Unexpected return - CoCo Chanel

It was a shock to see CoCo being returned to us today... Once again, she's thin and underweight and even more shy than she was when adopted two months ago... The owner cited CoCo's inability to warm up towards her husband, and even outright aggression towards him...

I have not seen this, and intentionally have left CoCo with my husband for an extended period of time without any issues... While CoCo does not favor men, she will retreat to a safe distance and just watch what is going on around her if there is a male in the room... I do not believe CoCo could ever be aggressive towards anyone (dog or human) unless cornered with no means of escape when frightened.

She stepped back into our home like she'd never left, so our task now is to get some meat back on those bones! I have noticed she is now fearful to eat in front of the other dogs - this is a new behavior that we're working on to remove.

Once again, CoCo follows me around the house throughout the day, and loves 'couch potato-ing' aside of me at night if I'm watching TV, or laying in her favorite doggie bed aside of my computer when I'm working online... She is a gentle and sweet soul, preferring to cuddle up at night on the pillow above my bed on the headboard shelf... She is an exceptionally sweet dog for the right person and/or home situation and/or lifestyle, and we welcomed her back into our home with pleasure!

Coco Chanel got her furever home!

Coco got a lovely home with a fellow female Terrier named "Buffy", lots of human family members and friends who visit frequently... She had begun to come out of her shell, thanks to the lovely work of one of our devoted and endearing foster moms... Her foster mom was sad to see her go {sad face} but happy to know she got a great home with lots of good things to happen to her in the future!

CocoBeans, CocoaPuffs... still sweet by any name!

Coco doesn't show well at adoptions because of her fearful nature... I wish I could figure out how to work the video camera and show everyone what I see on a daily basis with her... She'd get adopted in a heart beat, for she's that sweet, loving, quiet and a fantastic dog once she knows you!

Sometimes I think she wants to write her own blog because whenever I leave my computer, she jumps up and sits down on my chair, waiting for me to come back! Wherever I am, she follows me and has special spots around the house that she prefers... Never demanding, she's content to just be close...

This is a SWEET dog that can't do enough to please you... She curls in and just loves to be petted and stroked... Say her name and her ears go back immediately while the tail starts wagging nonstop... If I could harness the energy in that tail, I'd never have to dust my house again!

And she's such a truly noble looking dog... Striking, she's a pleasure to have around and I can always count on getting as much or more TLC from her as I hand out... While she's not very friendly towards men, Gherry (one of the TLC volunteers) was able to pet her and socialize last Saturday, so there is a lot of hope she'll eventually overcome her fear of men as well... Sweet, sweet little soul she is and certainly deserves her own furever home (though I will be sad to see her move on)...

I snapped this picture of Coco and Frito as they were sunbathing this morning outside.

Coco did well at adoptions, as did Chloe & Sunshine

Our three somewhat fearful dogs did real well at adoptions yesterday - Coco, Chloe and Sunshine. I'm VERY proud of all three of them - Coco and Chloe especially. They handled the whole experience very well - not just being in the crates, but all the people coming by, new volunteers picking them up and holding them, etc.

Despite none of the three were adopted, it was a very good opportunity to be socialized and learning to handle new experiences and strangers that won't hurt, harm or scare them. Every new experience handled with TLC and patience is one more step forward to getting back to what a dog should be - able to trust and love unconditionally.

Bravo, you three! I'm very proud of all of you!

Coco...

Coco is walking much better on a harness and lead now... She also enjoys doing a bit of running when on a walk (I wear out faster than she does!)... She's still a bit shy of men though... And is wary of men we happen upon during our walks...



Coco would probably be EXCELLENT at flyball for she loves to catch balls for me and usually brings them back... I only have to say her name once and she comes right away... She's like a billy goat - unbelievably agile and quite a jumper as well...

No matter where I am, she's right there... She has become very attached to me, almost as if she's got all this love stored up inside, ya know?... During our naps, she snuggles in near my head and really loves when I stroke her head and underneath her chin... Then she'll relax and sprawl out as if to say she wants her belly stroked too...

She's such a loving and sweet dog - it's a shame somewhere along the way someone hurt her... It'll take some time for her to trust men again but we continue to work on it... I have yet to raise my voice to her - she's that receptive to your moods and what you want from her... Coco is always watching your expressions and body language, looking for clues... She just can't do enough to please you and asks nothing more than to be loved... She will make someone a great companion and friend!

Update on Coco...

I just can't say enough good things about this little sweet girl... She ALWAYS comes when called and loves curling up wherever you sit down... Otherwise? She's content to be close somewhere... Not much for playing with toys but a sweet, SWEET little pup!

I loved that photo of her so much I created a line of products at our CafePress store saying "...anyone can buy a dog but only special people ADOPT"... Those eyes melt me every time she looks at me! 100% of the profits from the CafePress store go towards saving another dog from the shelters...

I got in touch with Coco's previous owner over the weekend... What a sad, sad story... Coco was a breeder's "stock" originally and ended up in a South LA shelter somehow... Sent to a contracted vet by the shelter, she was opened up to do a spay when it was discovered Coco was pregnant, so they just stitched her back up...

The next day the shelter sent her back again to be spayed (the puppies had died in the meantime)... The original owner was called and said he wanted Coco back until he discovered she'd been spayed, then said he didn't want her any more...

Coco's second owner said her stomach was a REAL mess when she adopted her out of the shelter - between all the incisions at a time she was pregnant... This must be why Coco absolutely LOVES belly rubs and she now has a nice, neat and trim tummy!

Her previous owner had Coco for a year and said she got along with the cats, her children and grandchildren but always was a bit nervous around men... Coco keeps an eye on my husband, but he's active in dog rescue too, so Coco will come around to him too... It just takes a bit of time to relearn it is OK to trust again...

