Every girl has a best friend. Someone they can tell their secrets to. Someone they can talk to. Someone to understand them. When I was four I met my best friend.

        My uncle had just been moved to third shift and my aunt was lonely. She bought a basset hound puppy named Cody from the mall. Cody was so sweet with a large protruding nose, long drooping ears and said, chocolate colored eyes. We lived next door to my aunt so we often saw Cody.

        Now my aunt and uncle has another dog a large, old black rotweiler named Baby. Baby was an outdoor dog with a kennel in their back yard, but my aunt wanted something to snuggle with on the lonely nights. Her youngest of three boys had just moved out and so she bought Cody.

        Cody didn't quite suit Aunt Lilly's purpose, being to big and rambunctious to be babied, but I loved her. I played with her everyday. I will always remember walking into my aunt's and seeing Cody in front of their garage for the first time.

        Aunt Lilly decided that Cody was not what she wanted, so one day, while my twin sister and I were outside playing in the sprinkler, Aunt Lilly brought Cody over and asked if we wanted her.

        Kayla and I had never had a pet before, except for a stray cat named Dutchess that hung around our house. So of course, we said yes. Cody became my best friend and I took her everywhere with me. We were inseperable.

        My mom bought Cody this large, green, plastic tote full of colorful dog biscuits and I spoiled her, giving her one at every opportunity. One day, a girl who lived down the road came over to play. Her name was Breonna and she had lukemia. Her mom, Gina, and my mom were friends. Cody's tote of dog biscuits sat on top of our little picnic table bench and Cody was running around with the three of us girls. A while later we stopped to take a break and sat down at the picnic table. Ever loyal Cody followed and sat with us. Before anyone could react, Cody had knocked the tote of biscuits onto the ground and spilled its contents across the grass. Colorful biscuits mixed with greenblades of sharp grass as Cody began to munch away. It was like a feast for her, as though she was a queen and someone had taken her favorite foods and lay them out on a table using the royal china. She was ecstatic. We scrambled to pick them up and finally managed to salvage a couple handfuls.

        Later that evening, I heard Gina and my mom talking. Gina had discovered that quite a few of her neighbors had the same middle name as Breonna. Breonna's middle name was Ambe, and when I heard it, I thought it was so pretty, that I used it as Cody's middle name.

        Eighth years passed, eight wonderful years in which I shared my life with Cody.The monuth of February arrived with bitter winds and heavy snows. Cody was getting sickso we brought her in.

        Friday, February 13th, we lost the heat in our house. we went to stay with my Aunt Mary. Monday we didn't have school because it was President's Day. My cousin John was getting our heater fixed that day. Mom came back from our house during lunch. I was fixing my macaroni and cheese. She said she had some bad news. I asked if we weren't able to get our heat back and she said that Cody had died. I was devestated. I fell to the floor and wept. I wasn't able to finish my food so I was excused. My aunt and cousin kept saying how sorry they were, but I was unconsolable. I just couldn't except it, Cody couldn't be gone, she was my best friend. My life.

        We went home and I buried Cody myself, up at our hill. We always went there on walks. My mom had to help because the ground was frozen. I buried her body, but I also buried a piece of my heart with her. I would never forget my precious puppy.

        A few years later, I met Holly and Dayna. They became my best friends and better friends there never were, but I still love my Cody. I tell them about her, about how great she was. I miss her still.