WHEN CODY MET EMERIL

Date: May 9, 2004 Section: EXTRA Page: 1

By RALPH BERRIER JR ralph.berrier@roanoke.com 981-3338

    Cody Frye had a dog. His name was Cocoa.

     Cocoa was a chocolate Labrador retriever, big and playful, but too rough for Cody, who was little for his age. He'd put his feet on Cody's wheelchair and bump the little boy. Cody couldn't move his arms and legs very well to pet Cocoa or push him away when Cocoa got too rowdy. He could not talk to tell Cocoa ''down'' or ''off'' or ''stay'' or other commands. Cocoa didn't mean to play rough. He was just full of life. He was a big, fun, loving dog and Cody and his family adored him.

     One sad day, Cocoa died. Cody's mom, Donna, loved dogs and wanted to get another for the family. Cody's big sister, Casey, said, ''Mom, you and I have had dogs all our lives. It's time Cody had a dog. Let's see if we can get him a helper dog.''

     That is when Cody met Emeril.

     And that is when everything changed.

     Donna Frye stood next to her son's wheelchair, which was parked in the carport of her Pulaski County home. The tireless New River rolled past just beyond her back yard, behind the pasture, where Joe Boy, the family horse, worked his hoof out from under a wire fence. The awakening wildflowers swayed in the cool spring breeze.

     Donna placed a doggie treat in Cody's lap, looked at Emeril and told him to stay. Emeril sat like a good dog, his sloe-eyed gaze fixed longingly on the treat. He stood up, was chastised by Donna, then sat again, lips smacking. Finally, his patience and good nature - typical of golden retrievers - was rewarded when he was allowed to snatch the treat from Cody's lap.

Cody giggled. It's his best, and sometimes only, way of making his emotions known.

     ''Cody's really a different child since we got Emeril,'' Donna said.

Cody, 11, has cerebral palsy. He spends much of his time in a wheelchair. He cannot walk or speak and endures regular doctor visits and occasional trips to the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville. Three years ago, Donna, who is divorced, and Cody made many of these trips by themselves or with an accompanying family member. Those were the days before Emeril.

     Emeril - whose American Kennel Club certificate bears the highfalutin full name of Clayton's Emeril Lagasse in honor of his first owner (the Clayton family of Harrisonburg) and the famous TV chef (Emeril Lagasse) - goes with Cody everywhere. He goes to the doctor and dentist and to sister Casey's basketball and softball games. Emeril goes to church and to schools where he, Cody and Donna demonstrate to students what a good companion dog looks and acts like. The only time he catches a break is when Cody spends a weekend with his dad, Wayne.

Donna is certain her son is happier and more peaceful since the family obtained Emeril from the Roanoke branch of the St. Francis of Assisi Service Dog Foundation, the organization that trains dogs to assist disabled people. Cody never liked going to the dentist, wailed miserably when the nurses in Charlottesville drew blood for tests and (understandably) pitched a fit every time he was loaded into the family van and driven somewhere to be pricked, prodded or probed. His fine motor skills were poor. He could not pick up or hold onto small items with his hands. He could not, and still cannot, speak.

     For the most part, Cody has made tremendous progress since the family adopted Emeril. The gentle retriever has helped Cody during his medical visits, making him more comfortable when doctors and dentists approach him with shiny, scary instruments.

His hand skills have improved, too, from holding dog treats and leashes.

     ''I've seen changes in Cody,'' said Donna, a reading specialist at Dublin Elementary School. ''He does so many things he couldn't do before. It's like a miracle happened.''

     Maybe it wasn't a miracle. Maybe it was Emeril, the companion dog who almost washed out of the St. Francis program.

Many St. Francis dogs can perform up to 100 tasks, from opening refrigerators to answering doorbells and helping people get out of wheelchairs. Emeril isn't one of those dogs.

     He's something else. He's Cody Frye's friend.

