Cocoa #15 Chocolate Labrador Retriever Female 8 Years Old ID #3379

Meet Cocoa!  She is a friendly and happy 8 year old chocolate breeding Mama. Cocoa finally got her freedom ride off of the farm after many years of producing puppies.  Her breeder surrendered her to the rescue as they no longer wanted to use her for breeding.  Please read her blog from the bottom up to learn more about her time in foster care.

May 5, 2025

Meet chocolate beauty Cocoa, an 8 yr. young former breeder Mama who is loving life off the farm!
Cocoa is your typical sweet Lab, who still has a lot of energy and loves to play fetch, chew on furry toys, take long walks and explore all of the wonderful smells! This girl loves her car rides and will happily go with you anywhere you want to take her. She is fine with free roam when you are gone, but is delighted when you return! Cocoa loves her peeps and loves spending time with them!
She is a bit dog selective. She is currently living with another laid back dog and does well, but she would also love being the center of attention. She has met a kitten and just been curious, but slow introductions would need to be done.
Cocoa is very smart and learns quickly. She is also very food motivated, so a quick study. She loves being outside, so a more rural setting would suit her best.

Do you have room in your home and your heart for this sweet girl?

January 2, 2024

Happy New Year!  Well with the new year came some new changes.

I am still waiting for my forever home, but unfortunately my foster home had a change in circumstances and I am looking for a new foster home while I wait for my forever home.In the mean time, I’m hanging out at Kamp.  I’ve got to go on a couple walks, and I love exploring the big yard.  I’ve been told that I am pretty good on the leash and that I am “super sweet!” Hopefully that means I’ll find my forever home real soon!

December 17, 2023

Cocoa showing off her holiday spirit

December 4, 2023

Cocoa here!  It was a dreary rainy day here but I convinced foster Mom that we needed to do our dog walk anyway.  I got to break out the rain gear too!  How stylish am I with my red dog rain jacket?  I think it’s very slimming too!

We got back and much to my surprise Chewy delivered on Sunday! More treats for me!  I inspected the box and cleared it for opening by foster Mom.

I keep working on my social graces with the cat and I am still trying to figure out when she wants to play and what makes those claws come out?!  We speak a different language but she seems like she is coming around to me – I just want to be friends!

With all the Christmas activities and rush going on I am hoping to find my furever home in time for the holidays. I’d love a home where I can be active and have other dogs to play with too. A fenced yard would be nice and I love, love car rides and dog walks.

I think I’d make a pretty sweet addition for any family ready for an active adult that also settles down nicely for snuggle time and loves to sleep in  – I am just not a morning dog so I take a little coaxing to get up in the morning.

November 24, 2023

Cocoas week included a sweet connection with the resident kitten. It’s been several weeks with both Cocoa and the kitten in the same house and great measures have been taken to avoid an interaction and conflict. Both the kitten and Cocoa have become increasingly curious about each other. It became evident today as the cat peered through the cracked door that it was time for an intro. So, they have been more formally introduced and shared the wet nose moment pictured here.

It seems that we are close to a peaceful co- existence which is fitting for this week and in keeping with the geopolitical headlines between China and the US. Seriously though, she is continuing to acclimate and adapt while relaxing more and more each week in a residential environment. She will do best in a home that loves the interaction of playing ball and daily walks. She is a very active 8 year old lab. Don’t be fooled, Cocoa is also an excellent snuggler on the couch and will settle right into a full snore in minutes! Cocoa can’t wait to meet her forever home.

November 5, 2023

Cocoa has had an exciting and productive month in foster care.  First, she has had a successful spay and mass removal.  Her recovery from the procedure was smooth and her biopsy of the mass was all clear!  This farm girl has made so much progress since her arrival in BLLR foster care.  Cocoa’s personality has blossomed as she has become more at ease with her surroundings and made the transition to residential living.

Top priority for Cocoa after the surgery and recovery was to learn house training.  She had some fits and starts but we are pleased to say she has been 100% accident free for just over a week.  Routine has been a true cornerstone to her progression.  A routine in the AM and PM bathroom breaks before meals is working perfectly.  Foster life for Cocoa also includes daily walks – two walks a day on the good days!  She walks nicely on a leash and pulls only when she sees other animals or people.  With a little more practice, we are confident that she will develop strong canine manners. Some of cocoas favorite things are tennis balls, raw bones and she hasn’t met any dog treats that she didn’t love!  From trainer treats to milk bones they are all a hit with Cocoa! She has learned to retrieve the tennis ball reliably and continues getting better with “give.”  She will sit and lay for treats too!

Cocoa is smart, sweet, and loving and just wants to please.  She currently is exposed to a kitten in the household, she a strong desire to chase, and naturally the kitten has no time for Cocoa.   All visitors to our household have been humans and she has accepted everyone with a wagging tail including various chewy delivery people.

Cocoa is looking for her forever home and the best match for Cocoa includes more patience, a solid routine, more training, and lots of interaction with people.  Other animals may require some time to acclimate.

October 8, 2023

Sunday – Day 2

Day two was a chance for another nice long dog walk where cocoa could focus on her leash manners.  About half way through the walk we had some slack in the lead and she seems to be catching on.  Big win for farm girl Cocoa who may not have experienced a leash before.  She loves the car ride to the walking path!

She also returned home to spend some time outside on the deck.  She showed off her ingenuity by pulling the deck box filled with cushions across the deck. Her plans for an escape were foiled because we were with her on the other end of the leash!  Comical to see this little crafty girl pull the deck box out of her way.  She was determined!

She is quite smart and very attentive to deer in the woods, the neighbors’ dogs, and our kitten.  The kitten is watching through the deck doors with great reluctance and hissing.  Cocoa isn’t sure what to make of the kitten with the large tail!

She is taking her pills in liverwurst without trouble.  She has eaten some dry kibble and likes her mini trainer treats.  A little more work on some basic commands today.

She loves sleeping in the crate and is having no issues at night. We are still working on the house training.  It’s a work in progress.

In all a great second day for Cocoa #15!

October 7, 2023

Cocoa had a great first day.

She was a little anxious on arrival but settled in nicely.  We are using a crate for her until we can assess her house training. As a farm dog she does not know potty training rules yet.  She has eaten a little kibble but not much.  She is drinking water and had a normal bowel movement.

Her demeanor is very pleasant and happy.  She has a sweet disposition.

She did well on a dog walk.  For being new to walking on a leash, I am pleased to see that while she pulled hard at first, she quickly figured out how to walk on the path and at a reasonable rate.  With some routine and regular leash walking practice, I think she will shape up nicely.

Now for the down side.  Cocoa is the 8 year old lab with a vaginal polyp. This is going to require a vet that is equipped with an endoscope to perform the removal and do her spay.  We have only found one Vet, who can do this who is scheduled out until November 13 for an evaluation/consult.  The procedure would be scheduled after that.

For now, she has been updated on vaccines and placed on an antibiotic to prevent infection.  The polyp is unsightly but seems to be similar in size from her original evaluation. Poor girl seems to be having no pain or discomfort it just looks bad.