http://www.doxidelight.com/entryway.htmWe see a lot of amazing stories on the Internet, and we mostly don't believe any of them. But every now and then, there is a story that is both amazing and verifiably true. Such is the story of Cody, the flying dachshund.
We were able to learn the basic facts of Cody's story and, most importantly, were able to contact Cody's family because of the reporting and the help of Arlene Mannlein of the Decatur Herald & Review. Thanks, Arlene.
Over the weekend of April 1 and 2, major storms and tornadoes ripped through the Midwest. In the town of Decatur, toward the middle of Illinois, Lori Born had never seen a tornado. She got her chance on Sunday, April 2, and it ushered in four nerve-wracking, sleepless nights for her, her husband, John Nale, and her daughter Bri. As the storm approached that evening, they frantically secured everything they could. Dachshunds, as we know, are not easily secured or convinced of danger. So as Lori and Bri huddled with two of their three dachshunds, and John headed for the garage to attempt to close the door, Cody, a five-year-old red longhair, ran to the garage after him.
When the storm came through, it sucked Cody out of the garage. To quote Lori from the Herald & Review story, "My husband saw him go; he was three feet into the air. He was being blown away, wind forcing his tail between his back legs; he was airborne roughly a block"
Lori heard the shouting and took off after Cody in her bare feet, heedless of storm in the air and stones on the ground, but he could not be caught.
As soon as the worst of the storm was over, the whole family took off after him in a car, but the search was in vain. They looked everywhere, they posted signs, they got the other dachshunds to bark, hoping that the familiar sound would bring Cody home. Nothing worked.
For four days, no one in the family slept much or ate much, and the search, aided by neighbors, never stopped. Lori told us, "A pet is a family member; our home wasn't complete without him". Lori was particularly worried about the coyotes that are common in the area and that would happily have a small dog for lunch.
Probably the person who suffered most was Bri. Cody was her Christmas present in 2004, and he spent his nights in her room. Cody had spent his early years in Chicago. When his family was split by divorce, his owner was moving into a no-pets apartment, and he found himself without a home. One of Lori's co-workers saw him on petfinders.com and, knowing that Lori was looking for a longhaired red (she already had a smooth and a wirehair), passed the word. And so it happened that Lori made the 600-mile trip between Chicago and Decatur one snowy December weekend to bring Cody to his Forever Home.
What Lori and John and Bri didn't know as they frantically searched was that Cody had already been spotted on a farm less than two miles from his home. At first, the farmer thought that he had a fox in his fields, but then he got a closer look and realized what he was seeing. Luckily, he took the time and trouble to find out who was missing a dog and to find Cody's family, finally contacting them on Thursday. Even then, the saga wasn't quite over. Spooked by his experiences, Cody wasn't quite ready to be caught. He didn't respond to his name, and John lost a shoe in the storm-muddied field trying to catch him. Leaving the cornfield, Cody took off running down a highway before finally stopping and responding to Lori's calls.
When she first picked him up, Lori says that Cody let out a whimper. But realizing that he was safe, he was soon giving kisses. Which was both good news and bad news, because Lori reports, "he … had BAD breath." She quickly adds, "but I didn't care I was just glad to have him home."
When he was recovered, Cody was covered in a combination of mud and cockleburs and was in desperate need of more than one bath. But considering that he spent four days on his own after literally being dropped into unfamiliar territory with a number of predators and other pitfalls, Cody came through his ordeal relatively unscathed. He lost a little weight, but he was otherwise in good health. Where did he sleep? What did he eat? How did he dodge danger? No one will ever know, but Lori says with pride that he is "a pretty smart little man."
We at Dachshund Delights aim to see that he is also a well-dressed little man. He will be getting a one-of-a-kind special edition harness. We hope that Lori will share a picture of him wearing it, and we hope that he will wear it in good health for many earthbound and adventure-free days.
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