Cody’s Rapid Decline-What Happened

Yesterday's Blog was a memorial tribute to Cody. Today is a recap of what we experienced, so that other pet parents who see their dog start to appear bloated or show other symptoms, can take action quickly and get an ultrasound to determine if there's a tumor growing in their abdomen. 

(Photo: Cody at the ER Vet before getting his ultrasound. Credit: R. Gutro)

Behavior Changes That May Indicate an Internal Tumor

If we knew what signs to look for, we could have addressed Cody's tumor earlier, but it was impossible to piece it together. These are changes we noticed and puzzled. 

Right after our Dachshund Tyler passed away on July 29, 2025, Cody took on different behaviors. He started eating a lot more. He became ravenous (he was always a picky eater). We thought it was tied to Tyler's passing. By November, it looked like Cody had gained weight in his stomach. He also began peeing in the house. 

  December 1st - we had his urine tested to see if he had an infection. It was negative. We consulted with the doctor and thought his indoor peeing was a result of Dash's incontinence, because Dash's kidneys were failing. The thought was Cody smells pee and also marks. We even had to put Cody in a diaper at night (Dash was already in diapers). He also started drinking more water. 

   January 19, 2026, Dash passed. Cody seemed to mellow tremendously. He became more obedient, he did treat training with me, and seemed to finally enjoy it (after almost 4 years in the family). 

  In February, Codydidn't want to walk much anymore, but he would run for his treats in the kitchen when we toss them across the floor. We kept thinking he needed to exercise. He never cried or expressed pain. He was the happiest he has ever been. He would eat and then look bloated and it appeared to subside in hours (apparently it was his full stomach pushing out the tumor). As a precaution, I scheduled an ultrasound March 5th (4 days before his annual exam at the vet).  

After the Ultrasound 

By 6 p.m. on March 5, 2026 we picked Cody up at the Veterinary hospital after he got an ultrasound to determine why he had appeared bloated over the previous week or two. We had no idea that in 13 hours he would cross over.

When we arrived home that night, Cody ate and drank normally and finished all his food. As usual, he was still hungry. He behaved normally and was alert as always.

We went outside with him, and he was okay, other than he made little straining sounds when he was urinating.

(Photo: Cody from November 2025 with his usual one ear standing up) 

At 7:30 p.m. we did are nightly “three treat time” where I would sit on the kitchen floor with bags of three different treats, and Cody was all excited as he usually was, putting his little nose into each bag.

The last treat was a Full Moon chicken strip that I would split in half and then break into small pieces and toss them across the kitchen floor. Cody loved running after those treats.

Afterward, we went to the den sitting in our recliners with Cody cuddled next to Tom. As usual, during 1 hour of television, I broke little treats and he enjoyed them. All seemed normal.

(Photo of Cody from 2022)

Unusual Bedtime Behavior

After going outside and getting his bedtime treat, Cody didn’t seem to want to go in his bed. Usually, he would walk around for a couple of minutes and go to bed, so I would go upstairs to my room and Cody would go into his bed in Tom’s room.

After I was upstairs for 15 minutes I heard Cody walking around so I went downstairs to find him not wanting to go his bed because it was round and he looked uncomfortable. His stomach looked bloated. So, I brought out a half-moon shaped bed and he got in it and laid down and went to sleep… for a while.

The bottom falls out

Just before 5 a.m. Tom awoke to Cody whimpering. Tom found Cody in a corner of the kitchen, covered in his own feces and urine. When Tom retrieved him, he realized Cody’s back legs were paralyzed and Cody lost all control of his bowels and kidneys.

He called to me, and I helped clean Cody up, lay him back on the bed on a pee pad, and quickly administered some liquid gabapentin (pain medicine) that I had leftover. It seemed to ease his pain after 30 minutes while we sat with him.

Cody’s breathing was labored, and he was moaning in discomfort. We felt helpless. Meanwhile, overnight 3 inches of snow and sleet fell, coating the roads and driveway, making travel impossible, had it been an option. It wasn’t.  

Cody finally calmed and we moved his bed into Tom’s office area (where Cody usually stayed). I decided to take a 15-minute nap upstairs, and that was my mistake.

