Animal actor and celebrity. Cody was rejected by his mother at birth, so rancher Mike Fogel took him home and raised him in his own house. He was bottle fed and trained with Oreo cookies. He had free run of the yard and parts of the house. As an adult, he was tame enough to ride and enjoyed the company of humans over that of other bison. It is supposed that he thought of himself as one of the family dogs. Growing to 7 feet tall and over a ton in weight, he was spotted at the Minnesota State Fair by a Hollywood agent and hired to appear in the award winning film, Dances With Wolves. Trainers held up his beloved name-brand Oreo cookies to film him thundering towards the camera. After that, he appeared in other films, TV shows and commercials, including TV show Newton's Apple, the film Radio Flyer, and commercials for Energizer batteries, Subway sandwiches, and Taco John's. He was featured in National Geographic and People magazines. He made appearances at schools, fairs, local events, fundraisers, nursing homes, parades, and Native American events. In 2005, he and Fogel traveled to the U.S. Mint in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the debut of the new buffalo-head nickel. After he became famous, Fogel was reportedly offered more than $100,000 to sell him to Euro Disney - Fogel refused. He was euthanized at age 19 after being diagnosed with untreatable kidney failure at his home on the Money Creek Buffalo Ranch near Houston, Minn. He was buried in there with a pack of Oreos at his side.
Animal actor and celebrity. Cody was rejected by his mother at birth, so rancher Mike Fogel took him home and raised him in his own house. He was bottle fed and trained with Oreo cookies. He had free run of the yard and parts of the house. As an adult, he was tame enough to ride and enjoyed the company of humans over that of other bison. It is supposed that he thought of himself as one of the family dogs. Growing to 7 feet tall and over a ton in weight, he was spotted at the Minnesota State Fair by a Hollywood agent and hired to appear in the award winning film, Dances With Wolves. Trainers held up his beloved name-brand Oreo cookies to film him thundering towards the camera. After that, he appeared in other films, TV shows and commercials, including TV show Newton's Apple, the film Radio Flyer, and commercials for Energizer batteries, Subway sandwiches, and Taco John's. He was featured in National Geographic and People magazines. He made appearances at schools, fairs, local events, fundraisers, nursing homes, parades, and Native American events. In 2005, he and Fogel traveled to the U.S. Mint in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the debut of the new buffalo-head nickel. After he became famous, Fogel was reportedly offered more than $100,000 to sell him to Euro Disney - Fogel refused. He was euthanized at age 19 after being diagnosed with untreatable kidney failure at his home on the Money Creek Buffalo Ranch near Houston, Minn. He was buried in there with a pack of Oreos at his side.
