sab3mmom
Well-Known Member
- Owned by
- 2 cockers
Thought I'd start with the elder dude - outta respect you know. The link below is the album I started with my senior citizen. His story is painful but some of you already know...
Coco is a registered Cocker born 7/24/95 so he's 13 1/2 now - whose elderly owner ended up in a nursing home. Owner left (then Cody) with a neighbor/relative to care for. They left him in the kitchen and could not handle him. Passed off to another with the same results and several calls to rescue wanting them to put him to sleep. Finally abandoned at the rescue. Just dropped.
He's a cranky old dude who needs desperately to be close to his human. He yips when he cannot find me which I can guess is aggravating to someone trying to house a dog in the kitchen. When rescue first called me to ask if I could take him I said NO. I only wanted one dog - Mozart. I ended up with two - Monte came in. I really did not want THREE again especially not after losing Maxwell! Cody got into my head even though I never met him, never saw his picture, etc. In my dreams. I felt a horrible emergency to GO GET THIS DOG AND NOW! Figuring I would never get any sleep unless I followed thru with my marching orders, I picked up Cody 07/05/08 and it's a good thing I did. He would not have lasted another week or two. I cried all the way home with this guy thinking I did him no favor by giving him a second chance. He could barely stand up on his own! Skinny skinny skinny, stained by feces, infected eyes, nasty ears, geez the stench! But settled quietly on the seat of my car and quiet all the way home. I had to try... Over my head...WAY over my head! Deep breath...will he eat for me? I put him in his nice clean crate with a bowl of nothing but dry food (he wasn't eating anything but canned) and he ate it ALL! Good start. Bath time next and he did well. On the table the next day to strip off the rest of his nasty poop-stained hair and I had a fight. A biter! His toenails were sooo long they were wrapping back into his pads - no wonder he's limping...when he walks that is! For three months nearly I carried him up and down the three steps at the back door to let him go potty. For three months I got up at 02:00 to let him out again until I figured out he wasn't scritching on my bed to go out - he was insecure. He only wanted to know I was still there. A little head scritch and a gentle nudging back to his bed which is arm's length from mine and he finally got into my routine!
When I finally brought Coco home I gave him a week to show me he wanted to live...ok - three weeks...all right three months! He's doing well. He's still rotten/cranky to the core but he needs just one human with a gentle touch and a lot of patience. He still wants to bite but usually a soft finger on his muzzle, a kiss on his forehead, and I get kisses galore! He loves kisses, massages, special time, and knowing where his human is. He lets me trim his nails now...he's got a right to live his lifespan. Now he will...with me.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=mykcnst.pmqfcpx&x=0&y=dt2d97&localeid=en_US
Coco is a registered Cocker born 7/24/95 so he's 13 1/2 now - whose elderly owner ended up in a nursing home. Owner left (then Cody) with a neighbor/relative to care for. They left him in the kitchen and could not handle him. Passed off to another with the same results and several calls to rescue wanting them to put him to sleep. Finally abandoned at the rescue. Just dropped.
He's a cranky old dude who needs desperately to be close to his human. He yips when he cannot find me which I can guess is aggravating to someone trying to house a dog in the kitchen. When rescue first called me to ask if I could take him I said NO. I only wanted one dog - Mozart. I ended up with two - Monte came in. I really did not want THREE again especially not after losing Maxwell! Cody got into my head even though I never met him, never saw his picture, etc. In my dreams. I felt a horrible emergency to GO GET THIS DOG AND NOW! Figuring I would never get any sleep unless I followed thru with my marching orders, I picked up Cody 07/05/08 and it's a good thing I did. He would not have lasted another week or two. I cried all the way home with this guy thinking I did him no favor by giving him a second chance. He could barely stand up on his own! Skinny skinny skinny, stained by feces, infected eyes, nasty ears, geez the stench! But settled quietly on the seat of my car and quiet all the way home. I had to try... Over my head...WAY over my head! Deep breath...will he eat for me? I put him in his nice clean crate with a bowl of nothing but dry food (he wasn't eating anything but canned) and he ate it ALL! Good start. Bath time next and he did well. On the table the next day to strip off the rest of his nasty poop-stained hair and I had a fight. A biter! His toenails were sooo long they were wrapping back into his pads - no wonder he's limping...when he walks that is! For three months nearly I carried him up and down the three steps at the back door to let him go potty. For three months I got up at 02:00 to let him out again until I figured out he wasn't scritching on my bed to go out - he was insecure. He only wanted to know I was still there. A little head scritch and a gentle nudging back to his bed which is arm's length from mine and he finally got into my routine!
When I finally brought Coco home I gave him a week to show me he wanted to live...ok - three weeks...all right three months! He's doing well. He's still rotten/cranky to the core but he needs just one human with a gentle touch and a lot of patience. He still wants to bite but usually a soft finger on his muzzle, a kiss on his forehead, and I get kisses galore! He loves kisses, massages, special time, and knowing where his human is. He lets me trim his nails now...he's got a right to live his lifespan. Now he will...with me.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=mykcnst.pmqfcpx&x=0&y=dt2d97&localeid=en_US
