Coco

Good morning all. Today is Saturday morning and I should still be asleep but the two biggest babies in my life woke me early this morning.Yes , man's best friend--the dogs.
How did I end up with two such lovable suck-ups?I cannot move without one or both of these creatures right at my feet asking" Where are we going?Is it time to eat? Can I go outside for the 80th time today" These members of my family truly are "Man's best friend"
I say mans best friend because my terrific , soft-hearted better half always says to me " They are your dogs".
Lets examine this statement.
Coco has been with us for about a year and a half. She is a cross between a Chocolate Lab and some kind of Bull Terrier(Staffordshire) we think. She came to us from Ottawa via Saskatoon.
When my oldest daughter E. worked in Ottawa for 2 years she had a friend who wanted a dog.So down to the Humane Society they went to rescue a dog. There they found Coco. She is so sweet and mild mannered. She was a companion dog to an old lady who could no longer take care of her properly. The lady gave her to the Humane Society so they could find someone to take care of her. The fellow who bought loved Coco immediately and took her home and eventually back to Saskatoon when his job was finished in Ottawa.
When my daughter decided to come home, my wife and I went east for a summer holiday and I continued on to Ottawa to help E. pack her rental truck to come back to Alberta.
To make a long story short,we stopped to see her friend in Saskatoon and got to meet Coco for the first time. She sat in his truck and completely ignored us.
About two years later E. got a fax from her friend. He was teaching oversea and needed to find a new home for Coco. The person she had been left with in Saskatoon could no longer keep her as she was away at work for about 15 hours a day. Did E. know anyone or could she find someone. Phone call to my wife, did she know anyone who might take a 6 year old dog.
My wife did find a friend who would take her and E. and J. drove to Saskatoon to pick up the dog. Poor Coco. Loaded into a small car with 2 people she barely knew for a long trip back to Alberta. She stood in the backseat the whole way.
When I got home from work I was told that we were going to keep Coco overnight before she went to her new home. We already had a dog(Canuck) who was deaf, partly blind and going senile. My wife said"When Canuck goes-no more dogs. I want my house to be clean. I DO NOT want another dog."
Upon waking the next morning I asked the silliest damn question of my life. "when are we taking Coco to your friends place?"
"We're not." I was informed."We are keeping her. The poor dog has been through so much moving, it is not fair to her", said my no more dogs wife.
Coco's bed was put down under a side table in our kitchen and this is where she was to sleep. We never let the dog sleep in our bedroom. The first night, there she was. Sleeping right beside us on the floor. Poor dog! The floor was hard so my wife dug out an old hooked rug for the dog to sleep on. She has been there every night since. Of course the rug was put on my side of the bed so Coco became "Your dog"
"Hello, I'm not the one who said she could stay" "Doesn't matter", she is your dog.
About a week after we had to have Canuck put down so thank you my dear for getting me "My dog"
You really are a softie! and I love you for it

Next Post will be: Kaito and how he came to us.

To check out an old friends post click on the link: If The River Don't Rise at the side of this post