Storytime. Coco and Cici.
It was another afternoon call from Diane, regarding dogs that needed rescuing from the Sussex County SPCA. This time, she needed help transporting a family of dogs north, to Smyrna just up from Dover. Three German Shorthair Pointers, a mama and her two pups, had to be transported to a highway rest stop, where they would be picked up by others who love dogs and taken further away to where they could be adopted.
Typical, we thought, to get such short notice.
But when we got to the SPCA pound, Diane and some others with the rescue group were already there, in panic mode. Someone had arrived before us, claiming to be rescuing the trio, but then rejecting the pups as "not pure-breds" and only taking the mother. Whoever it was had been confused with der B, which didn't make any sense to Diane or her cohorts.
We were able to clear the air as far as der B not having taken the mother. Diane determined to find out what had really happened. Meanwhile, der B and I were committed to a transport job.
The two pups, both girls and four months old, were so very glad to be out of a small kennel cage and with real people! I'd decided to ride in the back seat with the pups, the easier to keep them under control, or so I thought. One of the girls, chocolate brown with white paws, was calmer than her sister. I decided to call her Coco, at least for the length of our trip. The other pup, creamy white with small dark brown spots, I decided to call Cici, as in Chocolate Chip, as in Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. She couldn't keep still, she was so excited. She squirmed in my arms, she nipped at my ears, she tried to eat my seatbelt, she tried to get in der Brucer's arms while he drove us northward, she bounded and bounced around. She exhausted me! She was marvelous.
It was dusk when we got to the rest stop. We got leashes on the two pups and took them for a walk, which turned into a bounce, and then into a much needed run. They were so happy.
The couple from this very different SPCA that was picking up the pups finally arrived. They had a van with very clean and roomy cages for transporting the pups, and gave every indication of being true dog lovers. We gave them Coco and Cici, along with their paperwork, and they told us horror stories about how some of the kennels operate. And then they drove their way, and we drove back homewards.
Hopefully we'll find out what happened to Mama. But I'm not planning on it.