Anna the dog

[TheRealKW]

I see you have sensibly ditched your Jesus sandles.

[cyrille]

Good to see Dan back in action.

[Mendip]

^A plank, a good sense of balance, and a sharp command of mush! Just a thought..

When I lived in the UK it was always a dream to get a few huskies and do the husky racing. There's a club that has meets in a different area each weekend. They use sleds with wheels but I'm syre I can knock something up for our guys... an old pram maybe. I'll look into this.

I see you have sensibly ditched your Jesus sandles.

We've had a lot of rain and I don't want to ruin them... I still save my proper sandals for best. My usual attire when out and about is jeans, a smart short-sleeved shirt and smart sandals... I looked well cool at The Mall for lunch today.

Good to see Dan back in action.

Yes thanks, it really is excellent to see Dan back on her food and wanting to come walking again. She's a bit doddery on her feet so she gets her own sedate walk each day wthot getting pulled all over the place by the others. That picture with all six was just for the photo op, after that the daughter took Dan while I had the other five. Didn't seem fair really...

[strigils]

Mendip, hook the pack up to a turnspit wheel and heath robinson that to a pond paddle, two problems solved

[CalEden]

... but I spend more time untangling leads than walking.

Just like your net throwing skills!

[Shutree]

proper sandals

Oxymoron

[Mendip]

^ I think we just have to agree to disagree on this one!


Anna joined us on our walk today but got too close to the nest of a pair or red wattled lapwings. They started mobbing her and Anna was most upset.

[Mendip]

I had an update from Nong Khai today.

For all those wondering how Cooper and Maddy are getting on up near the Laos border... rest assured that they're doing just fine.

I reckon these two have landed on their paws...

[CalEden]

Looking much larger too!

[strigils]

^ Yes, we demand Gallowspole provides their daily Fitbit readouts to prove they are getting walkies.

[Mendip]

Today is April 26^th 2021.

This is the 116^th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (117^th in leap years) and is World Intellectual Property Day. In 1986 the world’s worst nuclear disaster at the Cherobyl Nuclear Power Plant started on April 26^th, and in 1994 China Airways Flight 140 crashed at Nagaya Airport, Japan, killing 264 people on the same date.

In 1956, Kathleen Norris Stark was born on April 26^th. She is of course better known as Koo Stark and met and started dating Prince Andrew (or 'Randy Andy' as he was then known) in 1981… but the relationship was doomed to failure with her being a mature 26 years old.



But bollocks to all that!

On April 26^th, exactly one year ago today, Coco turned up at our back gate, half-starved and close to death. She looked to be around 4 or 5 months old but was so skinny and underweight it was hard to tell.



And here she is a year later… a happy, healthy, wonderful little dog.



But it’s been quite a journey…

When Coco turned up, she was obviously starving and had been abused. She was covered in cuts and scrapes and was in a pitiful state. She was also absolutely riddled with parasites.

So what can ya do?

I swore the daughter to secrecy and we brought Coco in… it was quite safe on a Sunday with the wife welded to the Sunday afternoon fare of Thai slap stick ‘comedy’ shows.

At first Coco wouldn’t eat or drink, so first thing was to get some fluids down her. I've noticed before that dogs sometimes just give up when they reach a certain stage... you have to force them to carry on.



And then she was covertly issued a cardboard box in the garage with a range of foods. Fish is always good for a starved dog and yet again we were saved by some Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie tins. We kept our four resident dogs out of the way and prepared to nurse Coco back to health.



The next morning we had a catastrophe… Coco had disappeared from the garage. She was so malnourished and underweight she had squeezed through a gap at the edge of the sliding gate. She was about half the weight she should have been.



I’d blocked the gap off with a tower of bricks but they lay on the floor in a pile. There were two directions she could have taken… outside to the unknown or inside to the garden and safety...

I took Max and hunted around the vacant land outside with no success and thought we had lost her, just when it looked as though she’d had a chance. As we dejectedly walked back to the house I heard the wife scream… I knew we hadn’t run out of rice so was mystified, but soon found out what had happened… the dogs in the garden had dived into some undergrowth and the wife had thought they’d found a snake… but it was Coco cowering under a tangle of weeds. The secret was out!

