Pet Tales: Cody the 'nanny' dog spent his birthday at Gleneagles

I’ve had Cody since he was six weeks old, and he’s had quite a life already in three years.

The reason we got him so early is that he turned out to be from a scam breeder in Edinburgh. The police got involved, and sadly he was the sole survivor of his litter.

When we first took him to the vet, he had parvo virus, and we were told he had a 40% chance of survival. But with his little angel wing markings on his back, he made it.

He was sold to us as a beagle, and the vet thought he was one too. But he just kept getting bigger and bigger!

Cody has ‘angel wings’ on his back. Image: Supplied.

We took him back to the vet, who told us he was actually a foxhound. But I absolutely wouldn’t change him for the world.

Cody’s been like a therapy dog for our family. He’s got such special bonds with all my children – Chiara, 16, Courtney, 14, Aaron, 12, and nine-year-old Kayla.

Aaron has epilepsy and Cody really helps with that in so many different ways.

Cody helps his buddy Aaron during his seizures. Image: Supplied.

When Aaron feels a seizure coming on, Cody with go round and round in circles, which is amazing because he’s never been trained to do that.

He also comforts Kayla during Aaron’s seizures, as she can get upset. He’s normally found in Kayla’s room, he’s her best friend. He always has to be around her.

Cody the escape artist and his ‘deer’ friends

His original name was Pumpkin, because of the colour of his fur. But I thought: ‘I can’t go around the park shouting for Pumpkin’.

So we changed it to Cody, and now he answers to that – although he answers when I call my daughter, Courtney, too!

He’s like a wee nanny, the way he checks on my kids. He’s just an amazing dog.

Beagle or foxhound, Cody’s got the puppy-dog eyes down. Image: Supplied.

If I’m ill, he doesn’t leave my side. Although occasionally he’ll pick up his bone and drop it on my head to make sure I’m awake! He’s comical.

He loves a shower too, so he’ll sometimes just go to the bathroom and hover about until someone gives him one.

Overall he’s a very good boy, but he’s had his moments! When he was a puppy, he got out and used to swim all the way from our home in North Muirton to Scone Palace.

I’ve got a tracker on him now.

And though he’s built to chase things, he makes friends with the local wildlife instead. He even plays with the deer!

Cody with his ‘deer’ friend. Image: Supplied.

People think he’s chasing them, but he just chills out with them – it’s like The Fox and The Hound but with deer.

Birthday trip to Gleneagles for Cody

It feels like he’s been here all our lives, even though he’s only three. I don’t really go on holiday anymore, because I wouldn’t want to leave him anywhere – he’s always with us.

So for his birthday this year, I treated Cody to a night at Gleneagles, just me and him.