Merry Cocomas!

Merry Cocomas and Happy Coco New Year! Woof!

The real Christmas miracle

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ...

We had a terrible ice storm in New England this past weekend. And we lost power. For days and days. Sunday we couldn't afford to spend another night in a hotel and we were barred from family members' homes because of us having a dog.

My two friends took us in, and when they did, a little miracle happened. Coco made a dog friend.

My friend took Coco on a leash and I took their dog, Tui, on another leash. While he held Coco's leash, I walked their dog back and forth a bunch of times in front of Coco. Each time Coco went to attack or bark at Tui, my friend would roll Coco onto her back and put his hand on her tummy till she stopped squirming. After about what seemed alot of walking on my part, he took Coco for a 5 minute run. When he got back, we reintroduced the dogs at about 3 feet apart. They ignored each other for a few minutes, and then Coco sniffed Tui. SNIFFED Tui. No jerking her around or yelling or treats or coaxing or anything. Coco just got over it. Next, my friend walked Tui and Coco, one in each hand, then he walked them both in one hand, then I walked them one in each hand. Yup me, as pack leader. At this point, Coco could have cared less about Tui, and tried to chase squirrels or pull me towards some kids playing football. The whole process took about an hour. That night, Tui and Coco both passed out in the living room. We couldn't leave them alone together, and we couldn't let them play with toys, but all in all, it was a success, the very success I've been searching for a year for. Coco needed two things: me being an in-charge and confident handler and a low energy non-threatening dog.

Today, we went to the vet, and Coco's eye turned red when she saw another dog. I flipped her over onto her back and held her down gently till she stopped fighting. Then she got up, whined a little, but didn't bark and didn't charge the dog. I gave her a biscuit and she sat down, panting, but not barking. I couldn't believe it.

She definitely guards me, and I have to be careful about letting her jump up from now on. And she did try and kill my friends' cat. But it was amazing, absolutely amazing. Not to mention, all weekend she was amazing. Going from car ride to strange hotel back to the car while we ate take out in the front seat. She was resiliant and happy. Tired as all heck with out her 22 hours of naps.

She got a new toy and lots of french fries. Hooray!