A sad day for us -- Cody has passed and a Remembrance

It is with great sadness that we report that our wonderful Golden Retriever, Cody, has passed away. He was over 12 years old and just a wonderful companion -- just the best dog anyone could ever want. He was our full travel partner for the last three years and loved being on the road.

Cody arrived at our house in the spring of 1998. He was a large ball of fur, full of love and adventure. Orinda thought he was going to be big -- look at those legs -- like stovepipes here at 8 weeks old when he already weighed close to 20 pounds.

Cody and Rick did quite a bit of pheasant hunting in South Dakota and he excelled at this. He loved to run through the fields using his excellent nose to find birds. Here, Cody is about 1 year old and very athletic.

Cody was also full of fun and enjoyed being together with all of us. Here, he models his festive Christmas antlers, which I think he actually enjoyed. Cody is almost 3 as Christmas approaches.

Here, he shows his support of FMCA in 2009 where he helped out with security (he was really in charge of tail wagging and greeting).

Even as he grew old, he was still ready for a great game of fetch. Although he was hurting quite a bit toward the end, he never complained and was always eager to greet us or take a ride in the car. This shot was from 2008.

Cody traveled through most states in the country and I think probably visited over 45 in all. He was always eager to go, as long as we were with him. Cody is 10 years old here.

We loved to take him on our travels and he always behaved like a true gentleman. Never mean or impatient, he was delighted to meet new folks.

Here, Cody meets some new friends at a Rally. He loved rallies since he could greet LOTS of new folks. A real rally dog at heart at age 10.

The well traveled Golden! Here, Cody is in northern Colorado.

Cody enjoyed pleasing folks and was always ready to pose for a picture or greet new folks.

This picture was taken recently and shows the old Golden Retriever with the very grey face. He was having a hard time standing for long, but was still eager to go with us. We will miss him greatly and he will accompany us on our future travels in our hearts. What a great dog!