The Extraordinary Life of CoCo from Puppy Mill to Paris - Part 4

I apologize for not getting this out sooner. Time is flying . . . But I wanted to make sure to finish this lovely story of CoCo being my travel/adventure partner in my move to France. So here we are . . . With much practice I figured out how to maneuver 2 large suitcases, a backpack and CoCo's carrier with me on the long journey from Colorado Springs to Justian, France. She was considered my carry-on so she could be with me in the passenger area, but had to be under the seat in front of me for take-off and landing. I was able to upgrade my international segment so that I had an empty seat next to me and once we were in the air I was allowed to set her carrier on that seat and, while I couldn't take her out, I could unzip the top enough to fit my hand in there and reassure her that all was well. Yes, I had to pay to have her on the flight. And I had observed all the regulations that are required to take your dog overseas. But it was totally worth it! Because of poor planning on my part (at the time I thought it would be helpful to take stopovers rather than travel the 15 hours straight to get to SW France) it took us four days, four airports, three flight segments, four hotel rooms, planes, trains, taxis and finally my rental car before we arrived at our little rental cottage where we would live for seven glorious months! CoCo did so well with all of those changes and lack of a consistant schedule. She was my little trooper!! This was September of 2016.

I brought her bed and her carseat with us so she had some familiar things as we journeyed from Colorado Springs to Toulouse, France and then by car to Lassénat St Georges - our final destination. Everyday was a new adventure which we thoroughly enjoyed. I even loved all the crazy things that happened, like trying to open a bank account (they questioned my nationality even with showing them every bit of ID I had!), buying a car with an automatic transmission (those do not exist in France!), getting car and rental insurance (for a foreigner) It was certainly a learning curve and I couldn't have done it without the help of my wonderful landlords (who became my "famille française").

When CoCo and I arrived at the cottage for the first time we were greeted very warmly by Hélène and Giuseppe, and not so warmly by their three cats, Penny (la grande dame!), Kitty and baby Misty. The humans were happy to see us but the cats weren't sure what to make of CoCo. It didn't help that CoCo hated cats! After taking a few days to unpack the two suitcases I had brought and the two boxes of things I had mailed over before we left, we were ready to go exploring. So much to see in this part of France which used to be known as Gascony and only a couple of hours from the Pyrénées mountains and Spain.

Something that I loved doing every week was visiting the Thursday morning market in the nearby town of Eauze. This is by far the largest and best outdoor market in this area of SW France - everything from produce to farming equipment, linens to trees, books to kitchen tools. Any and every thing you could possibly need or want can be found at this year-round market. It was in visiting this market that I realized I needed a way to carry CoCo around with me and still have my arms free. She was so little that I didn't want to keep her on a leash in this really crowded area. I was afraid she would get stepped on! So I went in search of a purse that was large enough for her to sit in comfortably and would go cross-body. A clothing and accessory store in a nearby town had the perfect one! CoCo seemed very happy with it and "rode" quite easily in it never trying to jump out. A "win-win" for us both!

She went everywhere with me. When the weather was warm enough, we followed some walking paths through the forests and countrysides. We went shopping and on short over-night trips. In November we drove north to visit the Loire valley with its magnificent chateaux. We saw Fontevraud Abbey where Eleanor of Aquitaine, her husband Henry II and son Richard the Lionheart are buried. And we visited one of the most beautiful zoos anywhere - the Zoo de Beauval! And CoCo could come along everywhere -even to the zoo! The purse idea was so helpful! And it came in very handy when I started having visitors in January and February. The French are very dog-friendly and most businesses, including restaurants, are quite happy to welcome canines! One of the many things I love about France. In fact, many family run restaurants have their own dog who is the "greeter"! So as my visitors came and I wanted to show them as much of my little corner of France as I could, it was great to be able to bring CoCo along on some of those really long days. In February, my good friend, Beth arrived for three weeks of fun and adventure. I had planned a 5 day road-trip to Paris for part of her stay. It was Beth who coined the term "pooch in a pouch"! I loved it! Everyone in Paris fell in love with CoCo. The problem with that was that CoCo didn't like people and I would have to warn everyone who commented on how cute she was that she was not friendly: "elle n'est pas gentille!". Some of them didn't think I was serious and would reach out to her. I was very proud of her (and relieved!) that she never showed any aggression! whew!!

We came back to Colorado in March of 2017 after having an absolutely fabulous time, seeing and visiting places that I had long wanted to see, and making life-long friends. Our journey home was easy. We flew from Toulouse to Frankfort and then it was a direct flight from there to Denver where Beth was waiting to pick us up. CoCo spent about 15 hours total in her carrier and again was perfectly behaved. She did mellow some during the 11 years that I had her. She finally would let Andy give her treats (but not pet her!) That was progress, as far as I was concerned. There's no way of knowing the trauma that she had endured in the three years she was kept in a cage at the puppy mill. For those who did not know her story, they probably thought that she was a little crazy. I always tried to warn people about her possible aggressive behavior and it was an opportunity for me to educate people about the horrors of puppy mills. But, I know how far she had come. She had overcome so much. She was smart and beautiful and I still miss her everyday. I'm so thankful for Bella and Max - and now Gwinnie - all of them are puppy mill rescues. All of them have different stories. The best feeling in the world is adopting a shelter dog and knowing that you are giving them the life they deserve. Thank you for reading my blog. It means the world to me! Merci!! Now what will I write about???!!!