“Friday came too soon. While I have realized for some time Friday was coming ... still Friday came too soon.” These words written by our veterinarian to our daughter after the death of our dog, Co-Co, her lifelong companion, brought tears to our eyes.
Co-Co Arrives
Valerie was six months old when our German shepherd dog, Rover, suddenly died. Living on a farm, we wanted another dog. Our friends have a Black Lab, which Tom, my husband, loves to play with, so when they heard we wanted a dog, they helped us search. One day we got a call from Ted, our friend: “Hey Tom, There’s a chocolate lab here in Manheim that needs a new home, he is four months old, and his owner wants him to be somewhere he can run. Right now he is tied up all day.”
His silky dark brown coat and friendly eyes won us over. Co-Co joined our farm family in 1991. He tolerated abuse from Valerie as she sat on him and pounded on him because he loved people and was friendly to everyone.
As he got older, this friendliness got him and us in trouble. He began to run away. Hearing children on the other side of the creek, he swam across the creek to join in the action. Then, he traveled further away to neighboring towns, Akron and Rothsville. We got phone calls from the police telling us about our dog’s latest adventure. Thinking he is leaving in pursuit of a female companion, we got him neutered. Unfortunately, this didn’t cure him of his wanderlust ways and we continued to get calls from the neighbors about our dog, including one who was petrified of dogs and called the police to report him. We were fined for this escapade and I was ready to shoot him. (Sorry to all you dog lovers out there.)
But, Valerie loved him so. And, he loved Valerie. So we explored other solutions for keeping our friendly dog at home. Told about shocker collars for dogs, we purchased one for $589. Following the instructions, we put this collar on Co-Co and set the spikes so that they reached his skin when shocked, and we set the voltage at the highest level. We told the neighbors to let us know if he crosses the creek, so we could shock him. The next day we get the call, “Your dog is over here, again.” Standing on my back deck, I yelled for Co-Co to come home, and as he started to cross the creek, I pressed the button to shock him. A mighty yelp was heard and he came bounding back to the house. He never left the property again.
Co-Co the Protector
Once I was thankful Co-Co left the property. One day, when Valerie was eighteen months old, I ran over to the rental property we have on our farm. Playing happily with Co-Co in the back yard, I thought she would be okay for a few minutes while I talked to the plumber about repairs to the old farmhouse. It took longer than I thought it would and I ran back to the house knowing I shouldn’t have left her alone like that. I frantically searched the yard and house, but Valerie was not to be found. Just then, I looked up and saw Co- Co out on the road getting ready to cross the bridge over the Middle Creek and my heart sinks. I knew Valerie was out there, too.
A few seconds later a black car drove in the lane with Valerie in the front seat and a kind lady asked, “Is this your daughter?” Thanking the woman for rescuing her, I said “Yes.” Praising the Lord (and Co-Co) for protecting her, I gathered her in my arms
Valerie said, “Co-Co, duckies”, which I translated to mean she was taking Co-Co to see the ducks swimming in the creek. I often took Valerie for walks in her stroller to see the ducks and she decided to take Co-Co to see them, too.
