Dog gone...

First of all, a warning - this entry has nothing to do with scooters. It has to do with dogs. Specifically my dog.

Even though I have never talked about my dog in the blog, I’m sure it is easy to understand that a dog, or any other pet, for that matter, can become a valued member of a family.

Eleven years ago, my family and I decided to get a dog. We hopped in the car, headed down to the SPCA and found the perfect dog, a year old chocolate lab / duck tolling retriever cross named Coco.

Coco was a great family dog. She loved to run with me while I rode my bike, play all the silly dog games that my family could think of, and chased birds that were way up in the sky. I remember flying a kite with my girls when they were small. When the kite was on the ground, Coco could care less. When the kite got a metre off the ground, she started to go crazy. The higher the kite went, the louder she barked. When the kite came back to land, she wandered away in disinterest. We figured that she thought the kite was a bird until it was close enough - and then it was just a kite!



There are a lifetime of stories about Coco - how she walked, what she ate, when she barked, how different people made her act in different ways. Being a medium sized dog, we thought she would live until she was 14 or 15 at least.

Friday started off like any other day. Coco ate her food and happily ran outside, barking and looking very healthy. By Friday night, however, she had difficulty walking. We rushed her to the emergency vet, but it was too late. She had massive internal bleeding and there was no option but to put her down.

The story doesn’t stop there, though.

Today, the girls were looking at all of the different dogs at the SPCA that were waiting for adoption. Similar to eleven years ago, we once again hopped into the car and headed down to the SPCA. An hour later, and we had a new dog, a four year old black lab / chow cross named Guinness. The vacuum that was evident during the short time that we no longer had Coco has at least partially been filled.

A couple of observations to finish this post. One is that when someone dies, let’s say an older family member, it is a deep sadness that happens but, unless you live with them, you are not constantly reminded that the person is gone. With a family pet, especially one that has been with you for years, you are constantly reminded that the pet is not around any more. The second observation is that when a dog dies, unlike a relative, it is possible to, in some way, go and get another one to replace it. Because of the first observation, we’ve done the second and I’m hopeful it will work out.

So long, Coco. Good girl...