A few years ago while buying fish from Petsmart, I told my then fiancé that I thought people who paid to have professional pictures of their dogs and Santa were just plain crazy. This was before we got our dog Coconut. Now I’m not saying that I’m going to run out and have pics of Santa and my dog but I get it now.
I wanted a puppy SOOOO bad but we decided to wait until after we got married. Around that time, my co-worker’s mother-in-law had some puppies to find homes for. I wanted a little white dog and although I didn’t get a white one, I did get a little one. One of my friends had a dog named Kiwi and I joked about naming ours Coconut. Somehow that name grew on me and just stuck so we had her named before we even met her. I counted down the days until we could pick her up. The day finally arrived when we went to pick out our puppy. We had decided on a girl but not much after that. We arrived and I picked up our Coconut and never put her down. The thought of putting her down and picking out a different one was just terrible. Poor Mr. C had to put his puppy back but he doesn’t have major attachment issues like I do.
During the drive home we seriously contemplated going back for one more. We had only wanted one but she looked so scared that I worried she’d be lonely. We decided that one was it, although we had our doubts throughout the first week. She did great during the day but the nighttime was a different story. We put her in a kennel next to our bed until we could potty train her. She began crying and although we tried everything, we couldn’t calm her down. I felt terrible because I imagined she was scared and lonely. Eventually sometime in the night Mr. C took her to the closet and slept on the floor with her. I woke up to find him curled up on the floor and her laying on him. It was pretty cute.
Over the nights, things got much better and eventually it was like Coconut had always been around. I looked forward to seeing her after work. One weekend I was slightly depressed however because she wouldn’t stop growing. Of course I got over that and I’m pretty happy with her size now.
We had two dogs as I was growing up but neither one was a puppy so this was all new to me. Apparently dogs lose their teeth? We went through potty training pretty well and she progressed from sleeping in a kennel to a bed and now she has about 5 beds throughout the house. I happen to think we did a great job training her. While she isn’t perfect, she’s great for us.
Coconut has always been an easy going dog and when we got her I would pick her up and carry her around the house. She’s always been a snuggler which I love. She seems to think she’s a cat and loves laying on the back of our sectional. She walks over people when they’re on her couch and she loves sleeping in the guest bed when we’re not around. If you refuse to play with her she’ll pick up her toy and lightly throw it at you to get your attention. She’s pretty smart although she’s scared of everything and not the most observant thing. I do know this next part sounds crazy but she loves clothes. I bought her a sweater one year for when we went to Nebraska in the winter and she LOVED it. Her tail starts wagging when she sees doggie clothes. I know there are people who think I’m nuts but whatever, you don’t get it yet.
Coconut has become part of our family and I can’t imagine life without her. We’re hoping our puppy parenting abilities mean that we’ll make good parents someday. I never had my doubts about Mr. C anyhow. For now though we’re loving our little 3 member family.
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