Cocoa’s story is actually more of a miracle than a tail, or rather tale. Cocoa came to the attention of the local Sheriff’s Department of Corydon, IA in November 2006. She had been abandoned, locked in a house for nearly three weeks. The little chocolate Lab was obviously pregnant when she arrived at the Corydon, IA Veterinary Clinic. Dubbed Hot Cocoa by Ann Heise, she became the special project of Dr. Cassandra Krenz, DVM. Her age was estimated at 1-2 years. An ultra sound showed six puppies. Her story went out over the internet to Lab people across the country.
Pru Konley of Dent, MN picked up the cause and orchestrated a relay from Corydon to Detroit Lakes, MN. Cocoa arrived at Lucky Dog on Saturday, December 9, 2006. She was very pregnant but in surprisingly good shape considering her ordeal. As a noisy, busy kennel was not a good environment for whelping a litter of puppies, Hot Cocoa was moved to the Wiedewitsch farm. There Pru Konley and Linda Wiedewitsch traded off the night shifts of monitoring her progress. Mary Holsen took the Wednesday night shift and delivered the first puppy at 4:45 a.m. on Thursday, December 14. By 6 a.m. there were six puppies, three black, three chocolate, three males, three females. We congratulated Cocoa on a beautiful litter of puppies. Cocoa, however was not done and went on to add another five black females to the group.
The puppies weighed in between 12 and 15 ounces and were strong and healthy. Cocoa took to motherhood like a pro, treating the pups gently. Although she only weighted 48 pounds after whelping she managed to consume two cans plus 9-11 cups of dry food per day. Cocoa watched visitors very closely when they were around the pups, however willingly allowed her caregivers to handle and care for the pups as needed. Although they started life on the small side, the pups grew fast and developed right on schedule. They progressed through all the milestones of opening their eyes, finding their voices, waddling, sitting, wrestling and running without a hitch. Through five weeks of nursing eleven puppies Cocoa managed to gain two pounds and improve her coat condition.
Many people participated in the rescue of Cocoa and her puppies. Starting in Iowa with Dr. Krenz and her clinic staff, through the relay to Detroit Lakes with Brad and Beth Hammon from New Virginia, IA to Bob and Ann Heise from Rochester, MN to Pru Konley from Dent, MN to her stay with Lucky Dog owners Mary Holsen and Linda Wiedewitsch, the support was incredible. The Wiedewitsch family including Archie, Laura, Jessi and Linda with weekly help from Pru handled the feeding, cleaning and cuddling. WDAY/Channel 6 of Fargo, ND covered Cocoa’s story on the evening news, prompting a flurry of phone calls offering adoptive homes. Cash donations were sent by Miriam Wade, Michelle Clifton, Brad and Beth Harman, Marlene Fondrick, Carrie Carlson, John and Marcia McEachran, Mitch Brunsdale and Diane Snyder with addresses ranging from Minnesota to Iowa, North Dakota, Vermont and Georgia. TRIAD and FM105.1, Fargo, ND granted a Christmas Wish of $250 for Cocoa and her Marshmallows. Mitch Finn and Nutro Products donated 80 pounds of puppy food. Dr. Krenz donated the puppies first vaccinations plus Pyrantal, Heartgard, Frontline and a bag of food for Cocoa. Pru Konley donated the use of her whelping box and associated puppy equipment in addition to supplying Cocoa with Swanson’s chicken broth by the quart. Pru also photographed Cocoa’s family weekly and posted their progress on the internet. Team Cocoa, aka Ken Bora and Ann Heise picked up Pru’s messages and kept everyone informed how Cocoa and her Marshmallows were doing.
All of Cocoa’s puppies have since gone on to be adopted…but there have been more mothers and puppies…and mothers and kittens…and a need for a way to help them had to be answered.
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