Coco

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I was never going to get a dog. However, Tom and I decided that it would be good for the kids, especially Lily, to have a one. We thought for a long time before making the plunge to actually get one. By the time we got Coco we were more than ready to add a dog to our family. She was a perfect fit. She was calm around the children but loved to run around the backyard with them. She liked to relax on the couch with Tom and I in the evenings and even went for runs with me sometimes. She hardly barked and never had so much as a near accident in the house. Within 24 hours of moving in, Coco was home.

Yesterday, I let Coco outside in the backyard while I ran to pick up Lily from school. It was only the second time I had left the house with her in the back rather than putting her in her bed while I was out. However, I was totally comfortable leaving her there. She hadn't even sniffed for the exit for awhile now. But when we got home the gate was standing open and Coco was nowhere to be found. (We're pretty sure that the meter reader guy must have not gotten the gate shut, because we never open the gate.) So, I called the vet nearest our house, and animal control to let them know about Coco's disappearance. She had a micro chip so I was confident that she would be found and we'd have her back by the next day. The kids and I drove around a bit looking for her, to no avail.

Yesterday evening at about 7, we got a call from the person that we adopted Coco from. The micro chip in Coco was still under her name so the animal hospital had called her when Coco was found. We were told that she had been hit by at least 3 or 4 cars but that she was doing okay. So, Tom's mom came over to our house that that we could get to the hospital. When we got there the doctor shared that he was pretty sure that she had some paralysis but that we could start treatment and do some x-rays and go from there. They gave her something for the pain and started an IV to get meds going, but it wasn't enough. Within 30 minutes of actually starting her treatment she stopped breathing. They brought her back twice, but Tom and I told them they should stop and let her go.

It's been so hard. I was really not about to let a dog into my heart but I had no choice with Coco. She was an amazing dog. She was kind hearted and loving to all of us. She really had become a member of our family. Coco had had a hard life before coming to us so I hope that the few short weeks that she spent with us were as lovely for her as they were for us. She will most definitely be missed.