Cody was an abused dog who lost his home and abuser to Hurricane Katrina. He lived as an abandoned stray on the streets of New Orleans for 3 months before he was captured. Later, he became my foster dog in Urbana, IL. Cody was the most emotionally damaged dog I had ever worked with, and I knew that he would always need a therapeutic home, so I adopted him. Two years later, I was also abandoned and alone when her husband of 29 years ended their marriage.

Cody and I healed together over the next several years. He helped me recover from the loss of my marriage, a hysterectomy, a suicide attempt, and unemployment. When I couldn’t find a job in the U.S., I moved to China as an English teacher; Cody went as my service dog for balance. In China, Cody became an independent dog, while I worked on becoming an independent woman.

We moved to Alaska after three years in China, first living on a remote and isolated island in the Aleutians, and then moving to a less-remote, but still-isolated island in Southeast Alaska. Cody’s evolution, from a “quivering mass of dog flesh” to a confident and capable dog, was an inspiration to the people he met along the way.

Four Star review on Reedsy: Discovery by Raju Chacko

A failed dog’s redemption: A story of love, healing, and unbreakable bonds and a shining testament to the author’s toil to reclaim him