Coco and Bella: A tale of two dogs
NC man loses pooch, finds her, gives her up — for good reason
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Of all the upsetting phone calls Donald Smith has received, the one he got from his son in March 2019, ranks right up there with the worst.
At the time, Donald was working remotely in Denver, where he was overseeing renovations on his late parents’ home. While away, he reluctantly decided to leave his beloved terrier mix at his 22-yearold son’s home in west Charlotte.
For more than a month, all had been fine. Then, four days before he was scheduled to return, came the fateful call.
Coco managed to escape, his son told him, and we can’t find her.
Coco — an “absolutely gorgeous” dog who wound up with Smith somewhat by accident the previous September — had been a warm and fuzzy game-changer for the unmarried Air Force veteran who has struggled with depression for most of his life.
So, understandably, “I was devastated,” he added. “It was maybe almost as bad as hearing that somebody died that you were close to.”
When he returned to Charlotte, he headed to his son’s neighborhood and drove around, yelling Coco’s name, “hoping maybe I’d hear her bark or something, (thinking) maybe she was in somebody’s yard,” Smith said, “because I figured somebody had her. But it just didn’t work.”
It took a long time, but Donald found peace again.
And then, about 10 weeks ago, that peace was upended when he answered a call. Coco had been found.
The 31-year-old man who found Coco is named Dennis, who asked that his last name not be used. Dennis said he was headed out for a run Oct. 13 when he found a brown and white dog on the doorstep of his townhouse.
“She looked sad, and she looked thin,” Dennis recalled. “But you could tell, she was just a gorgeous dog . ... She backed off and was shaking. I put my hand out, she came over, smelled me, and then from then on, she just wouldn’t leave.”
He gave her some food and water, which perked her up. He brought her inside, and she made herself at home. While he worked, she napped on the couch.
“She was the friendliest dog ever,” he said.
The next day, Dennis took her to see if she was microchipped. She was.
And the very same day, he got a call from Smith, who told him Coco’s story.
Smith was calling from Denver, and told Dennis he wasn’t planning to return to Charlotte for a few more weeks, to which Dennis happily replied that he wouldn’t mind hanging onto Coco until he could get back.
When Dennis finally did take Coco to Smith’s Charlotte home in November, the reunion was rockier than expected — because of Smith’s new dog.
Coco came into Smith’s life in September of 2018. He says he first spotted her on a local TV news story about puppies that had been evacuated during Hurricane Florence from a shelter in Hilton Head to a doggy day care in the University area of Charlotte.
He’d grown up with dogs in Denver, but hadn’t had one as an adult due to being in the military and then living in a high-rise building in Washington. After recently relocating to Charlotte and moving into a single-family home with a backyard, the story inspired him to try fostering a dog. But when he showed up to express interest, he decided to adopt, instead.
Smith asked if the puppy that he’d seen on TV was available. She was.
In the few short months they had together, he says, Coco became “my heart.”
For awhile, he clung to hope that she’d be found. But that faded, replaced by hope that she was just safe.
Then, in February of 2020 — Bella came into Smith’s life.
He’d seen a post describing how this black Lab/ boxer/pit bull mix needed a permanent home, and he took a leap.
In the nearly three years since he adopted Bella, they’ve become closer than he and Coco, if for no other reason than the comparative lengths of the relationships.
Still, the emotions were complicated when he learned Coco had turned up out of the blue. Says Smith: “It’s almost like I wish I hadn’t gotten another dog. But who would ever dream that 3 ½ years later, she would come back? I miss the relationship that I had with her, but I love the relationship that I have with Bella.”
So when Coco didn’t seem to remember her old owner when Dennis took her to Smith’s house in October, and because Bella showed signs of aggression toward Coco, Dennis offered to let Coco stay with him a little longer to avoid any issues.
The two talked about Dennis keeping Coco permanently.
“I mean, I definitely had an attachment to that dog, for sure,” Dennis said. “She’s the sweetest thing ever . ... I didn’t hear a bark once. She didn’t pee in the house once. She didn’t ever get feisty or anything like that. It was just like, ‘Nope, I’m gonna live here now.’ ”
But he also has to travel for work, and he just didn’t think it would be fair to her.
Meanwhile, Smith was feeling increasingly conflicted about having to let go of Coco for a second time. But a chance encounter with a fellow veteran outside the VA Clinic in Charlotte changed everything.
Smith had Bella with him, and this stranger asked whether she was his service dog. Smith replied that she was “just a dog.” The stranger said he’d asked because he was interested in getting a service dog.
Smith told him about Coco. The stranger told him about his anxiety and depression. It quickly became clear that maybe they could help each other. When they exchanged information, the man introduced himself. My name, he said, is Dennis.
Dennis Dail says he tried owning a dog once before, but “my depression was so bad at the time, I guess I wasn’t in the frame of mind to have a dog.”
He also says his social anxiety can be so bad that he often avoids face-to-face interactions with those he doesn’t know ... and admits the only reason he said anything to Smith that day was because he really wanted to know about the dog.
He’s grateful he did.
Dail said Coco has improved his life practically overnight.
“My mood has changed,” he said. “I’m laughing more than I ever did before, and smiling more than I have ever done before . ... Something was missing here in my home, and it’s like Coco is the answer now.
“It’s just a blessing . ... It’s just working out real good.”
He said he’s already talked to his therapist about the process of getting Coco registered as a service dog.
As for how this has all panned out, everyone involved is shaking their head, with a smile on their face.
Said Dennis Dail: “It’s crazy how this is going on. I don’t understand. Look, the guy that found Coco is named Dennis. My name is Dennis. I’m 57. And Don’s 57. All of our names start with a D. It’s just ...”
He just laughed.
Smith recognizes that this isn’t a straightforward feel-good ending, one in which he finds his lost dog after 3 ½ years and the two go on to live happily ever after, together.
But in a way, he says, this is an even more fitting resolution
“I think it’s awesome to be able to help somebody else out, especially another veteran,” Smith said, as Bella is curled up in a ball next to him. “What Coco’s gonna give him is so much greater than anything she could ever really have done for me. That’s probably the only thing that makes me OK with being honest and true to myself that I couldn’t really keep her. Even though I wish I could.”