***

Goodbye sweet Cody.







It had been a long battle trying to get him healthy again. Just when one injury/problem cleared up, another one began. Ultimately, laminitis is what caused us to have to make the heart-wrenching decision to have him put down.







The kids and I went to OSU vet clinic after school yesterday to say goodbye. Eric had taken him down yesterday morning to get one last opinion on whether or not we could get past the inflammation/infection that was causing his hoof to separate from his leg. X-rays confirmed it was too far. Cody was in a lot of pain. I had held out hope up until Monday when I went to the barn to find him sitting in his stall. I put hay right in front of him so that he wouldn't have to get up to eat. He didn't make an attempt to eat it. I knew. I knew Cody was tired of it. He was tired of putting up with the treatments, confinement and the daily grind.







Anyone who's lost a pet can understand the hurt. The kids drew pictures and made cards for Cody on the way to the clinic. We gave him apples and hugs, thanked the staff and headed home. I could not take it any longer and neither could the kids. Max made Eric promise to have Nate, the vet, check one more time to make sure there really was no way to fix him. Eric stayed with him until the end and said it was one of the hardest things he's had to do. He said many of the techs/students who had taken care of Cody came in on their day off to say goodbye.







It's amazing how much we loved that horse and only knew him for a year. He was so incredibly gentle and docile. He and Eric worked their way through the cowboy mounted shooting together and did a great job. We could put the kids on him and not worry about him spooking. He was too good of a horse to lose so soon.







The sadness will lessen each day. We will eventually laugh about Cody's narcolepsy and smile when we think of his velvet nose. Until then, we cry and let ourselves be... blue? Try devastated.







We love you, and will miss you greatly, Cody.








***Thank you, Ann, for capturing Cody's greatness in your photographs!