My dog Coco is 4 years old. His birthday is October 18. He is a mutt. He is 25% Russian Svetna Balonka, 25% Chihuahua, and 50% mini poodle. The way we got him is a long story…

My family got him on New Year’s Eve. That morning, my sister and I walked downstairs together to see my dad at the table on his phone. My dad looked up at us and said “hey, do you guys want to go see this dog?” He asked, holding up his phone with an image on it from Craigslist. “YES!” Anna and I exclaimed.

We got dressed and had breakfast then got into the car. We drove to Food Lion and parked in the parking lot. We went up to a white truck with a couple and a small, small dog. While dad talked about details, Anna and I snuggled. We talked about what we would name him if we got him. Anna said he looked like a toasted coconut. I said he looked like hot chocolate with too many toasted marshmallows. We finally agreed on Coco.

Meanwhile, dad sent the photo to mom and asked if she’d be okay with getting him. Now, just about one year ago, our old dog Sevo died. Since then, we’d been dead set against another dog because we didn’t want to replace him. Because of that, mom said that if we wanted him, we could get him. She also said he looked like a toasted coconut.

We went into Food Lion and asked for an old box to put him in. They gave us an orange box. We put him in the box with a blanket. We went to the pet store and got him food, tags, a leash, a collar, and toys. On the way home, he threw up. Twice. So, we learned he got carsick. That night, mom was surprised, but still happy. We all cuddled together as the ball dropped and we started a new year.