Coco's previous owner (#2) volunteered why she ended back up in the shelter... A hospice was built across the street and although there was plenty of foot traffic previously, once the hospice was built with all that increased pedestrian traffic, Coco would bark at people passing by the window when left home alone by herself... The homeowner's association threatened to evit Coco's owner if she didn't get rid of Coco, so back to the shelter she went for the second time...

I don't work outside the home, but I noticed Coco would bark at strange noises initially... Two things I don't allow here is aggression and barking, so I stopped that right quick!... A few "NO BARK" in her direction and by day two, Coco was broken of that bad habit...

Coco is just a real love puppy... I can't adequately explain just how much she wants to be loved, cuddled and held... Not insistently so that becomes annoying, but she follows me throughout the house and today I started getting kisses from her!

She likes my cooking too and as we sat outside in the back yard today, I noticed her coat is getting smoother and silkier already... As I was brushing her with the soft brush, she kept rolling over and stretching out herself so I could do her belly, then her side, then her back... LOL... She's starting to put on a few ounces already and has her favorite 'snooze' spots as well (took Bella's spot on the headboard already!)...

Nacho was trying to chew on her ears this morning and Coco had such an endearing look on her face... "Yeah, I know... he's annoying but he's still a puppy!"... She stood up and Nacho walked right underneath her, then used her body as a 'beach umbrella' to get out of the sun!

What a sweet, sweet dog this is... Seldom am I this lucky with new fosters... I thought I was really lucky with Bella, but Coco is cut from the same bolt of sweetness~!!!

Coco Chanel... easy transition from shelter to home...

Quiet, peaceful night last night... Coco realized we (or at least I do! smile...) watch an hour or two of TV at night with the rest of the family... Everyone gets into 'their spot' either on the couch, on the doggie lounges in front of the TV or onto someone's lap (with or without a blankee, depending upon the 'undercoverness' of the Chi)... She found one of the open, unclaimed spots to my left on a cushy pillow and fell asleep... A few minutes later I heard one of those deep, DEEP sighs and breathes as she stretched out a bit and relaxed into a deep sleep... Wonder how many of those she's had in the past three weeks at the shelter?... Probably not many of those, I'd wager...

Coco Chanel knows the doggie door already, so she's diligent about going outside to go potty... Yet another challenge down... And when I said, "Let's go to bed" she watched everyone else jump up and head down the hallway... I waited a bit for her and she cautiously followed... She grabbed Bella's old spot up on the headboard pillows and settled in - she doesn't snore either! :)...

This morning at 3AM, she was cold so I found a pink T-shirt for her to wear once she came in from going potty... She initially shakes when confronted with a new experience, so I don't think she's worn T-shirts or sweaters before... However, she quickly learned what I want when I said, "Give me your paw" so I could insert it through one of the armholes...



Because she's so underweight right now, I suspect she has a difficult time getting comfortable unless she's laying on a cushy doggie bed or pillow... I home cook for my guys, so she should pick up weight at a good pace and although her coat is not as silky as everyone else has, a home cooked diet with the supplements should help in that regard too with time... She's definately got some of the wire-haired wispy long hairs throughout her coat, but she has an underlying skin of black as well... Interesting coloring when you look closely at it...



What a sweet, sweet little girl this is... How she ended up in the shelter is beyond me... sigh... She's now moved over to the other side of the 'Chihuahua Penthouse' where the morning sun comes in through diffused filters... It is one of the favorite morning spots for everyone to catch their morning naps in (after basking a bit outside on the lounge chairs, catching that first early morning sun)... That's Frito to the right of her, falling asleep while still sitting upright! He is 5 1/2 pounds if that gives you a benchmark to judge the size of Coco Chanel...



What a sweet baby face Coco Chanel has as she is now comfortable and warm this morning!

Introducing Coco Chanel...

(and yes, that truly is her name per the ID tag she was wearing!)... Normally I only rescue Chihuahuas of a certain size for I have a 15-year old Chi who weighs 4 pounds and has dementia - anything too large or of other breeds just harasses Mr. Sweetie too much... But I kept going back to Coco's kennel in the shelter... Those eyes just got to me along with the eyebrows and the whiskers around the snout and chin...



She's two years old, housebroken, up to date on all her shots, spayed, microchipped and licensed for the County of Ventura... And SWEET, SWEET, SWEET...

Coco is a bit underweight at 5 pounds and should really gain a pound or two... And she ate like she'd not been feed for months at lunchtime today... She's been exceptionally sweet and friendly to all of my dogs and fosters, including Nacho with his puppy teeth!... Today she's in 'decompression mode' that a lot of dogs freshly pulled from the shelter go through... They do this deep, DEEP relaxed sleep that we've seen countless times... Like it is OK to curl into a plushy doggie bed and just sleep without all the strange noise, sounds and banging they experience at the shelters...



When we all crawled into bed for our afternoon nap, she nuzzled up to me - almost as if to say 'thank you for saving me'... She'd been in the shelter since the last week of April and because she didn't come forward to the kennel when people approached, I think she was just passed by... On my second visit back to her kennel, she wagged her tail at me and I was just hooked... So I've been watching her and hoping someone would adopt her, but alas, her time started running out so today TLC pulled her...

While she does not have the smooth hair of the Chi, she's not a wirehaired either, but clearly has much more Terrier in her than Chihuahua... That tail never stops wagging, but if it did, you'd see the very tip of it is jet black...



Whoever her owner was, they must have loved her to give her such a sweet name and it fits... Once you start petting her, she rolls over to get a belly rub and her belly is like pure silk...



She'll make someone a great pet for sure!