Coco, the alcohol-drinking dog that had to be treated for withdrawal symptoms in England
Coco the Labrador quickly fell ill after the death of his owner. The shelter where he is being kept thinks he is going through withdrawal from alcohol.
They say that dogs look like their owners, and this one liked to tip his paw because his owner liked to tip his elbow. This is the story of Coco, a Labrador retriever who had to be treated in an animal association for presenting withdrawal symptoms after his owner died.
Coco and his companion Georgie arrived at the Woodside Animal Welfare Trust after the death of their owner, where they quickly fell ill, and although a vet was able to attend to them urgently, Georgie ended up dying, while Coco remained sick and required 24-hour attention and care. That’s when the surprise came for the shelter.
Canine alcohol withdrawal, a first for us.... It became clear that he was suffering from symptoms that all pointed to alcohol withdrawal,” the animal rehoming charity said in a statement. How did Coco get to such a point? “No-one knows the specifics on how these dogs got into the situation with alcohol but we do know that without our care Coco would likely have not survived this heart breaking ordeal,” read a statement from the organization.
But Kirstin Stone, an employee of the shelter, has the following theory, according to the BBC: “It could be that just after, like say, the owner’s had a drink and they’ve just gone to sleep, and the dogs may have drank it, but we just don’t know.”
“It could be that right after, let’s say, the owner had a drink and just went to sleep, and the dogs may have drunk it , but we just don’t know.” However, Stone wanted to point out that the animals were “very, very well loved” and had been “very well cared for” because “he is very well-trained, and loves cuddles.”
Coco’s current status
Fortunately, the good news has not been overly long in coming. After four weeks under sedation “to help with his withdrawal symptoms and to reduce the risk of further fits.” Coco no longer takes medication and has begun to behave like a normal dog. However, he is not ready for adoption yet, and the next owner has to be “someone who is home quite a lot,” according to Stone.
After the commotion caused by the case, the Woodside Animal Welfare Trust has published a new image of Coco on its Instagram page: “The story of our lovely Coco seems to be going Viral and hitting the news worldwide. Where are you? Have you read about our lovely boy and his story?”