14-Year-Old Coco's Best Days
The Benson family offers an emotional and beautiful reflection on the unexpected gift of adopting a super-senior shelter dog with medical needs.
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Dear BARCS,
In February of 2019, my boyfriend and I took a chance on a 14-year-old pit bull mix named Coco at BARCS. I always wanted a pittie-type dog, and when I saw her pictures on BARCS website, I instantly knew she was the special one for us. I already had a senior dog at home and thought Coco would make a great and docile addition, spending her retirement being spoiled with us.
She seemed skittish on the drive home and the first couple of days with us. But after a lot of treats, lovins’ and invitations to nap on the couch, she started feeling safe and fit right in. One of my favorite memories of her first days with us was when we took Coco to PetSmart to pick out her own toys. She chose an over-sized, and I mean giant, stuffed alligator. Despite her age, she found great joy and spunk in playing with our kids, and would do zoomies when we came home. Coco would do this thing when she was excited where she'd lay on her back and wiggle her legs in the air, we called it "riding her bike.” She was the sweetest girl in the world. She even changed my brother's mind about pit bull-type dogs, as she was great and patient with my autistic nephew.
Coco was an old girl and not without medical issues. From incontinence to tumors, from skin allergies to other senior symptoms, we were often busy with trips to the veterinarian. But Coco was never bothered by it. After any sort of treatment or surgery, she always found healing in snuggles on the sofa with our daughter Mady.
By September we noticed that she started acting funny—it wasn’t the same as the other medical issues. She would pace constantly and cry for no reason. We would cuddle with her and spend every second trying to make her feel better. I had even started sleeping on her dog bed with her to try and calm her so she could get some sleep. Eventually, she stopped eating. We bought her any and every kind of dog food to get her to eat. The only way she would eat was if I made homemade chicken and rice and put it in the palm of my hand. Even then, sometimes she would eat and sometimes she wouldn't.
In November, I was giving her a warm bath and she started having a seizure. Soaking wet, I rushed her to the ER. I hoped and prayed that we could fix her, just like the many times we had before, but the medication wasn’t working and her quality of life was on a steep and fast decline. We had one more beautiful week with our girl before, with the heaviest of hearts, we said goodbye. Coco passed peacefully in our home with a professional vet. With her big, stuffed alligator by her side, she drifted off to The Big Dog Park in the Sky.
Now, we keep her ashes on our mantle, so that she is always home—the place where I believe we made her life the happiest it had ever been.
I knew when we got Coco that we wouldn't have her long—already being 14 years old—but in her short time, she changed my life and the lives of all those around her. Adopting a senior was a lot to take on, but well worth it. Even though 10 months didn’t feel long enough, I would do it all over again for Coco.
Thank you,
Brenda Benson
Coco’s Final and Forever Mom
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