Cody passes

Tom called me less than 15 minutes later. During that time, he was sitting at his computer, listening to Cody and watching him.

He said Cody put his paws on the edge of his bed, let out one bark as he looked at Tom, and he passed away.

(Photo: Cody passed wrapped in his blankets with one of his toys)

I arrived to find Tom sitting beside Cody who had already passed and crossed over. We were gutted. We hadn’t cried that hard since Dash passed, just seven weeks before.

We contacted pet crematoriums, found a memorial box for his ashes, called the vet, canceled the Chewy autoship orders, and called the pet insurance to notify them of his passing. In the afternoon, we drove him to the funeral home wrapped in his favorite blanket.

We had now lost all three of our kids over the course of seven months. Two of them to aggressive cancers and one to acute kidney failure.

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Talk to Someone After a Loss

That night I made sure we talked with a grief counselor. All of these losses one after the other was too much to process.

If you experience deep grief, call 988 and you can speak to a grief counselor. If you happen to know a professional grief counselor, please reach out to them and make an appointment. Grief can be crippling, mentally, emotionally and physically. Once you establish assistance, then focus on good memories.

 Light a candle for them and remember funny things that your dog would do. Recall their habits and any quirky memories.

 As I did with Tyler and Dash, put their blankets on one side of your bed. Put their favorite toy on your bed and hold it tightly.

 Friends of ours had a pillow made in Dash’s likeness after he passed, and I hug that pillow every night. As I write this chapter, we are reeling the loss and deep in grief over our Cody. I’m keeping in mind that healing takes time, and that the gift of the love we shared was priceless and forever.

 

A Memorial Tribute to Cody - Thank you for your Condolences

Thank you for your notes after Cody's sudden passing last Friday morning, March 6, 2026. We posted his photo and a note about what happened, and the messages we received were so appreciated. Today's blog is a look back at how we adopted Cody, and memories in our family. We realize that his passing came after he had learned his life lesson.

(Cody in the pickup truck from 2022, a year after we adopted him. Taking rides became one of his favorite things. Credit R.G.).

Our Thanks to You

     Thank you for all of your notes about Cody's sudden passing. Your notes, texts, messages and calls mean so much to us. 

   We've talked with a grief counselor, and he helped us work through our grief, guilt, self-blame (there's always that). Our counselor told us to light a candle nightly and talk about good memories, which we are doing. 

  We've gone over 1,000 times what happened, what we did and didn't see, and we understand it was his time, as totally unfair as that was to him and to us. We had pictures of him printed to go with his  ashes on a bookcase shelf of his own (next to the 6 shelves of our other kids' ashes). 

  Yesterday, the crematorium already had his ashes in a 1-day turnaround, so we picked them up. That was really emotional. We've kept his bed where it was with 2 of his toys, as we've kept Dash's and Tyler's. We are on our healing journey, and appreciate your kindness and love. 

 

Bonded with Tom 

From the minute we met him, Cody bonded with Tom. He became Tom's shadow. Over the years together, Tom was the only one who could get Cody out of bed to go outside. Cody always growled when being disturbed, but Tom could get away with it! Cody slept on Tom's bed, he followed Tom everywhere and he got annoyed when we went out and he couldn't go with us. I always called him "Cody Mouse," and I made up a little song about him - "There's a mouse in the house..." Tom would always call him "Pumpkin," and could always get Cody to stop growling and cooperate.  

(Photo: Cody at the ER Vet on March 5, 2026 for his ultrasound. Credit: R.G.)

Cody's Passing 

On March 6th, Tom posted a photo of Cody in memoriam. I wrote, "Tom and I are absolutely gutted today. Cody passed away at home unexpectedly this morning at 6:45am. We took him in for an ultrasound yesterday and learned that he had a large tumor on his liver but never expected him to pass today. We were going to make plans to have surgery and remove it. It's been an awful day, and we just can't talk to anybody right now. We have now lost all three dogs in 7 months, two from cancer and one from kidney failure."

How it all Began: Rescuing Cody

On April 30, 2022, we adopted Cody. Cody was an 8-pound long-haired, black/tan/white Dachshund/Terrier mix with one floppy ear and one ear that always stood straight up.

