Eddie (retired Army ) moved to Brevard in 1984 and just recently retired from
USA at the Cape where he was lead communications engineer on the shuttle
Atlantis. I moved here from Washington State in 1988 (retired domestic
engineer). We have been together since ' 96. I had an aging Shepard/Husky
mix so we began talking about getting a puppy because we love animals and
did not want to be without a dog. It had been many many years since I had
raised a puppy so was a bit nervous. After alot of research (on lots of breeds)
and pondering if a Jack Russell Terrier was the dog for us we decided maybe
we could handle one.They are high energy, need lots of exercise and are very smart. We are not what anyone would term "high energy" people and I was
not sure about having a dog that could be smarter than me.
Cody was born on June 2, 1999. When the litter was about 4 weeks old we
looked them over and picked him. We could not wait until we could bring him
home.It was a bitter sweet time because the day before we brought him home Sharrah had a stroke and we had to put her down.Cody helped make the grief
of losing her just a little easier.
I started Cody in puppy Kindergarten at Brevard County Dog Training Club and
continued with him in obedience class. The main reason was to keep him
socialized with people and other dogs. In some ways Cody is a very typical
terrier (a little psychotic) but he is not a typical Jack Russell. He has been
the reason for some of the trainers at the training club to change their opinion
of the breed. Cody is crazy about playing ball so when we were approached
by Mary about flyball it sounded like a lot of fun. He took to flyball right away and is very intense when he gets to play. Cody is one of the charter members
of the 321 team. Cody has earned his FD, FDX and FDCh titles in just four tournaments. We all love the competition and excitement of the tournaments and the friends (both human and canine) we have made.
Cody has helped us raise Pixie, our 2 yr. yellow Lab, who we were raising to
be a guide dog for the blind and Teko, our 1yr. German Shepard. I think they
are both a little crazy because of Codys influence.
We are moving to Cortez, CO., this month and have been advised by our new
neighbors that small dogs do not last long because of the coyotes, big cats
and eagles in the area. Cody has been a source of enjoyment, entertainment,
challange and education since the day we brought him home. Our decision to
find him a new home was a very difficult one, but his safety is much more im-
portant than keeping him with us. We love him and will miss him every day.
His adoptive family will keep Cody in flyball and a member of 321 Lift Off Fly-
ball Racing Team. He will have an 8 month old sister (Bassett Hound) who I
am sure he will teach some great stuff, and 11 yr. old brother (Aussie). His new humans are pretty cool, too.
As we began our new lives in CO. we will not forget all the great friends we
have made in our flyball family. We wish the best of luck to our team. WE
WILL MISS YOU ALL.
