Mornings with Coco

Shop dog brings joy to area business

Crystal R. Albers
Posted 2/13/19

No one knows exactly how long the mixed-breed canine called Coco has been visiting TDS Environmental Services’ maintenance shop in South Torrington, but one thing’s for certain: every morning, usually between 5:30 and 6 a.m., the dog makes his appearance.

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Mornings with Coco

Shop dog brings joy to area business

Posted

TORRINGTON ­– No one knows exactly how long the mixed-breed canine called Coco has been visiting TDS Environmental Services’ maintenance shop in South Torrington, but one thing’s for certain: every morning, usually between 5:30 and 6 a.m., the dog makes his appearance.

One employee said he had worked at the shop for 14 years, and when he started, Coco was already a regular.

“We’re his second family,” TDS truck driver Lorre Hart said. “He comes over every day – even on the weekends. If it’s real cold, he comes a little bit later. As you can see, he’s getting old.”

It’s true. The white fur around Coco’s eyes and along the sides of his nose is a stark contrast to his otherwise mostly black coat, and his waist is significantly smaller than his ribcage – but not because of a lack of food.

“He’ll come over, have his breakfast – we (employees) take turns buying the food,” Hart said. “Sometimes he’ll stay here all day, sometimes he goes back home. He likes to go outside – it depends on how cold it is out. He goes home earlier if it’s cold.

“He knows when lunchtime is,” she added. “Some of the crew will go to town, and someone will buy him an extra chicken strip and give it to him for lunch. He’s kind of our shop dog.”

Coco lives across the road from the maintenance shop, and his owner is believed to be the relation of a truck driver at TDS, but little else is known about the dog – even the correct spelling of his name is unclear. Employees can only speak to his adventures at TDS.

“You know, he’s really protective of the yard,” Hart said. “Especially the front … and the drivers. During the summer, if there are kids or bicyclists that go down the road right here, he barks at them. If there are other dogs, he barks at them. But now that he’s getting older, he’s having a harder time getting around.”

In addition to food, the crew also takes turns buying glucosamine to ease Coco’s joint pain, and alternate cleaning up his accidents when they happen.

“After a year, he wasn’t allowed in my shop anymore,” Curstin Barraza, TDS welder, said. “He would steal my gloves and eat the leather off them – even though he doesn’t have any teeth. He’s a good dog. He has his days where he thinks he’s a puppy again, and those days where he knows he’s definitely not a puppy.

“We all say, ‘He’s not my dog’, but we all know better.”

Robert Ramirez, lead mechanic at TDS, said in his eight years at the shop, Coco has been at the gate every morning, waiting to come in.

“He’s a faithful dog,” he said.

“He’s a good dog, and he likes all of us,” Hart agreed. “It’s going to be a sad day when he leaves.”