My, how quickly things can change

Published 12:30 pm Thursday, August 28, 2025

It's funny the twists and turns life can take.

Not that long ago, in this very space I mused that I wasn't ready for another dog and didn't know if I ever would be. 

It was just April 25 when we had to say goodbye to Lady MacBeth (a.k.a. The Bug), my faithful companion of 11 years.

Sometimes the grief still comes back as visceral as it was in the moment.

Then, on August 12, Quinn Bender, our Kitimat Northern Sentinel reporter, submitted to me the story of Cocoa the wonder dog. As I edited that story, Cocoa's plight spoke to me.

Cocoa spent several days tangled in a running line after a fire near his home in an unspecified community. His leg was so injured and infected, vets had scheduled an amputation. 

But miraculously, Cocoa started to heal. And, by all reports, he was the happiest-go-lucky, most good-natured, friendliest, gentlest pup you would ever want to meet.

I looked at the pictures and those spoke to me as well. Could this be my new dog?

I still didn't know if I was ready, but I figured the story would generate a ton of interest from people wanting to adopt him, so I put in my application just in case and resolved, at the very least, to go visit him at the Kitimat Humane Society.

We went as a family and spent some time with him away from the shelter. Cocoa lived up to his advance billing. This is one chill dog.

The KHS, estimated he wouldn't be ready for adoption for about six weeks, so we decided to leave him until then before making a final decision and completing the adoption.

Then we found out, though, that because dogs tend to do better in a home than in a shelter, we could foster him until he was ready for adoption.

Long story short, Cocoa is now a resident of Prince Rupert.

Luckily, I've also spent the last few months editing Joe Griffith's Wags and Whiskers column, from which we picked up a ton of great tips for making a new dog feel safe and comfortable in a new home.

That, combined with Cocoa's natural personality, made the transition way smoother than I ever imagined possible. 

He has settled into the family as if he had always been a member.

We will be completing the adoption when he is healed.

The only thing is, I don't think he is my new dog. I heard somewhere that dogs pick their owners as much as owners pick their dogs.

This puppy definitely belongs to the 12-year-old in the household (and vice versa).