I tried the old, ‘Wow, where did she come from’ routine but the wife saw straight through it, and unbeknown to me had found the cardboard box and smorgasbord in the garage anyway. I was waiting for the, ‘it’s me or the dog’ ultimatum, but sadly it never came. The wife gave Coco a frosty look and stomped back into the house… there was telly to watch.

Coco had passed her first hurdle.

The next hurdle, apart from getting Coco to take food, was to get her accepted by our four resident dogs. Life also had to go on of course and at the time we had a litter of five white puppies we’d brought in and were awaiting homes. I thought they’d maybe cheer Coco up a bit, but she just dejectedly looked at the floor and showed no interest in life at all. She’d had a very poor start in life… neglected, starved and abused… sadly the lot in life for many of Isaan’s dogs.



What she needed was a lot of TLC… and who better to provide that than my daughter, at home during lockdown and home schooling. What a great experience for her as well... it's not all about academia. She gradually introduced Coco to our resident dogs, all the time giving her love and affection. Tommy and Yogi were no problem… and why became clear a few months later. Yogi especially is despicable.



Coco sensed that Dan was the boss and knew that once Dan accepted her, she would be safe. It’s amazing how a puppy can work this stuff out. In the daytime we let Coco mix with the pack and she would always stay just a couple of yards away from Dan… staring at the ground trying to be invisible and completely submissive, but all the time allowing Dan to get used to her. Dan just ignored her.



Sometimes all four dogs would walk past her and she would just stare at the ground.



But she continued to work on Dan.



All the time getting much needed love and affection from my wonderful daughter! Coco was obviously very uneasy about receiving attention and affection... a completely new experience for her.



After a couple of weeks, it was time to let Coco sleep with the others… before this point we’d kept her separated at night in case of any problems. She was still an outsider, but you could see she wanted to sleep with the rest and be a proper member of the pack.



And so she prepared to spend her first night unsupervised with the pack. A big occasion.



And from then on she went from strength to strength. Maybe the time alone with the pack enabled her to sort things out in her own way. She was still the newcomer, but now stayed full time with the others, participated in pack activities such as barking at the postman and she started walking with a small spring in her step. She was finally showing some interest in life.



However, she remained very lethargic and dejected so went to the vet. A blood test showed she had a potentially lethal blood parasite that originates from ticks so she went on a long course of antibiotics, and this was the turning point. Finally… after a few weeks she started to play!

Yogi was first to play with her, although as time would tell he doubtless had an ulterior motive.



With her improvement in health, Coco’s playful nature shone through and she started to become the centre of attention…



… which could get a bit annoying at times.



And now that she'd been accepted and was looking like staying, she was put through the strict training schedule we apply for all new dogs.





It wasn’t only Dan that Coco had to work on… there was also Max, our second in command... but he was a piece of cake.



And she finally won Dan over. I have never seen Dan accept another dog in this way, especially not another bitch. Coco had worked her magic.



And it wasn’t a case of just being accepted… Dan actively sought out Coco for some affection… maybe she looked on Coco as being the daughter she never had.



Coco had been accepted by the wife and our pack of dogs but there was one final hurdle to cross.

I eventually relented and let her join my select circle of drinking buddies...



From then on things went from strength to strength. She soon started joining me around town…



… we dined together in Korat’s top places including Chez Andy’s famous Swiss restaurant.



And then the incredible happened… overnight she became an internet sensation and brought joy to countless people around the globe.

Where's Coco?

She became instantly recognisable on the streets of Korat.



However this brought its own problems and Coco soon decided to retire from public life and concentrate on the family.

Coco was growing up and her hormones were kicking in. She had to get her priorities right. She had a big choice to make.

Tommy and Yogi started to look at her in a new way and she caused a rivalry between them that had never existed before.



Tommy was firsts to make his move while Yogi looked on.



And just in the nick of time they were separated.



But all the time Yogi was working quietly, behind the scenes.



Eventually Coco had to be separated at night… they just couldn’t be trusted.



