I remember looking out of the back window of our home and seeing a small, black dog running about in the open area between our home and the marina below. A few hours later this little dog was still running about in the cold, and rain and she looked a bit like our neighbors dog, so I went out to capture her and bring her home.
Koko came to us with a collar, no tags and a bit of baggage. After capturing her and carrying her back up the hill to our home (7 months preggers and all) we realized that Koko was NOT the neighbors dog, and was a puppy(ish) in fact. She immediately loved our dog Kahlua, and demanded to be loved and have her tummy rubbed. While we tried to find her owners (putting ads in the local paper and fliers up at the local pet stores), no one ever called about Koko. She found a temporary home for a weekend, but was returned shortly thereafter to stay forever after ripping apart a pillow. (SHE'S A PUPPY! HELLO!) We've always had a soft spot for the underdog, and if ever there was one, Koko was it. Whoever her previous owners had been, someone had beaten this dog, resulting in submissive peeing - and lots of it!
Two months after Koko arrived, our daughter Katrina entered the world. I worked this dog hard during my maternity leave - building her confidence in herself, and her trust in us. I couldn't do much about the submissive peeing - but it seemed to lessen over time. She always seemed to be on the edge - thinking that "today" might be the day that we took her to the pound, or worse. Loving Koko was both easy, and hard.
Fast forward eight years. We still have Koko, and we love her immensely. She is an outstanding dog - very observant, kind, aware and intuitive. She knows instinctively when someone is sad, someone is hurting, or a pet is hanging on by a thread, and Koko stands by them, ever loyal, providing comfort.
She is also nuts. She is still convinced that if ANYONE is in trouble, she is also in trouble. That "today is the day" that we're shipping her off to the farm, or wherever dogs go. She loves Kahlua, Katrina and our family with all of her big lab-mix heart. She is a good girl - but she is nuts.
Classic Koko:
- Glazed eyes, usually laying on her back, or poised for immediate "raking" - front paws out and "raking" your upper body as her brain short circuits.
- Spaz girl - cycling around, and around, and around. Occasionally getting you from behind and knocking your feet from underneath you.
- Crazed Girl - doesn't know what quite to do, so she jumps through the car from the front to the middle to the back - repeat. Often taking out cups of coffee, breakfast food, etc.
- Sweet Girl - intuitively knowing that you are sad or having a bad day and snugging her little nose into your lap, looking up at you with her deep eyes and making everything just a bit better.
Koko is your best girl friend. The one that you call when your boyfriend breaks up with you. Always there through thick or thin. She is also the wall-flower that many of us were in middle and high school - sticking close to the wall so that she won't be noticed, but always just behind you if you need her. She celebrates every day that isn't "the day" and we are so glad that we kept her.
Coming next - Willow - the unexpected addition that created "The Pack."
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