RIP Cocoa Bear 2000-2014 Fourteen years ago this little mutt came into our home and completed Our family.... husband and wife, two kids a girl and a boy (got it right the first two tries), two cats and the newly added Cocoa. A Labrador mixed, big eared, gangly little mutt who stole all of our hearts when we went to the animal shelter looking for a family dog. Actually, I probably would not have agreed to get a dog if it werent for the fact that just months before my wife, now ex-wife had not been attacked by a neighbor’s huge Akita. The wife, and yes I could use her name but were all afraid that saying it out loud might be like Beetle Juice or Bloody Mary, you get it, right? Anyway, the one whose name shall not be mentioned and I decided that we needed a dog in order to make sure the kids didnt grow up scared of them because of the attack. So we went to the pound and picked her out having no real clue what this hound had in store for us. We quickly found out, by leaving her alone that she suffered from extreme separation anxiety. She chewed through wooden fences, dug under chain-link fences, and she even chewed though chicken wire covered cedar fences before we finally installed an electric fence…….didn’t work she was still getting out! So one afternoon we all piled in the jeep and took a little trip … to the church parking lot across 30th street which happens to overlook our backyard. We parked! We waited! And, in about five minutes we watched her climb the wooden fence in the corner of the yard and once again she was OUT! We very quickly rounded her up and took her home, tail between her legs? Hell No! Tail wagging like the propeller on a WWII fighter plane. I took Cocoa in the house sat her down on the sofa and just flat out asked her “what do you want?”………………………………………of course she didnt answer, typical Cocoa………NOTHING! I really was waiting for an answer because at this point I had no idea what to do. I let her off the hook and only grounded her until the next time she got out, she seemed pretty relieved. I then found myself standing in the middle of the backyard looking around, wondering. I heard a whisper, maybe it was Caesar Milan channeling because I am pretty sure it wasn’t the dog. I cocked my head, like a dog does when you ask it “You wanna GO!” and there it was again…….DOG DOOR! I did it! That week we ordered a dog door installed it upon arrival at the casa and guess what? No more Houdini Dog. She never once busted out of the yard again as long as she had full reign and access to the inside of the house she was content, NO anxiety. One day as I was feeding her I swear she looked up at me, only as a dog can do, and said “What took so long, I thought you understood me”! She very quickly and absolutely became that family pet. Camping! Trips to the hills. Going for walks, and when my niece (miss you kid) was still allowed to visit, and possibly even spend the night at our house we often woke to the two of them cuddled up into a big brown ball sleeping on the sofa. There are far too many great memories to reminisce about all of them but one of my favorites is when Cocoa and I were goofing around, wrestling she got a little out of control and bit just a little too hard so I responded by pinning her the floor and biting her back till she yelped. Tasted horrible, but guess what it worked she never bit at anyone again. One night we took her the park to let her run, and she was so dark that we couldn’t see her in the night until she ran full speed into Taryn taking her out at the knees and knocking her three feet into the air. At times she and Xander were inseparable just as “A Boy and His Dog” are supposed to be. I want to say goodbye to Cocoa and say thank you for all of the wonderful, annoying, frustrating and hilarious times that you brought to this family. This is a very hard good-bye for the family, well the kids and I she was our very first family dog and often times, more that not, she brought us together laughing at some silly antic she had performed. It has been a really tough 3 years, long nights, lots of stress, some fighting, feelings of abandonment, lots of anger, trepidation and sadness, but every time …every… single…time one of the family came through the front door Cocoa was there to greet us with a wiggle, a shake and lick. Well today was your last day to greet us and welcome us home and that will be sorely missed....... Xander and I took Cocoa to the vet today and had her put to sleep. It was hard but we couldnt stand seeing her in pain any longer. I have stated several times over the last year that “This is not where I expected my family to be at this point in our lives” I had hoped for better……………Well, guess what? Cocoa in her last few minutes helped me to realize that “My family”, my kids, now my grandson, and the remaining dogs are exactly where we are supposed to be and that is here for each other. I am convinced now more than ever that my relationship with my children, and theirs with me, and my grandson will never be shaken hard enough to tear it apart and I now know that my children truly understand the meaning of “family” and who you are supposed to stand beside in times like these. Cocoa, from Taryn and I THANK YOU for being a part of our immediate family over the past 14 years. You taught us patience, love, how to care and that LOVE, COMMITMENT and COMPROMISE overcome any obstacle in life. All three of us have but one more collective thing we want to say to you “we all wish we had been better pet owners and taken you on lots more walks.” Taryn Morgaine Cheney Xander Cheney RIP Cocoa Bear 2000-2014
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 06:05:45 +0000
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