All Things Dog Blog

RESCUING ROVER, 1st edition

by Elizabeth Glavin

(c) E. Glavin, all rights reserved
Meet Cocoa-Latte

Meet my toy poodle, Cocoa-Latte. My mom and I adopted Cocoa after babysitting her over a long weekend for our neighbors. Our neighbors had two dogs and Cocoa had this cute way of jumping in your face and she just begged for attention. It was obvious she wanted to be rescued by us! Well, we were right! Two weeks later, my mom and I spent the whole day shopping for our dog that would be arriving late that night. We got her a pink bed, pink shirts, pink collars, toys; you name it- we bought it! Little did I know that this would be one of the last fun outings with my mom.

A few months later my mom was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. Me being in a college dorm room, and my mom being on chemo, we weren’t really in shape to take care of a puppy. Needless to say, Cocoa went to live with my grandparents. We knew the outcome was not good, but I would still drive 60 miles each way to bring Cocoa to see my dying mother- it truly brought a smile to her face! When my mom passed, her husband let me have one thing of hers--Cocoa. Normally one would be upset that I didn’t get her expensive purses, lavish jewelry (Did I mention she had a 6 carat engagement ring?), or meaningful pictures, but I was thrilled to just have Cocoa.

When people ask me why I love my dog so much, I just reply that Cocoa was my mother’s. I even think my mom loved Cocoa more than she loved her only daughter! I take extra special care of Cocoa because I know that’s what my mom would want. She gets her special organic dog food, plenty of exercise (got to love those dog parks and early morning walks!), and goes to the groomers monthly. I love my little poodle to the moon and back!
(c) photos courtesy of E. Glavin
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For toy poodle adoptions available in your area, visit Adopt-a-Pet's Poodle locater page for information and search functions that will help you locate just the right poodle for you. You can also use this widget to find an available poodle in your area:

Congratulations, Elizabeth, for winning our contest and becoming the first guest writer in our RESCUING ROVER reader column. Elizabeth and Cocoa have won a matching collar, leash and key chain set provided by Lupine Leads for our contest.

Thanks, Lupine! We love your support, and so do our readers. Let's make it easy for them to show it. Click on your favorite and you can buy it right here, right now, in your pup's size:

Want to Write for RESCUING ROVER?
I invite you, my readers, to sharpen your pencil and herd up your computer and pictures to join Elizabeth and Cocoa. For more information, v

isit my earlier post, Rescuing Rover: Your Column for Rescue and Adoption Stories. We're all waiting to hear the amazing story of your canine family. Do it now!

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