Emeril was born to a dog-breeding family on Nov. 6, 1999. He was raised by Linda and Jim Eaton of Salem, volunteer puppy-raisers for the St. Francis of Assisi organization. Because Jim was the Hotel Roanoke's executive chef at the time, the Eatons named the puppy after their favorite celebrity chef.

Like many puppies, Emeril was precocious and playful. He made messes, climbed into dog food bags and usually made a spectacle of himself. About the only activity the golden retriever didn't enjoy was retrieving. That stubbornness became a problem when the St. Francis trainers took over.

     ''He didn't have the desire to pick things up off the floor,'' said Karen Hough, director of training for the St. Francis folks. She and the team of Cynthia and Lee East were responsible for whipping Emeril into service-dog shape.

     Basically, the ''retrieve drive'' is the primary skill of a service dog. Answering a doorbell, taking a phone off the hook and carrying it to a person, fetching items from a refrigerator and other chores stem from the dog's desire to retrieve.

Emeril sorely lacked such a drive.

     ''He'd give you this look like 'I don't see the point . That's not something I want to do,' '' said Hough. When pushed, Emeril reluctantly fetched items for his trainers, then lazily crawled to a corner to lie down, his work completed.

     Linda Eaton, who raised Emeril from puppyhood, was sure this dog would not make it as a service dog and would boomerang back to her home.

''Maybe this one's going to be my dog,'' Eaton thought.

But Emeril was impressive in other ways. He was sweet-natured and patient. His trainers were sure he would be a good companion dog. They called him a ''therapeutic social dog,'' which meant he would be a good friend to somebody who needed one.

     Then came Cody.

     On Dec. 16, 2001, Donna Frye and Cody visited Santa Claus during a Christmas breakfast party in Radford. Santa asked Cody what he wanted for Christmas, but Cody could not say.

     Or maybe he did.

     That afternoon, the Fryes met Emeril. Donna was told that he might not be a perfect match for Cody, but they would only know after initiating the training program.

     Donna, Casey and other family members began the process. They drove to Roanoke several times over a two-week period to learn commands, to properly give rewards and to see if Cody and Emeril would get along.

     ''From the first moment, there was never any doubt,'' Donna said. ''It was love at first sight.''

The Fryes brought Emeril home to Pulaski County on Dec. 29, 2001. Donna spread a blanket on the hard, wooden floor and laid Cody on it, his arms spread wide. Donna commanded Emeril to lie down next to Cody. Emeril nuzzled up against the boy and eventually rested his head on Cody's tummy. Emeril was home.

     Days afterward, when Donna set Cody on the floor, ''Em,'' as he became known, would lie alongside without being ordered. Emeril draped his paws over Cody's outstretched legs. Cody reached out and touched his friend. For a second, Donna thought Cody was petting him.

     After weeks of relative peace and quiet at home, the real test came at the dentist's office. Usually, Cody pitched a fit when strapped to the dentist's chair. You couldn't pry his mouth open with a crowbar - until the day he went with Emeril.

     Donna had an idea. She told the dentist if she included Emeril in some way, acknowledged his presence, Cody might be calmer. The dentist kneeled beside Emeril and checked his mouth. She brushed his teeth, gave him a fluoride treatment and flossed between his teeth. The dentist finished and said, ''Cody, I hope you do half as well as your dog did.''

Cody reclined in his chair as the dentist gently opened his mouth and examined his teeth. Cody uttered not a peep or a whimper. He could not say whether he noticed the tears on his mother's face.

     During an overnight stay in Charlottesville, Donna went to sleep knowing she would be awakened soon when the nurses came to perform a blood test on Cody. She finally awoke hours later, the sun streaming through the blinds, wondering what had happened.

''We did the test on Cody,'' a nurse told her. ''He never even stirred.''

     Emeril was beside him the whole time.

     Not long after that, Cody uttered what Donna interpreted as his first word. After years of grunts and moans comprehensible only to himself, he mouthed a simple, one-syllable sound. Donna swears it was ''Em.''

