Today marks 10 years since that horrible day before the start of the Memorial Weekend, when tragedy struck...we lost Koko and I almost lost Bill and Besi. We still remember the event so vividly as if it just happened yesterday.***
KOKO’S STORY
01 January 1987 - 22 May 1998
R.I.P.
R.I.P.
Hello, my name is Koko. I am an eleven year old Chocolate Labrador Retriever. On New Year’s Day of the year 1987, I was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. As a young puppy, I was brought down here to Playa del Rey, California, to meet my master, Bill. I lived with him at Vista del Mar for the first ten years of my life. Those were wonderful years. I was both his best friend and soul mate. The Ballona Wetlands was my backyard and playground. I enjoyed running and playing ball with him in these wet lands and at the beach.
I also had another companion with whom I grew up, Tuffy, my sister cat.
The past three years were especially happy because I also had another master, Sean, who also loved me so dearly.
Almost two years ago, they got me a new playmate, Besi, a Yellow Labrador Retriever puppy. I was t
o be her mother, friend, and mentor. Last year, we all moved to another house at Esplanade, as we started to build our dream house on Vista del Mar. Now, we live right in front of the Del Rey Lagoon. After a hard game of catch, and often against our masters’ wishes, Besi and I would sometimes run and jump in the lagoon to cool off. We just could not help ourselves. What do you expect, we are Labradors. This was one of our most enjoyable moments. What a great life!
Last May 22, 1998, the beginning of the long Memorial Day Weekend, my master Bill and our Aunt Laurie took Pele, our Dalmatian girlfriend, Besi and me for a walk by the Ballon Creek jetty just before twilight. Again, Besi and I could not help ourselves, so we jumped right in the water. There was this see
mingly harmless-looking tiny whirlpool that caught our eye, so we swam towards it. In an instant, I saw Besi vanish before my very eyes as she suddenly was sucked in. Before I knew it, I found myself also being pulled under water. I felt my body being swallowed by the mouth of a six foot in diameter pipe. The next thing I felt was my master’s hands trying to reach for us. He had immediately jumped in after us, to save us, but simply could not because he himself was being sucked in as well by this strong vacuum. I struggled and fought hard against the current so that I could reach him, but alas, I was too old and weak and lost the battle …
I also had another companion with whom I grew up, Tuffy, my sister cat.
The past three years were especially happy because I also had another master, Sean, who also loved me so dearly.
Almost two years ago, they got me a new playmate, Besi, a Yellow Labrador Retriever puppy. I was t
o be her mother, friend, and mentor. Last year, we all moved to another house at Esplanade, as we started to build our dream house on Vista del Mar. Now, we live right in front of the Del Rey Lagoon. After a hard game of catch, and often against our masters’ wishes, Besi and I would sometimes run and jump in the lagoon to cool off. We just could not help ourselves. What do you expect, we are Labradors. This was one of our most enjoyable moments. What a great life!Last May 22, 1998, the beginning of the long Memorial Day Weekend, my master Bill and our Aunt Laurie took Pele, our Dalmatian girlfriend, Besi and me for a walk by the Ballon Creek jetty just before twilight. Again, Besi and I could not help ourselves, so we jumped right in the water. There was this see
mingly harmless-looking tiny whirlpool that caught our eye, so we swam towards it. In an instant, I saw Besi vanish before my very eyes as she suddenly was sucked in. Before I knew it, I found myself also being pulled under water. I felt my body being swallowed by the mouth of a six foot in diameter pipe. The next thing I felt was my master’s hands trying to reach for us. He had immediately jumped in after us, to save us, but simply could not because he himself was being sucked in as well by this strong vacuum. I struggled and fought hard against the current so that I could reach him, but alas, I was too old and weak and lost the battle …
The next thing I saw was Aunt Laurie reaching out to my master with a “God sent” large piece of driftwood to help get him out. After being rescued, my master then realized that this vacuum was being caused by the flow of ocean water rushing through a submerged 180 foot pipe that empties into the lagoon. I saw my master jump over the fence that divides the jetty from the lagoon and run towards the lagoon’s gate. There I also saw, a few feet away, an exhausted Besi lying at the bank. Then I saw the weirdest sight I had ever seen in my life. From out of the water, emerged a dog that looked so much like me, floating faced down on top of the surface. My master jumped in and gave this look-alike dog mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Aunt Laurie, a registered nurse, came around and pumped this dog’s chest. Apparently, one of the many neighbors witnessing this chain of events had called 911. The paramedics arrived and checked the dog’s vital signs. They said that it was too late. They put her lifeless body along with Besi in my master’s car. Besi was in shock. I could tell that she did not like this. They left this other dog at the construction site at Vista del Mar for a little while, while they rushed Besi to the hospital …
Then all I can remember is seeing my two masters crying in the company of some neighbors and hearing them say my name, as they laid this dog that looked like me to rest four feet underground. That is when I realized that, unlike Besi, I had not made it alive through that tunnel after all.
Now, I find myself in doggie heaven. I have several playmates here, including Dak, my boyfriend of eight years. A lot of us are here just waiting to be reunited with our masters. I am very happy, albeit, that I do miss my family very much. I wish I could still be there to take care of Besi, who is still recovering from a bout with pneumonia.
I just wanted to share my story with my fellow doggie friends and their masters in our community. I wanted to warn you about this hazard that exists in our neighborhood. I understand that some of you have called city officials to rectify the condition of this dangerous area. Thank you. If this awareness helps prevent any of you from losing a master, a dog, or a child, then I would rest in peace knowing that I did not depart from this world in vain. Take care and love each other well.
KOKO
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