Coco the Wonder Dog

One day this past summer, my daughter and a friend visited the Monmouth County SPCA to check out some of the rescued dogs that were housed there. The next thing I know, I get a phone call from her, begging me to come see a dog that she fell in love with. 

I hesitated over the phone and gave every excuse that I could come up with as to why she couldn’t get a pet now. Back when I was a kid, my parents always had pets around the house, sometimes two or three at a time. A dog here, two cats there. . .it was nice because my folks were the ones that always took care of them.  

But it was tough on us when they left us. We all had gotten so close over the years that when the final time came, it was like losing a member of the family. My mom always took it the hardest. That was probably the reason why for the first 25 years of my marriage, we never had gotten a pet. I didn’t want my kids to experience that sense of loss that I experienced every time a pet passed away. That, plus I liked the fact that we could finally come and go as we pleased since both kids would be enrolled in college in September. 

When I got home from work, my wife was already waiting in the living room to have the discussion. Anne Marie joined us a few moments later. I reiterated my reasons why I never got the kids a pet earlier, but as the conversation went on, we all began talking ourselves into at least looking into it. 

Anne Marie began describing the dog to us and showed us pictures. I have to admit – the dog was pretty cute. She then told us her background. . . “Coco” was a rescue that needed a forever home, a six-year-old Silky terrier whose previous owners had gotten another dog, and the two dogs just didn’t get along. So the owner brought her to the SPCA in the hope that another family would adopt her.  

I wanted some assurances from my daughter that my involvement with her would be minimal. I’d put the food out and walk the dog a couple of times a week outside (our property is over 200 feet deep, more than enough space for a small dog to stretch its legs and do its “business”). My daughter assured me that the sole responsibility of caring for the dog would be on her. 

The next day, we all visited the SPCA and got introduced to Coco. As we talked about the dog with the staff, all the old feelings about owning a pet started coming back to me. But one thing was different. All the pets my family had when I was younger were all young pups or kittens that needed to be trained. Coco was already housebroken and crate-trained. I had never thought about owning a pet starting at the mid-way point in their life. That looked to be one advantage of all this, because training a dog takes time and a lot of patience. 

The dog seemed friendly enough as it walked around us in the holding room. She was spayed and had all her shots. . .another expensive bullet dodged, another advantage to taking her. 

So now it was decision time. I looked at my wife, daughter and son, and it was apparent by the look on their faces they were all smitten. My daughter sat down with another SPCA staff member, filled out the paperwork, paid the adoption fee, and Coco was hers. . .another successful rescue story. 

Over the last few years, there’s been a huge movement in adopting pets in this country, and I was really happy to know that we all were doing our part in providing a “forever home” to a dog whose owners couldn’t care for her anymore. 

We’ve had Coco for about a month now, and she’s brought nothing but joy to us as a family. She’s developed into quite a character around the house. And as for taking care of her. . .yes, my daughter does the majority of the work, but my wife and I have also stepped up our involvement as well, more so than I had originally planned on. But for some strange reason, I really don’t mind. 

We both take her out about two or three times a day and feed her when my daughter is away at school (she commutes four days a week). She’s been great company for me when my wife is upstairs sleeping and I’m watching TV downstairs late at night. 

So if you’re looking for a pet that’s already housebroken, come by the Monmouth County SPCA Homeward Bound Adoption Center, located at 260 Wall Street in Eatontown. You can call them for more information about adoption and volunteering at 732-542-0040, or go to their website at http://monmouthcountyspca.org/ . 

(The entire Jersey Shore Retro Blogography can be found at http://longbranch.patch.com/blogs/kevin-cieris-blog .You can also follow Kevin Cieri's blog on his Facebook page, "Jersey Shore Retro" as well as on Twitter @jsretro).