Sumter Times

Animal Services had another success story with Coco. Coco’s owner could no longer care for him; therefore, he surrendered him to Sumter County Animal Control in November 2021. 

As one could imagine, losing his home and surroundings was not easy. Once Coco got to the Animal Services facility, it was clear that he was suffering from high anxiety, and did not like things going over his head such as leashes and collars. Because of that, he was placed on behavior hold because Animal Services staff were not comfortable sending him out into public with how Coco felt about being handled.

However, all was not lost. Despite some rough patches, Coco settled in. “Once we were able to build up his confidence with the leash, we learned he was a great dog but he did not present well in his kennel,” said Monica Auci, manager, Sumter County Animal Services.

Coco liked to bark at anyone that passed by. While Coco could be saying “Hey, take me and give me a good home,” that is not how it came across. “Since being here, it only seemed to get worse,” Auci said. 

Despite his barking, Coco showed he had potential and was taken off behavior-hold. Eventually, Coco’s Guardian Angel came to visit. That Guardian Angel decided to take a chance on Coco and foster him. “We warned him about his short temper and not liking the leash, and he still wanted to try anyway,” Auci said. “It only took three days for them to fall in love.” 

And rather than just being a foster, Coco became a family member in his new home. Most importantly, Coco is happy. “He gets to hang out on the couch and go for walks,” Auci said, “He has been introduced to new dogs and is doing great. He loves his new home and they love him.”

The magic of a home and a little bit of love is all it usually takes. Fostering is an integral part of healing and getting back to a more normal and better life for most animals. Workers and volunteers at Sumter County Animal Services work very hard, especially with dogs to make them adoptable, but the best medicine is getting back into a home. If interested in fostering or adopting, visit https://www.sumtercountyfl.gov/foster or https://www.sumtercountyfl.gov/adopt.

Original source can be found here.