 

We were used to having three dogs, and since Franklin passed in May 2020, and Dolly passed in October 2020, there were only Tyler and Dash. So, we checked rescue websites, and Tom found Cody (then called Axel) at Sophia’s Grace Foundation website.

 

(Photo: Cody’s first day in the family. April 30, 2022. Credit: R. Gutro)

The Rescue

Sophia’s Grace Foundation Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization, established to provide a safe and loving foster home system for Dachshunds and other small breeds while they wait for their forever homes. We service the East Coast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwestern areas of the country. It was established by my friend Corinne Zoscak.

 

Cody’s website photo was adorable and we quickly fell in love wit him. He didn’t have much history but we soon learned it through his behaviors. In fact, his birthdate was unknown, but he was thought to  be about 10 years old.

 

(Photo: Cody's happy face in 2022. Credit: R.G.) 

Cody had only been with a foster mother associated with the rescue for 2 weeks before we adopted him, and in that time, he was neutered and had a dental cleaning, which revealed a previously fractured jaw. Cody was “dumped” at a kill shelter and found by the rescue, who took him in.

Because Tyler and Dash were bonded with me, I wanted to ensure that Cody bonded with my husband, Tom. To do that, when we drove a couple of hours to meet the rescuer with Cody in Virginia I had Tom hold Cody in the passenger seat for the long drive home. It worked.

Bonding and Issues

Cody was a loner and didn’t associate with Tyler and Dash, which told us he was an only dog. We determined Cody was badly abused by a man because he was always growling and snapping. If someone would walk by him he would react defensively (because he was obviously kicked in the sides) and nip the leg or foot. We realized his fractured jaw was also from abuse, too.

 

 (Photo: Left to right: Dash, Tyler and Cody prep for their first walk together on April 30, 2021. Credit: R. Gutro)

There is always a chance that a rescue dog has been abused. Like Cody, Dash and Tyler were both abused as we learned.

 

Cody came to us with a lot of anger and distrust from his previous home (I refuse to call previous homeowners "pet parents" if they were abusive). We worked with a trainer, and also had to resort to putting Cody on prozac because of his issues. Both of those helped him to be less angry and reactive and start to enjoy his life. 

Cody's Transformation Through Love and Patience

Over the 3 years and 10 months we had with Cody, we watched him transform into a scared and angry little dog to one who became loving and protective of Tom. He became Tom’s shadow.

 

(Photo: Christmas 2024, when Cody claimed a squeaky christmas ornament toy as his own. Credit: R.G.) 

Whenever we would say, “Do you want to go for a ride?” He would start dancing around and squeaking in delight! He also insisted on sitting in Tom’s lap in the pickup truck, while Dash and Tyler sat in the back seat-belted in.

 

Whenever I would open the center console of the truck, Cody would squeak in delight, because he knew I stored treats in there, and he would always get some.

(Photo: Cody would fall asleep in Tom's arms. Credit: R.G.) 

We took the boys everywhere. We would go through Dunkin’ drive-throughs and get lunch and park near a river. If we had errands, all the boys would go with us and one of us would stay in the truck with them.

We made a forest path in our backyard, and they all loved exploring it. Cody was the only one of the boys that didn’t mind meeting other dogs. Tyler and Dash saw other dogs as a threat and would bark. But Cody would greet them.

Like his brothers, Cody loved three treat time at 7:30 p.m. nightly. Sometimes he and the others tried to make me do it earlier!

(Photo: Tyler, Dash and Cody. Credit: R.G)

Cody's Mission

The day after Cody passed, we were talking about how he changed so much since he first arrived in our family. That was his mission with us. 

  Cody's transformation was more evident after Tyler and Dash passed. He started drinking out of the waterbowl with Dash. He climbed into bed with Dash when Dash was sickly. Cody no longer fought us about eating breakfast or taking pills, he ate and wanted more. He didn't growl or snap at us when we would ask him to go out, instead, at the sound of a treat bag, he got up and went outside. He finally became totally happy by the time he passed. 

Cody’s personality had totally transformed from an angry abused dog to one who finally found love and comfort in this life. 

You'll read about what happened in tomorrow's blog.