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 a foster dog in Illinois. Cody was the most emotionally damaged dog Lauren had ever worked with, and she knew that he would always need a therapeutic home, so she adopted him. Two years later, Lauren was also abandoned and alone when her husband of 29 years ended their marriage.

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

They 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.