I got candy girl when she was six weeks old. I wanted a pure breed black lab but there didn't seem to be any available at the time. I called to answer an ad for some mix lab puppies. I went to look at the puppies but heart really wasn't in it. As I looked at the puppies, Candy kept crawling up on my sneakers. I would move away from her as I still did not know which, if any, that I wanted. She continued to follow me and would climb back up on my shoes. After several times of moving and her returning, I picked her up to look at her closer. As I did, I made the decision to take her home with me. I felt that she chose to be with me.
We made a game of feeding her. Her dry food had a variety of colors in it. I would pick out a certain color and feed it to her calling it meat, vegetable, and cheese. She was fascinated, like a child, with the game. I fed her piece by piece until she had had enough. I gave her some can dog food a few times a week and fed her with a spoon. She loved the attention.
She became my best friend. We played together and worked together. When I had raked leaves or put limps off trees that had fallen off trees, on a tarp, she would grab one end in the front and help me drag it to the pile we had for burning. She also helped me when I planted flowers or bulbs. She would either run off with the containers or dig up the flowers or bulbs as soon as I got them in the ground.
She loved to go to the neighbors homes to see what she could bring home. She brought trash, baby dolls, stuffed animals and food. Once the back yard was white with the fiber fill from a huge stuffed animal she stole and tore apart—if you tried to take it from her she would run or swallow it. I learned how to sneak up on her if it was something that I knew. if swallowed, may harm her.
Candy loved the water so I got her a baby pool to play in. She loved it and would get in and lie down to cool off in the hot summer days. She would sneak down to the creek to get wet and muddy when no one was looking. Sometimes she would bring home a gift for Mommy. That included rats, mice and once she brought home a possum. She put the possum in her swimming pool and then came wagging her tail for me to come and see. I figure she was making sure it was dead by drowning if not already.
She comes in to wake me in the night if she hears any sort of a beeping noise or something that doesn't sound right. Candy is nine now. I can't begin to tell you all the stories about her and our lives together. She is my best buddy. I can't imagine ever loosing her.
Coco came about after we lost Bubba at the age of seven to a brain tumor. He was abandon at four and was going to the dog pound. I rescued him and brought him home. He is a whole other story.
Back to Coco. Candy needed a companion again after her mourning time of six months. She was ready to have a new house hold member again. I didn't think she, or me, needed a have a puppy to train. Both of us were getting to old for that. Candy needed a dog a bit older so I got on the Internet and looked at shelters, rescue shelters until I found the dog I thought perfect for her. He was a lab mix. His name was Coco. I got in touch with the rescue shelter and was told that he had already been adopted. It was very disappointing. I contacted another woman who told me of another rescue shelter. We went to see the dogs available for adoption after being told they had a mix breed lab about a year old. At the shelter we were introduced to a young dog, kind of skinny, male, mixed breed. His name was also Coco. It didn't dawn on me at the time until after Candy thought him to be okay, she went with us, and signed the adoption papers, that it was the same dog as was on the Internet. It seemed as though we were supposed to have him.
Coco got out every toy from the toy box when in the house. He played with each and every one of them. He was full of energy and he was very bossy. He would push Candy out of the way when she would try to get close to us. He wanted all the attention.
We learned of his fear of the thunder storms after the first one that came after bringing him home. We were asleep and I woke to the sound of a scratching sound in the bathroom. We have a Hugh garden tub with no surround in the front, just a small edge. He was standing, all fours, on the top of the tub, shaking all over. I can't even imagine how he got up there. I lifted the 73 pound dog down and closed the door to the bathroom. The vet gave us some tranquilizers to give him before the storms to calm him. I have lost many hours sleep with him and storms. Coco is extremely intelligent and eager to learn. He is so affectionate. He will lay his head in my lap and go sound asleep. He loves to be kissed.
These dogs are my family, my kids, and couldn't imagine life without them. I talk about all my dogs in my new book, Living Nightmares of Abuse. http://www.pdbenton.org My book is available at http://www.publishamerica.com and on any on line book store. Check your book store for listings.
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