Adoption Success: Coco
We are overjoyed to share that our sweet senior girl, Coco, hit the jackpot and has found an incredible forever home.
Coco came from a very dysfunctional home. Her owner contacted us multiple times over several months to surrender her, but would abruptly change her mind. She moved out of state and wasn’t even living with Coco, and her adult son would drop by to feed her. When we finally met Coco, she was nearly bald due to untreated allergies, skin infections, and a poor diet. We discovered she was living on a diet of noodles and margarine, and was regularly kept outside without flea/tick preventatives. She had allergies to fleas, and her infected skin was slathered in a home remedy of coconut oil. Her skin went untreated for so long that she had lost large patches of her coat, and she still carries some visible scars of her previous life.
Coco’s luck changed when Amber, one of our awesome NC foster mom’s, stepped up to foster, committing to her rehabilitation. Initially, Coco was very nervous and shut down, as she’d never had much socialization before — never left her yard or met new people. After time to settle in and build trust, eating a healthy diet, and getting incredible TLC from Amber that included regular medicated baths, daily meds, basic training and socialization, and many vet visits, Coco’s sweet, happy, and social personality emerged. This sassy senior was ready to start her new life, but we needed the right foster home to help her transition to the next phase. Unexpectedly, one of our top-notch local foster families asked to foster Coco. Don and Penny were drawn to her story and were the perfect foster for her. They are incredibly loving and committed pet parents with an excellent schedule, they had another dog in the home who needed a buddy, and Penny is a nurse who planned to do massage therapy to help her relax and address muscle/joint pain. With experience fostering anxious dogs, they could provide an ideal calm and nurturing home for her.
It only took 2 weeks before Don and Penny made Coco an official member of their family. She fit seamlessly into their lives, connected with their pup, Koda, and fully accepted the kitties. Not only did Don and Penny adopt Coco, they generously offered to pay for her substantial vetting costs that had accumulated over her months of care. Worthy Dog is very fortunate to have such a committed team. Saving dogs like Coco is only possible with support from our community and help from selfless volunteers like Don and Penny. Don shared this update:
Coco is incredibly sweet. She meets you at the door when you come home, licks your hand, and wants pets and attention, and loves to get her belly rubbed. With her lack of fur, she is, understandably, NOT a fan of cold weather. As the temperature dropped into the 20’s overnight, she insisted on wearing her hoodie or a T-shirt all day and night. She is always well dressed and ready for adventure. Penny has been having a ball buying clothes for her, and so has Sharon V (fellow WDR volunteer), so she is a well dressed girl. She loves going on walks and literally wants to meet every person and dog on her walks. She greets people and dogs calmly, BUT she now pulls like crazy if you don’t let her go greet them!
She is very comfortable in her crate as her safe place. She will curl up and take long naps as well as sleeping peacefully all night. We have never closed the crate door. She simply doesn’t bother anything around her except a few dog toys. We were so happy to see her start to play with toys! We’ve learned that Coco is really good with children. Penny told the girls who live up the street from us that Coco was coming. Yesterday, Coco and I met the girls while out walking. Coco walked up to them, let them pet her, and enjoyed the attention. She is also good with other dogs. Her introduction to Koda was the easiest we’ve ever had. This morning, we met someone walking a tiny puppy and Coco went over and gently greeted the puppy. She and the puppy really didn’t want to part ways.
Coco is going to bring us much love and joy. Since we can’t foster for awhile, we will help in other ways. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to do great things.
Congratulations to this wonderful family and thank you to ALL the volunteers who do great things to help worthy dogs along the way!