And soon things became so bad she had to be separated in the daytime as well. The sexual tension reached fever pitch.



But try as he might, Yogi just couldn’t get to Coco…



Yogi was fit to explode with frustration…



And then one fateful morning it happened… a momentary lapse... a gate left ajar, a small squeal from the pond area… and disaster had happened.

In a flash Yogi had done the deed and poor Tommy was left to watch.



Tommy’s no quitter but there was no way in.



There was only one thing for it… Coco left in disgrace.



But she was only off to the vet!

She returned a couple of days later minus some woman's bits and has lived happliy ever after with us and her pack.



She is a much-loved member of the family and pack, a wonderful foster mum when we bring in puppies and now that young Maya has joined us, she’s getting the puppyhood she never had.



Coco and Maya are inseparable and our poor old outside sofa is getting another beating.



It’s just hour after hour of endless play. How lovely to see such a happy dog... a dog who was scared to lift her eyes from the ground a year ago.





Coco really has never put a paw wrong. Give these dogs a chance and they’ll reward you in spades. It is of course a great feeling to rescue a dog with no chance, but it is absolutely wonderful to see the happiness in these dog’s lives. Coco just never stops smiling.



Happy one year anniversary Coco!

You can relax now… you have a home for life.

Sleep easy.

[TheRealKW]

Bloody brilliant story mate!

[Shutree]

Coco does have a happy face. Lucky dog.

[strigils]

Great effort Mendip and Mini-mendip, she's a cracking little dog. A year, good Lord how time has flown, she's coped with the Pandemic better than some and even still has access to a pool.

[Mendip]

^ Coco is one of the few who's benefited from Covid.

If I was away at work as I should have been, there is no way Der Kommanda... I mean the wife would have let her in.

She'd be bones by now.

[strigils]

She'd be bones by now.

I forgot what a sorry state she was in, sadly there are many out there but not around Baān Mendip

[barrylad66]

nice one mendip.

[Looper]

Great story, cheers

[hallelujah]

Brilliant story, Mendip. Coco clearly has her admirers and I wonder if you'll have the same issues with Maya and the boys in the pack.

[Mendip]

^ We surely will... Yogi and Tommy are just biding their time. Maya will get her trip to the vets in due course.


Maya and Coco have become inseparable and it's lovely to see.

It's just non-stop play... although I think Coco may be getting a bit worried that she's bitten off more then she can chew... Maya has already outgrown Coco and I think she has a long way to go yet.



And they sleep together on this old mat.



In fact they're together so much my daughter asked me if they're lesbians... and she's only nine... I'm gonna have to start monitoring her surfing history.

Maya isn't completely perfect though... she dug this hole yesterday. Does anyone know if dogs can sense electricity? I know they have incredible senses and this seemed like too much of a coincidence.

[VocalNeal]

In fact they're together so much my daughter asked me if they're lesbians...

Ask her if she plays with boys at school? Likely not. So it is the same with young dogs.

[Mendip]

It's been a good week with the dogs.

Maya had her final visit to the vet... she's been on anti-biotics for a month and the blood test this week showed normal results - the white blood cell, red blood cell and platelet count were normal and the blood parasites have gone.



Now that I've been home for over three months Yogi is finally becoming more trusting. I think he must have been abused before finding his way to us and he hates to be touched. H
Strangely he always likes to be with company and sometimes howls before I get up, but always sits just out of reach... put your and out and he backs off a yard every time. Mind you, I'm not a touchy person either and I hate massages. I don't even like the wife touching me unless it's going somewhere.

Anyway, Yogi will now sit next to me every time. It's great to see him becoming more trusting.



Some people say he's not the prettiest of dogs but I love him to bits. He loves a snuggle.

[strigils]

Some people say he's not the prettiest of dogs but I love him to bits. He loves a snuggle.

A stray with no history and IMO the hardest you have, he's going great guns Mendip.

If i had to chose two dogs it would be Yogi and Coco, one it would be Yogi but you'd have to have him young, he'd never home somewhere else now. All i can say is you are a great foster dad.