Co-Co. Over the rainbow bridge.

Sorry, long, but I got to get it out.

Co-Co was a young chocolate Cocker Spaniel that we took over care of from someone who wasn’t properly caring for him several years ago. A strictly outside dog that had been chained to a post his whole life at that time. One hot summer day I saw him with no water or food and a blistered, sunburned nose because he had no place to get out of the sun, or rain. We ask and were given permission to adopt him. We had him a nice covered cage that I wrapped tarps around three sides of every winter leaving peep holes so he still had a 360 degree view of the yard. I put him up a 100 foot long zip line to run on with a 30 foot lead. That gave him a run area of 100 feet by 60 feet in the back yard with plenty of shade. I kept his pen and area sprayed for ticks and fleas and his cage clean and dry with shavings. I let him out on the line every morning if not raining. My wife fed him and put him up every night. He had a thermostatically controlled heater in his dog house that he could access at all times as needed. I monitored the temp via a wireless indoor outdoor thermometer and keep it between 50 and 60 degrees in winter. I had a heater in his water bucket to prevent it from freezing. Most of the grandkids grew up around him. My wife trimmed him with scissors in the summer and he would sit still for her to do it.

Every year about this time I would cover his house and the open entrance with old carpet or such to keep the cold wind out and the heat in. Always worked perfectly. So as usual about two weeks ago I did that again, a couple of days before we left for a week of vacation.

Apparently the carpet was beginning to unravel on the edge, something I missed.

Poor Co-Co. Apparently, at some point entering or exiting his house he ran his head through some of the unraveled strands of carpet, thus initiating a fight for his life that he lost, eventually twisting it tight enough to strangle himself in an attempt to get free. To make matters worse it was my 17 yr old Grandson that found him, had to cut him out and bury him as we were out of town. He was coming over daily to check on the house and feed Co-Co and the cat for us.

Yes, he was 18 years old
Yes, he was completely deaf but still a good watch dog, barking only at anything out of the ordinary.
Yes, he was diagnosed with hart worms ~6 years ago and given 3 years max to live at that time.
Yes he had gotten mean in his old age and would bite anyone including the kids, except me and my wife.

But damn, he didn’t deserve to die that way.
And it’s all my fault…
I am crushed. My wife was even more attached to him than I was but I will admit I pretty much cried myself to sleep the night they called to tell us.

God I hope his demise was quick.
Worst experience… by far… I’ve ever had with a pet.
And it’s all my fault…
Damn.

Thanks for listening...

Old photo.
The grandson in this photo petting Co-Co is now 10 years old.

That's just awful. I'm sorry, man.

Really sad. Prayers sent.

Agree it is a sad story. But you did right by him in the long run. Every day he lived was a gift for him. And you gave him the gift.

quote:

And it’s all my fault…
Damn.

No it wasn't, it was an accident. No matter how tragic or sad it was, it was an accident.

I'm so very sorry for your loss, please don't make it harder on yourself than it needs to be.

You have my condolences. Impossible as it seems you need to forgive yourself. This accident was not your fault.

This isn’t your fault. You took in a pup and saved him and brought him back from the edge.
Thank you for taking care of that dog!

I am sure that words mean little in this and I am sorry for your loss. But your blaming yourself as if you were negligent. Negligent means you did less than a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances. I say that you did far more than most would have done for this animal turned family member. Its an accident, plain and simple. There is no fault here. Life doesn't always allow us to be a 24X7 lifeguard for a pet. Its a bad deal and my heart goes out to you.

Be thankful for the wonderful time you did give co-co.

Everthing Timdogg6 said.

You just described a better "outside life" than alot of dogs I have encountered have inside, with the people that they cohabitate with.

Yes, Co-Co went out difficult, but he had a GOOD LIFE thanks to you.

That Good Life IS your fault. Not how he went out.

Try and reflect on the Life you gave him. Not how he passed from it.

cparktd, I'm very sorry about Co-Co. Please try to forgive yourself & reflect on the good you did for him over the course of his time with you.

Very sorry about Co Co,
He lived a good life after you rescued him

I teared up reading this post, knowing how you feel but the others are right about the fact that you cannot and should not blame yourself. I was in awe of the things you did to make sure that, even as an outdoor dog, he was extremely comfortable and cared for. Take solace in the fact that you took him from a miserable life and made him the center of yours.

On the 'Fun pictures/memes thread' I believe there is a cartoon of the Pearly Gates. On the right is a long, long line of people standing in front of St. Peter trying to get into Heaven. On the left is an open gate with dogs just running in with big old smiles on their faces.

That's where Co Co went into Heaven.

“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” ― Will Rogers

The reality in this is that, by rescuing Co Co from the terrible existence he was living BEFORE your took him into your heart and home, you and your family gave him a quality and length of life he never would have lived otherwise.

Good boy, Co Co. RIP.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

Coco thanks you for the great life you gave him.

Despite the horrible accident, and no it was not your fault, he will be waiting for you "tail wagging".

Sorry for your loss.

Sad news! Things like this happen all the time. I have seen dogs chained to trees who jumped a fence and ended up hanging themselves.

You can go crazy trying to anticipate everything and every possibility. You gave Coco love and a good home and that's all you can do.

So sorry for you loss.

You saved Co-Co from a miserable life and gave him many good years of love and care. What happened was a fluke, and absolutely not your fault in any way.

I like h2oys's take on the matter and think that if there's an afterlife for both people and their pets, Co-Co will be the first to joyfully greet you when your time comes.

Not your fault ,unless you did this on purpose ( which I doubt !!).

Never forget...that this was an accident !! Not intentional... CoCo was lucky to have found you.

Take care, mike