Thank You + Howling Coco

As hard as living through this time has been, we are so very grateful for all of the love and support we have received from our family and friends. Thank you so much for all of your kind words and loving thoughts, they mean the world to the both of us.

During the first few days of grieving, I put a lot of guilt on myself for not noticing something was wrong with her sooner. I am learning to accept that I can’t change the past and have (through this loss) learned that dogs instinctually hide their pain because it is a sign of weakness and ultimately death in the animal kingdom.

Gigi was very strong and protective and I think she was determined to maintain the “alpha dog” role, which caused her to hide her signs from us very well. Just one month ago, we took them hiking in Sunol and she seemed perfectly fine.

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As much as I hate to have learned what I have through losing her, I wanted to share it with those of you that do have pets so you might have a chance at catching it early and prolonging your dog’s life.

Hemangiosarcoma is most prevalent among Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Boxers and they are at risk for developing it as soon as 6 years of age. You can start screening for cancer and other ailments in your dog by having routine blood work and ultrasounds done at the vet’s office every 6 months. Even then, this cancer can go undetected until it is too late but screenings will increase the chances of finding it sooner. While there isn’t a cure for this type of cancer, finding it early can prolong your dog’s life up to a year or more.

If you have an older dog and you are concerned about them developing cancer, you can research what cancers are most common in their breed and how to prevent or recognize them. Be sure to keep an eye out for any change in behavior, even if it is subtle or inconsistent. Here is a helpful article on recognizing signs:  Canine Cancer: What are the warning signs?

The three of us as are slowly healing together and Brandon and I are trying to focus on all of the positive things that she brought to the past ten years of our lives. She was truly and amazing dog and our time with her was very precious.

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Although Coco seems to be a little sad, she still gets excited for walks and has been eating and enjoying her Kong like always. Her farts have also been just as frequent and stinky as before so I think that is a good sign.

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We have been giving her lots of extra love and affection to help her cope with losing her life long companion and she seems to be handling it okay so far.

Another behavior of hers that has remained unchanged is her howling at sirens outside. It is pretty darn cute and she did it for quite a while the other night so I thought I would share a video of it.

Howling Coco

 

***After posting the You Tube video, I noticed that there are, apparently, a ton of dogs named Coco who howl at sirens. Go figure…Anyways,  I watched this video and couldn’t get over how funny the dog howls and there are cute babies in it too. If you have a minute, you should check it out.

Well, I know my blog has been a bit of a “Debbie Downer” lately but I’m hoping to have some yummy recipes and other random things back on here soon.

Thank you again for your compassionate words and I hope you all are having a great week!!

 

What funny thing does your dog do that you love?