Ready, Set, Hike

When I told my six-year-old niece about Pass the Puppy she burst into tears. She was imagining little 18-pound Coda as a football. Coda had just chewed a hole in the carpet (padding and all) so I admit I considered the idea. Of course Pass the Puppy has nothing to do with tossing dogs. From Coda’s reaction to this right of passage; however, I think he would have preferred going airborne.

The trouble began on our third night of class. While setting our chairs in a tight circle the trainer explained Pass the Puppy was used to socialize our dogs to other humans. I was just glad I was actually getting to pet a puppy. Our little bundle of sweetness still preferred sitting alone outside. We gathered up our dogs, or at least the other owners did because by this time Coda was whimpering and struggling to dive in the toy box, and the trainer said to begin. Coda had other ideas.

First passed to me was a Cavalier King Charles. As soon as she was in my lap she began licking my face. I snuggled her and did my best baby talk all the time wondering if we had enough in our savings account for a switch. This was about the time I was distracted by something bumping into my leg. Guess who? Not enough in savings - not even close.

Coda was supposed to be visiting with the Norwegian Elk Hound’s owner. Instead the nice lady was desperately trying to rein in Coda while he strained against the leash, his paws flailing as if he were on ice. When the trainer said to pass again, the lady threw Coda’s leash at the next victim and swiped the Cavalier out of my arms.

In the course of Pass the Puppy Coda wiggled out of hugs, howled like a tenor at Carnegie Hall, tried to pounce on his Lab buddy from the last class, and got too close to the toy box. The instructor wrestled Coda for a stuffed frog. Coda won. After class we waited to get kicked out but the instructor seemed satisfied with giving us the evil eye.

Classes continued with Coda running amok and earning the class nickname Crazy Coda. But then something remarkable happened on graduation day.

After the final exam of leading a gentlemanly Coda down PetSmart’s food aisle and adorable photos in a mini mortarboard, all of the shy puppies played with Coda. He won them over and taught them there was nothing to fear. We were very proud of our little graduate and since then Coda has helped other shy dogs come out of their shell. Encouraged by Coda's victory we felt he was ready for the big leagues – Dog Park. Coda was ready. My husband and I still have nightmares.