i’ve had lots of emails asking for coco photos - apparently they have a magical ability to cheer people up. With that in mind i’ve put this extra page in the website though It’s not business related in the least.

Click at the slideshow button above to view them at full size. Feel free to use any of the photos for desktop images or screensaver shots but please email and ask for permission for using them on anything else.

Coco’s story:

Coco is a Bichon Frisé who i’ve been lucky enough to have for the last 5 years.

A show dog in her youth she won the australian national championship. However after that her owners went through a messy divorce and she was beaten badly. As she’d been through such an ordeal she couldn’t be shown anymore and rather than keep her the remaining owner gave her back to the breeder. Coco was then used for breeding and had 20 puppies in two years, living in a corrugated iron shed with concrete floor with no more then a couple of minutes a day ‘people time’ - basically only when she was fed.

When I did a ring around to try and find a bichon to love there were no puppies so I asked about adults. She’d just gone through a cesarean section on her last litter so was no longer able to be used for breeding. When I first saw her all her paws were urine stained and around her mouth had saliva staining from constant licking. It took us 3 weeks before I could pat her without her flinching and cowering low to the ground it was incredibly sad to watch.

However since then she’s grown in confidence and has me wrapped around her paw(s). She’s the most wonderful dog and I give thanks for her every single day. When I first got her I was still spending a lot of time horizontal after a bad back fracture and I really needed a dog who would be happy to spend her day laying next to me getting lots of pats and who could tolerate only very short walks as that was something that still hurt a lot.

Thanks to coco I started to build up my walking and her having such a ridiculous walk (she kind of swaggers swinging her hips from side to side walking with a purpose with her tail so tightly curled) gave me a distraction and made me laugh. She is such a delight to watch and we now go for long walks most days and even though I no longer have to lay down often she manages to get more then her fair share of cuddle time.

Even after 3 years coco still has lots of personality problems caused by fear - she’s so scared of any little click (like the closing of a make up compact) that she will jolt and then run away tail between her legs. She still spends too much of her day hiding under my bed right in the middle with the bed skirt creating a dark ‘safe’ space and the cutlery draw and dishwasher are apparently very scarey things! (as is the clink of cutlery on plates when eating.)

She’s also had a ton of health issues– not long after I got her we found that she had bladder stones of a type which are quite rare especially in female dogs. Her body produces too much calcium so now things like bones and chicken wings etc are off limits and she has to eat a specific brand of prescription food. Even with these and other problems and my visa card often filling beyond control with the associated vet costs she’s been the best thing I have ever done.

Bichons are a strange breed anyway as they tend to be both cheeky and very intelligent (coco has been caught making a bridge out of a big cushion to get from the couch to the coffee table when there was food left on top).

When she gets excited she runs with all four legs out at 90 degrees from her body, all going up and down at once - it’s a little like a manic four limbed bunny hop! it’s totally ridiculous and I have no idea why she does it only then but it makes me laugh every time.

I hope you enjoy her photos!