The first time I ever heard about PWD’s was when I met Cocoa. That was about six years ago, my daughter brought him over to our house by the Bay in Mill Valley Ca. I fell in love with him instantly, and was always happy to house sit him when his family had to travel. A year later, my Doctor prescribed a Dog for my high blood pressure to get me out more away from my computersand robots. Well, my wife stated “been there done that” and we didn’t get a dog until my daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer right before her wedding in southern France. She demanded that we get a dog upon return as that would be something to look forward to, rather than dwell on the negative of chemotherapy and the cancer. My wife switched her outlook and agreed, and there would be no doubt about the type of dog to get, it would be Cocoa’s breed, a portuguese water dog.
By the time she was done with the chemo, about 3 months after the wedding, Goji arrived from a breeder. It was not long before we saw the challenges a pwd puppy presents, and it was no normal docile family dog. It was a demanding human like breed with real emotions and high intelligence. He is super social, and I never imagined that a dog could stir so much excitement on anybody he met, be them dog lovers or not. Update on my daughter, there has been no signs of cancer since, it’s been over 4 years. It was caught very early, and surgery was minimal.
This breed needs much socialization, and needs to be around humans. It seems they best get along with other PWD’s, and we would switch often with Cocoa’s family every few days. They had constant play dates.
Now Goji is 4 years old. Cocoa’s family had to suddenly move to Singapore from Tiburon California. We were asked to take care of Cocoa while they arranged his migration to Singapore. He would need to be in quarantine possibly 30 days there!
It took over two months for them to get the kennel reservation and necessary papers, and after our move to Terra Linda, San Rafael, California Cocoa departed for Singapore. He is a good traveler, has been in planes, and always loved to be in my van. Goji, on the other hand, shakes and quivers in the car, and is a bad traveler, hates boats more than anything, who knows why? there is no reason from this incarnation.
Cocoa’s 16 hour plane trip was successful. Cocoa will only have a ten day quarantine because the USA vets supplied the necessary shots and paperwork, the family has visited him while incarcerated, and all will be fine. But we miss Cocoa a lot, and though Goji cannot say it, he must miss him a lot too. It was amazing to see the two together, with the same gestures, playful attitude, habits, likes and dislikes.