Coco’s Story

Cocos story

While you may not be able to see the big smiles under the masks, the joy in this picture is evident. You would never know it by looking at this photo, but when the Jaimes family first came to us they were completely disheartened. Coco, their sweet 2 month old Chihuahua, needed medical attention and the amount that their vet had quoted them for initial care was not feasible. They had seemingly tried everything and exhausted all avenues before coming to a painful conclusion. The Jaimes family thought that they would have to give Coco up to get him the care that he needed. They came here in a desperate attempt to do what they thought was best for their beloved pet: surrender him to the shelter.

While sitting with the family to discuss Coco’s condition and learn more about him, our team couldn’t help but notice how loved Coco was and how heartbroken the family was. Coco’s family told us, “We got Coco after the loss of our German Shepherd that we had for 5 years. We got Coco and his brother Lulu from our friend’s litter of puppies. Him and his brother helped us deal with the grief of losing what we considered a family member, and they have become a part of our family as well. “

Our Pet Support team wanted to help and asked the family to apply for our Pet Care Assistance Program, a subsidiary program of Keep ‘Em Together, KC. They were completely overjoyed when they found out they could possibly get him back.

After eight days in our veterinary hospital, Coco was cleared to return home, and his family was approved for assistance. You could hear Coco’s family’s excitement and relief when we called to tell them the good news!

“As soon as I found out, I ran and begged my boss to let me off early and then immediately called my kids. Of course they begged to come too,” the mother recalled.

The Jaimes family was patient, but their anxious excitement was evident as they sat in the lobby waiting to get Coco back. It was clear that a piece of their family had been missing without Coco, and they asked so many good questions on what they could do to help him heal. They were incredibly grateful and wanted to thank the staff for making their family feel complete again. They also wanted to thank the clinic staff because they were FULLY aware how dramatic their beloved Coco could be. Thanks to our amazing staff, what started out as a family losing a valuable piece, ended up in a reunion filled with joy, licks, and happy tears– and there were a lot of them.

Your support to our Keep ‘Em Together, KC program enables us to help families like the Jaimes’. Please consider a donation today so we can keep more families together in Kansas City.