This sweet little face? His name is Cody. He’s a feisty little guy. And while he’s ruined the carpets by refusing to be house-trained (a post for another day) he is teaching my son some very important life lessons.

Back in January we adopted this itty bitty Daschsund/Beagle mix in need of a home. The deal was ”the boy” would be the main caretaker. My son immediately latched on to the idea. The Star Wars buff named his pup ”Commander Cody” and began referring to Cody as his “son”.

Like many new parents, Seth was excited about this new responsibility and had no idea what he was getting into. But he learned quickly. He enjoyed introducing Cody to pretty much every kid in the neighborhood. He loathed cleaning up the poo and pee. He had to help “puppy-proof” the house. He loved snuggling next to Cody to watch him sleep. Seth even got a little tired and grouchy when he had to deal with a whimpering dog in the early morning hours the first few weeks.

But as Cody has gotten older, “parenting” has changed. Seth has accompanied Cody to lend comfort when Cody got his shots. Seth has had to make arrangements (with me) to take care of Cody when he’s on a sleep-over. And Seth has also been working with him on a few obedience commands. Soon we’ll enroll Cody in “school” to work on a few impolite behaviors. Seth will have to also attend those sessions. 

That’s a lot of care-taking for a little boy to do. But this was the plan. He knew that if he wanted a dog, he’d have to do the lion’s share of the care. I laid out the responsibilities and expectations early on. Once the pup was ours, I got Seth (and the dog) into a routine. Sometimes routines get upset and Seth forgets, but I’m there to help him out. For the most part all of those tasks have become second nature to Seth.

We don’t want our son growing up, assuming the world revolves around him. We want him to understand other people (or in this case a dog) rely on him – even if when he’s tired, distracted or had a bad day. He’s learning how to emphasize and put another being’s needs ahead of his own. He’s also become more patient and experienced a tremendous amount of pride in watching his puppy grow. (He’s now about 17 pounds!)

Both parties have benefited from this new friendship. No surprise – both are pretty lively, love to be around other people, love to run, and love to make a lot of noise. Seth has really enjoyed Cody’s loyalty, affection, and attention.

Cody’s devotion to Seth was very apparent last night when we picked up Cody and our other dog from my parents. (They kept them at their house for a few days while we were out of town.) Once Cody saw Seth, he ran into Seth’s arms, wagging his tail.

Seth hugged then kissed the dog and said, “Daddy’s home.”

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