A few years ago, Cody Leightenheimer went through a tough period in life.
His whole world crashed when he and his wife lost two children due to miscarriage. Cody felt he had a deep hole in his heart, a bottomless pit that he would never be able to fill again.
But soon things would change.
Cody Leightenheimer works at a wood flooring factory and one day, he noticed that a puppy was approaching him.
Immediately, Cody realized that this puppy was not healthy. The poor dog was probably infested with fleas and malnourished.
”He walked up to me and stared at me with his huge eyes”, Cody recalled.
Cody immediately took pity on him and gave him some food.
Having received much needed food and nutrition, the dog was pleased and satisfied for the moment.
The puppy took a nap in Cody’s office before he was taken to the vet.
”We took him to our veterinarian the whole clinic fell for him instantly. The vet had a hard time identifying his breed because of his size. They landed on Shetland Sheepdog, an age of somewhere between 8 and 12 with a weigh-in of 7.3 lbs”, Cody Wrote.
Unfortunately, the pup was diagnosed with deafness, rotten teeth, stomach ulcers, cataracts and one small pupil from blunt force trauma to the head..
Cody was told that this pooch would not survive long. The veterinarian gave him three months to one year to live.
But despite the devastating news, Cody and his family brought him home – and started to showering him with love.
After a surgery on the fistulas, a strict medicinal regiment, months of spoiling and a family who loved, ”Toothless” (nicknamed by Cody’s five year old daughter), had the best time of his life.
This was obviously the first time that this pup was loved and cared for by a human family.
”He loved being spoon fed by his mommy, greek yogurt was his favorite treat”, Cody recalled.
”Toothless” even enjoyed being in the yard during the winter.
It turned out that ”Toothless” did not mind being part of a makeover.
He would snuggle up into Cody’s neck when he wanted to tell him how much he loved his new family.
He spent a lot time with his family playing card games.
He was part of all family celebrations.
For example, ”Toothlees” was dressed up and all ready for Christmas!
He also spent his free time napping. So nice to rest in a safe home!
Despite the short amount of time they spent together, ”Toothless” developed a strong bond with his new family.
He might have had a painful life, but it was worth it to be able to end up with Cody and his family.
But sadly, the clock was ticking and the time was running out.
This photo below was taken a few days before ”Toothless” passed away.
Despite his passing, ”Toothless” would always have a special place in his family’s hearts.
The dog was given three months to one year to live, but ”Toothless” made it to one year before he got too sick to grace his family with his awesomeness for one more day.
”I watched the greatest friend, most loving pet and the most heroic fighter I’ve ever met sink into a well deserved final nap while his mother and I held his paws”, Cody wrote.
Cody hopes that he and his family gave him enough good memories to wipe out any bad ones that came before.
I tried not to cry, I tried really hard – but I couldn’t help but shed a tear when I read this.
Thank you Cody for taking him home, loving him. I’d guess that his last year made up for all the ones before; he won’t forget!
It’s never too late to help a dog in need as this story shows!
Whether it’s a puppy or a senior, they all deserve to know what it’s like to be loved and cared for.
Please share this heartbreaking story with all animal lovers you know, so that more people can read about Cody’s and Toothless’s history.