“This has been the greatest Christmas gift that anyone could ever give us. We were lost without our boy, and his return came straight from heaven.”
Those are the words of Stacy Rodriguez, who, with her husband Lester, was reunited last week with CoCo, one of their two chihuahuas, after he was lost following Hurricane Katrina.
“Our house didn't get any water in it, but the roof collapsed in one room,” Stacy said in a phone interview. “The dogs came with us when we evacuated to Tennesee. Everything was fine. We returned three weeks later. We were putting a new refrigerator in the house and CoCo got out through the back door.”
That was Oct. 1. A week later, CoCo was picked up by animal control as a stray a few miles from his home in Kenner, La.
He was eventually taken to Tylertown, then placed in foster care Oct. 22 with rescue volunteer Stephanie Houfek (see previous story
http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=specialreports&catid=04061773-BDB9-396E-9001EF6EC01318A4&mode=entry&entry=28D1DBE6-BDB9-396E-9D38EB4A55436DD9&stid=2)%3Cbr/%3E%3Cbr/%3EButWhat Stacy and Lester didn’t know at the time was that CoCo was safe. “My husband wouldn't eat,” Stacy said. “He was a mess, he missed him so much. We cried a lot.” They searched each day in their neighborhood, with no results. Then they located CoCo online.
“I found him on bestfriends.org, then clicked onto the Petfinder link,” Stacy said. They drove to Tylertown, and reunion staff members, in turn, notified Stephanie that her foster boy’s parents had been found.
Stephanie recently flew from California with CoCo to the New Orleans airport, where CoCo was not only greeted by his parents, but cheered on by Stephanie’s fellow passengers.
“Stephanie made an announcement on the plane that there was going to be a reunion, so passengers from the plane watched and took photos,” Stacy said. “It was really special.”
Stephanie said the moment was bitter sweet. “I'm very sad [at losing him],” she said. “But the happiness outways the sadness, because he is back with his family who love him as much as I love my kids.”
CoCo is now the proud father of newborn puppies to his housemate LaLi. Stacey and Lester are giving Stephanie pick of the litter.
“She chose the little girl, because she looks so much like CoCo,” she said.