Cocoa Bear at 14

 

This is Cocoa Bear, our sweet dog, a puppy back in 2008.  

We wanted to get a King Charles Spaniel and Dachshund mix. We found her on a rescue site on the internet. She was located in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

We visited Atlanta, seeing my son, Doug, and an Atlanta Falcons meet the public event. At that time, Alison was a big Falcons fan, and her favorite was Keith Brookings. She and Benjamin were able to get his autograph.  

After these events, we drove to Chattanooga and visited the lady that had Cocoa Bear. We were able to see her and other pups from the litter that Cocoa Bear came from. Some Cocoa Bear's siblings looked very Dachshundy, Cocoa Bear? Not so much. She was definitely Spaniel, though.

We did the Atlanta visit and picked up Cocoa Bear on the same day. It was about ten hours of driving.

Cocoa Bear was a sweet and energetic puppy. She loved being with us. She chewed up significant chunks of our tiny wooden deck during her teething phase.

Her original name, before we adopted her, was Buttercup. That did not suit her, and Benjamin came up with Cocoa Bear.

Within a year, we realized that she could not possibly be a King Charles Spaniel.  She was way too big, not a large dog, but medium-sized, larger than you would expect from a King Charles and dachshund.

It really didn't matter.  She is our dog, and we love her.

This is Cocoa Bear today. Yes, she has aged, but she is still a sweet and loving companion. She's missing some teeth, and her tail has lost most of its hair. She has become more neurotic - she gets very anxious in rainstorms - particularly if she is left alone. It is good that my retirement keeps me home with her more. She used to really enjoy walks -taking the lead and was hard to keep pace with. Now, she lags behind me.

All three of our other dogs were adopted as adults, so their ages are slightly iffier. Adding the ubiquitous two-years-old that most rescue agencies say the adult dogs are, means that Ellie is a minimum of 14, Pixie 10, and Boss-A-Man 7 (he may be quite a bit older - the vet thought he was around ten when we adopted him, and we've had him for five years).

None of the dogs are the current pets we've had the longest. That achievement belongs to Skitty, a cat we've had for 15 years. She shows no signs of aging. She is as cantankerous as the day we got her. Ok, she can be sweet (well, not mean) sometimes, particularly to the family member she is closest to - Benjamin.

We know that Cocoa Bear is aging. But she still enjoys life and being with us, and we have and always will enjoy her companionship. Every day we have with her is a precious and special day.