He is always by our side, and under our feet.  He has the happiest disposition in the world...as his circular wag always attests.  He seems to sense when one of us has had a bad day, and offers his loving licks and snuggles without reservations..  He rarely barks...except when he wants to play.  And, he came to us knowing many tricks!  The most unique skill he has is, knowing how to pray!  That's right, when he wants a snack, if you tell him to pray he will bow his head!  This is especially appropriate since I am a pastor!!

Perhaps most of all, Cody has been good for Rosie!  Rosie is much younger than Cody and very active.  She teases him and picks on him mercilessly trying to get him to wrestle with her and chase her...even though he is three times her weight!  She bites his legs and his ears, and he rolls on his back, gently pawing her away for a long time...until finally she gets her wish and he swings into motion!  Cody finally jumps up and barks and chases her all over the house...and she is in her glory!  The two of them have become best of friends, as you can see in the pictures.  They keep each other company and out of trouble when we are at work.  They frequently nap together.  And the two of them make us laugh out loud every single day.

All in all, it is hard for us to imagine life without two dogs now!  Cody is such a great addition to our family! 

All we can say is, Thank God for Basset Rescue!  Our life has never been better!