Cody’s Spinal Stroke

Friends – this is difficult for me to do but I need to ask for your help.

My beloved dog Cody suffered a spinal stroke on Sunday, June 25 when an embolism on his mid-spinal column suddenly impeded blood flow to his vertebrae and the nerves in his spinal cord ceased to communicate properly and rendering him rear body paralyzed.

It is traumatizing to watch such a vibrant, happy, and beautiful dog like Cody lose his ability to jump, walk or even stand.

He has given me so much more than emotional support — Cody is the reason I got out of bed every day when I was struggling with depression. he pushed me every day and helped me keep achieving.

Now it’s my turn to be there for him.

Cody is family. My partner Arturo, Cody’s other daddy, flew down to San Jose, Costa Rica to adopt him shortly after seeing a Facebook photo of him as a day-old puppy in August 2016.

We wanted him so badly, not just because he was so incredibly beautiful, but also because we wanted him to be a companion to our diabetic senior Schnauzer, Lilly, who was then 12 years old.

We thought Cody could be a kind of replacement for Max, our beautiful and soulful Schnauzer who had passed away suddenly the year before. Max and Lilly had been inseparable.

As we had hoped, Cody and Lilly bonded instantly.

Lilly was blind and Cody became her seeing-eye dog and even pulled her by the leash on walks and up the stairs when she had trouble navigating.

He was there for her.

Cody is the best dog you could ever hope to meet. He lights up every room and his sweetness wins over even cat people (his favorite words are "kitty," and he's pretty much obsessed with them).

He loves his walks around our neighborhood here in Los Angeles, long car rides, WeHo Dog Park, any beach, crowds of people, tagging along on our shopping runs and has loved joining us on all our travels to our families in Tennessee, Costa Rica and New York.

Now it’s a very big deal if he just stands for more than a fraction of a second.

But the cost of Cody's care is significant – hospital visits, 3 times per week physical therapy, rehabilitation, doctor visits, and, unfortunately, perhaps even specialized equipment.

So I need help: we are too far down the treatment and recovery road to give us, especially as he’s making progress, but we may be forced to.

We will, by the end of July, have spent more than $20,000. And according to the doctors he is 3-4 months away from what could be (with continued care) his new normal.

Full recovery is possible And we are devoted to making that happen for Cody.

You may question how it’s possible that I, of all people, need support. After all, you see the me online living a great life.

Well, fair question:

I've spent the past 35 years working hard to keep the LGBTQ press alive in both New York and Los Angeles, creating multiple newspaper and digital outlets that continue to serve the LGBTQ community.

But as many of you know -- the LGBTQ media struggles on a shoe-string budget. Most of us have no insurance or any kind of retirement benefits – and I’m now dipping deeply into my meager savings to pay Cody’s bills.

Cody is a fighter and he’s doing way better than first expected.

But he needs constant attention and continued medical care for the next three months. And it’s going to be very costly.

We need these funds to help protect my family, our future and his, helping us recoup some of the recent costs and have funds available for inevitable Cody care surprises.

Please consider donating to his GoFundMe page to help me help Cody get the best possible chance of recovery.

We will keep you up today on Cody’s instagram page (@codystrong) and on mine.

Cody, Arturo and I thank you so much for your support.