EVERETT — Coco the German Shepherd is, warm, dry and well-fed after months of scavenging that led her from her former Monroe home to a Gold Bar forest road.
The scraggly German Shepherd, only a year old, is about 20 pounds underweight but expected to make a full recovery under the care of The Everett Animal Shelter.
From barely surviving the recent snowstorms to becoming an overnight canine celebrity, Coco’s fortunes reversed thanks to the intuition of a Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputy and a local logger’s lunch.
Deputy Ron Doersch was nearing the end of his shift in Index when intuition prompted him to divert to Gold Bar according to Sheriff’s Department officials. Driving along Reiter Road, Doersch spotted an emaciated dog in the woods. The German Shepherd was a pitiful sight, its fur matted in places, missing in others, abrasions on its skin and ribs protruding.
Despite her condition, the ailing dog was wary of the deputy’s efforts to coax her over. Luckily for both, nearby truckers who were hauling logs for Buck Thoms Trucking stopped to help.
While more people might have scared the dog further, one of the men knew how to win her over.
The man handed his sandwich to Doersch and the starving Shepherd couldn’t resist.
With her sandwich secured, Coco took what might’ve been her first warm car ride in months to the vet’s.
After a brief stay at Snohomish’s Pilchuck Animal Hospital, Coco was stabilized and transported to her current home at the Everett Animal Shelter on Feb. 8.
While being examined, rescuers discovered that Coco was microchipped and staff was able to contact her Monroe owners with the happy news. They learned that Coco had been away from home since September.
While she recuperates, Coco is enjoying being warm, clean, and nursed back to health with regular meals and a steady supply of TLC. She is expected to stay with the shelter at least a month while her skin infection and mange are treated, and will probably be fostered, said shelter director Glynis Frederiksen.
In good news for Coco’s thousands of new fans, one of them will have the chance to adopt. Coco’s former family has surrendered her to the shelter where she can receive the best care and help finding her a new forever home.
The Everett Animal Shelter welcomes donations to help care for Coco and the many other rescues they house at www.everettwa.gov/170/Donating-to-the-Shelter
