Coco, a 2-year-old Black Mouth Cur and Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, was found as a stray in Quesnel, BC by a kind passerby who noticed the pregnant stray frequenting their property over several days. They reached out to the BC SPCA Animal Helpline to get this sweet, stranded girl the care she needed.
When BC SPCA team members completed her intake exam, they discovered that Coco was heavily pregnant, dehydrated, and had extremely long nails. Not only had Coco been scrounging for food for herself, but she was also trying to nourish the nine puppies she was carrying. BC SPCA staff and volunteers worked hard and quickly to provide Coco and her puppies with the care they urgently needed after being abandoned.
“We found a foster right here in Prince George, as she was heavily pregnant and looked like she was about to give birth at any moment when we first admitted her into our Animal Centre. Coco gave birth to nine beautiful, healthy puppies shortly after she was placed into an emergency foster volunteer home!” says Brooklyn Gess, Assistant Manager at the BC SPCA Prince George Animal Centre.
Once the puppies were old enough to be separated from their mother, they were transported to nearby Animal Centres through our Drive for Lives Program. Coco was also transferred through Drive for Lives to our Vancouver Animal Centre, and we have a wonderful update to share.
“When Coco first came into our care, she was extremely anxious in the shelter environment, so we arranged for her to go into foster care right away.” says Mandy Isaacs, Vancouver Community Animal Centre Assistant Manager.
Her foster mom took Coco into care originally thinking she would be a great short-term companion, but quickly realized that she could not part with this sweet girl.
“We lost our beloved Bernese Mountain Dog, Boomer, who was a huge part of our family on December 23rd. We took time to heal, but the grief never goes away, it just looks and feels different. I felt it was time to welcome another dog in our life and wanted to try to foster,” says Stacey, Coco’s new mom.
“The BC SPCA was the first place I thought about. I signed up through West Vancouver and had such positive interactions and was eager to welcome a dog to help get to a great place for its fur-ever home. Our family welcomed Coco on June 8th and really intended to foster her until she was adopted. The BC SPCA made it so easy and provided us with the right information on Coco’s history and her needs.”
After one training session with a BC SPCA AnimalKind trainer, she called our Vancouver team and said she had to officially adopt her. “I worked with Dog Partners Dog Training, a certified AnimalKind accredited company through the BC SPCA. I could not be happier with their positive reinforcement training style and the growth that Coco has shown”, states Stacey.
Sweet Coco finally has a loving home to relax in. Stacey adds: “Her life is amazing! She is thriving! She went from being a dog that could not be left alone for 5 minutes to a dog who has now stayed alone for over 5 hours and has the entire house to roam in but doesn’t destroy anything. It took time to build her trust, she just needed to know we were coming back.” 
According to Stacey, Coco sleeps very soundly with her favorite nap spots being the couch upstairs where she falls asleep (and snores) looking outside, or in their bedroom on a big bed on the ground. “Coco is well established in the family, is used to our routines and is always eager for a ride in the Jeep. As soon as she hears the hatch open, she knows an adventure is ahead!”
But Coco isn’t the only happy tail in this story! Lotus, one of Coco’s puppies, has also happily found his forever home after being adopted from the BC SPCA Kelowna Animal Centre.
Sweetie pie Mayo was also transferred to the Kelowna Animal Centre and found her home the weekend she arrived. In fact, we are happy to report that all nine of Coco’s puppies have found their forever homes!
We are so happy that Coco was able to find a caring, understanding home. Sometimes, all a rescue dog needs are space and patience to blossom into an incredible companion. “I’m so grateful to all the BC SPCA staff who tirelessly work to re-home so many animals. Fostering is a commitment, but it’s worth it if you can! I paid a lot of attention to Coco, really worked to understand her, and met her needs where she was and continue to do that.” Stacey says.
Thank you for opening your home and heart to a dog that needed some extra love. To support a dog in need near you, please visit our adoption site.