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.
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.
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.
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.
***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?
Aww well I’m glad to hear you’re doing better. I’m so sorry about gigi. thats so cute about coco howling at the sirens! we had a dog that used to howl if we sang to him. loved that :)
Thank you Charlotte! As much as it hurts, death is another part of life that we have to learn to accept. Appreciating our lives and remembering the good times is all we can do! :)
I’m behind on my blog reading because of the weekend… I’m so sorry to read about Gigi :( I can only imagine how difficult it must be to go through the loss of a loved pet. Thanks to your advice a month ago, we got Mitchell’s bumps examined to confirm they were just fatty tumors. To make you smile, I think the funniest thing Mitchell does is after a walk we let him sprint down the hallway to our condo. When he arrives at our door, he jumps straight up in the air multiple times until we get there. Maybe it is only funny to me but it is super cute :)
Thank you Becky. Labs must be prone to fatty tumors b/c we just had two more biopsied on Coco yesterday that were just fat.
I love hearing that story about Mitchell, it is so awesome how much they love the little things. :)
You are not a “Debbie Downer!” Trust me, we all understand! :)
Thanks Hannah! I like for the blog to be a happy place so I feel bad that it’s been so depressing but I really appreciate your understanding. :)
My dog is a sock stealer. If we leave socks on the floor, she’ll quietly sneak into our rooms when we’re not looking, steal a sock, and take it back to her bed. She doesn’t eat them or chew them up… she just collects them and sleeps with them. I guess the smell of our feet comfort her? :shock:
Aw, that’s too cute!
Sarah, I am just catching up now. I am SO sorry to hear about Gigi. As a dog lover I cannot imagine how tough this is for you guys. Sending love from Oregon to the three of you. On a lighter note, Henry howls at sirens too. Coco and him could have a howling party! It’s so funny that they do that :) Take care my friend.
Aw, that’s too funny he does that too! I wonder if it’s a lab thing…
Lando knows he isn’t supposed to bark at the neighbors, so when he starts barking he goes to wherever we are, practically sitting on us and looks at us apologetically. Still barking. He’s a character. He also hides at the sound of sirens or big truck noises.
Keeping you in my thoughts. You’re not a Debbie Donwer at all. We understand and take as much time as you need.
Thank you Sonia. It is nice to feel such compassion from other animal lovers who understand how deep our love is for them.
Lando sounds like such a character! He’s so adorable!
Sorry again to hear about Coco :(
My parents dog who I grew up with gets really jealous whenever there are kids around, she is a jack russell and likes to be the smallest in the room so will bark and growl at kids even though she is not at all vicious. (And is so small you couldn’t do any damage). Our dog before that was a fox terrier who used to chase her tail and would run around in circles trying to catch it. When she caught it she would do this weird somersault whilst holding her tail, it was very funny to watch.
Happy to hear you are better and that Coco is adjusting. My two dogs have been with each other since birth and I know they would have a time adjusting without each other. They howl together at the 12:00 whitsle that goes off evert Saturday! Too funny! :)
Oh your dogs are so adorable, I’m so sorry to hear the news. I am an avid animal lover and know how hard things like these are – many hugs!
I hope you don’t feel guilty. You were amazing parents to her! I hope it makes you laugh a little, I watched the coco video and my dog started howling to. He always howls at sirens. I always wonder if its because it hurts their ears?
Thanks Nicole! That is funny that Bentley howled at the video. I have no clue why they do it but it’s cute!
I hope you are continuing to heal. Losing a beloved family member is so hard and moving on takes time. Our sweet beagle passed away in January, and I still get teary-eyed whenever I think about her.
Adpoting a puppy was a nice distraction from feeling sad, and Tina has brought us so much joy! A funny thing she does: whenever we are watching tv and there is a dog barking on a program, she will sniff and look around the speakers trying to find the dog! She’s even barked back a few times.
Thank you Elizabeth. It has been so hard but the good times we had with her are worth the hard times.
Tina sounds adorable! My dogs would do the same thing when the door bell rings on TV. They’re so silly! :)
It just happened that I was looking for a dog friendly beach in Tahoe so we can go this week and your website came up. I love both your dogs Coco and Gigi. My golden retriever is also called Gigi and i have another terrier. Even though both of my dogs are only 4 yrs old, I started to get anxious if they will get sick or one day they will go to the rainbow bridge all the time. Hope everything goes well for you now and best of luck!
Thank you, Amy. I always thought about losing her too and still missed some of the signs when she got sick. They can be so subtle. The best we can do is just appreciate every minute we have with them and it sounds like you do. :)
We were able to find a few pull outs as you drive northeast past Sand Harbor, toward the Nevada side of the lake. The one we went to didn’t have a sign or anything but there were a few cars and a little parking area. I hope you are able to find one and that you have a fun time!
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