Rocking Retirement: Coco

Back around late 2003, I had this yearning to get a dog. Having had only cats as pets my entire life, it was a shock to most people who knew me that I'd even consider getting a dog. My first attempt was a greyhound. We adopted a gorgeous brindle on an impulse and we were so not prepared for what was involved with keeping a greyhound. We had no choice, but to give her back after 9 days. I was heartbroken, but it was better for the dog to have her in the hands of a more experienced owner. I cried and cried, but I didn't give up my desire to have a dog.

I spent the whole next summer looking for another dog, one that was a better fit for our little family. We agreed we didn't want a high energy puppy. We wanted an already grown, housebroken female dog, one with a good temperament, short hair and not a barker. Megan and I went on some interesting adventures in search of our new family addition that summer. We visited many rescues and had a even had a terrifying experience at an SPCA that left me in hysterics. Eventually we started to lose hope.

Coco's pound photo

Then one day, Friday, April 1, 2004, I was on the phone with my best friend who lives in Chicago (and totally a dog person). I kept rambling on to her about wanting a dog. She kept arguing that I wasn't the pack leader type and that's why I failed with the greyhound. She said I should just give up on the idea. But millions of people in America have dogs, darn it. Why couldn't I get a dog? Finally, she said "Well, if you feel that strongly about it, just go down to the SPCA and get a dog." So I did just that. I got in the car and drove down that same day. Maybe it was fate or something, but I needed to go.

I went in and they were short handed. Someone was already going through the long paperwork adoption process with one of the workers, so I waited. And waited. I thought about leaving but something told me to wait a little longer. Finally, it was my turn and I told the worker exactly the kind of dog I was looking for. To my surprise she said she had a dog just like that in the kennel. She led me to the back and took me to a cage and there sat this giant rottweiler! She went in the cage and then realized it wasn't the right dog. Whew!

Then she took me to another cage and there was this dog with rottweiler markings, but much smaller, all curled up in the corner. She was the only dog in the entire place that was not barking. She immediately came up and nuzzled the girl and I could tell right away that she was the right dog for us. They had named her "Mamma" because she had been brought in full of milk in February, having just had puppies. The man who brought her in said he found her, but not the puppies. They suspected that he was lying, and that he kept the puppies and just wanted to get rid of the mother. Pretty sad, huh?

She was such a sweet dog, so I wondered why she hadn't been adopted yet. Turned out she had dew claws and the pound would not adopt her out unless the new owners agreed to have them removed before taking her home. The surgery was a big expense that I guess people didn't want to pay for, so she had been sitting in the pound for 2 months because of that. Pretty sad, huh? I immediately fell in love with her. I told the girl I'd be back the next day, Saturday at noon when they opened, with my husband and daughter so they could meet the dog.

We arrived a couple of minutes after noon. We went in and another couple was looking at our dog!
Oh no! They were interested in her too, so they had come back with their black lab to see if the two would be compatible. We had to wait for them to do this test of the two dogs. Meanwhile, I was frantic that they would take my dog from me. Luckily (and we know now) that Coco is not dog friendly with ANY dog. So the couple left.

Finally we got to meet Coco all together in a little room while an SPCA worker observed us to see if we were the right fit for this pup. Although Megan was still shy around dogs, everything went well and we were given approval for adoption. She went in that weekend for spaying and the dew claw surgery. We took her home on Monday. Her belly was shaved and she was so utterly thin. After a trip to the vet, we found out she had hookworms.

Eventually she put on weight and became this beautiful, healthy dog.

We totally bonded.

Our two cats, Maya and The Baby, were not happy about having a dog around so they stayed in their own part of the house. A year later Megan decided she wanted a kitten and that's when we adopted The Muffin. We kept The Muffin separated from Coco with a baby gate because we didn't know if Coco would hurt the kitten or not. Little did we know.....