     Casey, three years older than Cody and lovingly devoted to him, demands that her brother and Emeril travel to all her games. Cody and Emeril have become kind of unofficial mascots for certain Radford girls' soccer, basketball and softball teams. Players consider them lucky charms.

     Emeril officially ''graduated'' from St. Francis of Assisi's training program in September 2002. Donna got up and thanked Emeril's trainers and owners and gushed about her son's physical and social improvements since the family received Emeril. Then, Casey read a few remarks she had written herself:

''Ever since we have gotten Emeril, I feel like I have two brothers instead of one. Sometimes I feel like my brother doesn't have time to play with me anymore. But I realize that Emeril has done so much for Cody. His confidence level has gone up tremendously. . . .

''Then I realized what a miracle that Emeril had been to our family and especially Cody. Cody was more independent. Emeril helped my mom so much. He would play with Cody when my mom and I had a job to do around the house or I had homework and could not make him happy. It really makes me happy to look off the soccer field, softball field and basketball court and see my two brothers there to watch me. When you bring up Emeril's name, you can see how Cody's face lights up. When Mom, Cody or myself gets sick, Emeril is there to make us feel better. I would like to thank St. Francis of Assisi for not only helping my brother Cody, but for helping my whole family."

The good people of St. Francis put Cody and Emeril on the cover of its brochure. There they are, Emeril licking Cody's face (thanks to the peanut butter smeared on the boy's cheek), Cody grinning from ear to ear.

     That Christmas, Emeril accompanied Cody to the Christmas play at Grove United Methodist Church in Radford. Cody wore the clothes of a shepherd, Emeril wore a blanket of cotton balls for his role as a sheep. The character required that he lie down a lot and keep still, a role he was born to play.

The Fryes' veterinarian, Randy Vaughn, told Donna he thought Emeril should be honored for his work with Cody. He said he was going to nominate Emeril for the Virginia Animal Hall of Fame.

     (For those who didn't know a Virginia Animal Hall of Fame existed, the hall is actually an annual program sponsored by the Virginia Academy of Small Animal Medicine that recognizes ''domestic animals who exemplify the strength and value of the human-animal bond.'')

     A letter-writing campaign swiftly ensued to endorse Emeril's candidacy. Trainers, friends, doctors and ministers all wrote letters of praise and support. By November, Donna got the news. Clayton's Emeril Lagasse, the golden retriever who couldn't cut it as a service dog, was the newest member of the animals' Hall of Fame.

     The whole family, including Emeril, traveled to Williamsburg to be recognized at the veterinarians' conference in December. They were the toast of the party, treated to gourmet dinners, housed in an expensive hotel. Emeril's puppy-raisers came, as did Dr. Vaughn, the vet. They were all very proud - of Emeril, Cody, Casey and Donna.

     The weekend was great fun, but the family had to return so Emeril and Cody could prepare for the upcoming Christmas play. Cody would again play a shepherd. Emeril's role had been upgraded from sheep. This time, he played a cow, which required a bunch of lying and standing around.

     ''Kids like Cody have so few shining lights in their life,'' Donna Frye said. ''It is just so thrilling for him to have a friend like Emeril. So many wonderful things have happened to Cody these past two years, things I could never have dreamed of. He has improved in so many ways. His fine motor skills are better. He's a happier child.''

Two weeks ago, Donna, Cody and Emeril visited Virginia Tech to participate in a service dog demonstration. Donna spoke of all the heartwarming things Emeril has done for Cody, then she demonstrated how Emeril could stand, sit, speak, lie down and . . . well, that was about all.

     Then, on came Caesar, one of the best service dogs the Roanoke Valley ever produced. The handsome golden retriever ran through an obstacle course, fetched small items and all but leaped over a tall building in a single bound. The crowd was wowed by the super service dog.

     Meanwhile, Emeril was lying next to Cody's wheelchair, bored by it all. He stayed close to the boy who loved him and needed him, like any Hall of Fame dog would do.