Owner Full Name: Jossi
Pet’s Name: Cotufo
Photographer: Joan H. Walker
Cotufo’s Pop of Life
Thanks for your time Cotufo. How old are you and where do you live on the First Coast?
Thank you for having me! Those are some easy questions, I am three (almost four) years old. and I live in Jacksonville, FL!
What breed are you? Do you even know? Best Guess?
My mom tells me that I am many things; squish-face, wrinkle-boy, floppy-stink but most importantly she thinks that I am just a purebred good-boy! But when she introduces me formally, she says that I am a “Bloodhound” (whatever that means, I prefer my other titles).
So how did you come to your new family?
Oh, this one is easy! One day, my original family put me into the back of this thing called a car. They told me that I was going to meet some new friends and start a life. They brought me to a boy and told him to take good care of me and I was SUPER scared, but I saw the boy had another dog in his car, so that helped me a lot!
After a long car ride in the boy’s back seat with my new puppy friend, I was brought to my mom. She saw me and started crying instantly! She said that I was so cute and told me about how big my ears and my feets were. I remember I melted into her lap while she kept saying random things to me that made no sense, but at the end of the babble she stared into my wrinkly eyes and said, “Your name is Cotufo and your middle name is Stitch”. She told the boy that “cotufa” is what they call popcorn where she is from, but since I’m a boy, she switched the “a” to an “o”.
I did not know what a name even was at first, but now I know it is what she says when she wants my attention—and, let me tell you, she wants it all the time!
Describe your pawfect day
Hmmmmm I think that my pawfect day looks different every day! Some days I really want to just sleep and cuddle with my mama. Other days I wanna run around and be wacky and find my favorite toys to play with. Some days my mom comes outside with me for extra EXTRA long to play chase and tug-o-war and all of my favorite games. I think that some of my favorite days are when I get to see and play with all of my friends and my mom’s friends. But honestly, every day is a pretty pawesome day.
What things don’t you like?
Ooooo, I don’t like anything the first time I taste it. It takes me a couple of nibbles and sniffs to eat new foods. I really don’t like any spinny things, my mom says they’re called “wheels”. All I know is that when they come near I get so scared I try to run away! But I am getting better and better with my mom’s help. I don’t like loud environments, but my mom is helping me get used to those too.
Are you ever naughty?
Yes, of course! I have to spice up my mom’s life somehow. My old go-to was stealing a sock and hiding it in my mouth while seeing how long it would take my mom to notice. Recently though, as I mature, I like to dance and run around her room with her. She says I don’t know my size, but I will always be her small puppy boy.
Favorite walk?
I am an indecisive boy, and I am not picky when it comes to walks but my favorite kinds are the ones with lots of smells and nature! I love it when my mom takes me on hikes in the woods and long walks on the beach..
Any little pups?
No little pups for me! I will be a little pup forever, but I do hope that my mom gets me a little brother or sister to play with soon!
What made your mom choose the name she chose for you?
My mom names me Cotufo because when my grandma was pregnant with my mom back in Venezuela, my grandpa gave her a stuffed animal that looked like a little hound dog, and it was the color of a popcorn kernel. My grandma ended up naming it after the word “cotufas” , which in Venezuelan means popcorn. She always tells people how it just felt right to name her kernel-colored bloodhound puppy “Cotufo”, the masculine version of cotufas, not only because it connected her to her own beginnings but also because it makes her feel connected to her (and now my) heritage.
My middle name, Stitch, was going to be my first name until my grandma told my mom that story! But my mom kept it for my middle name because I was born on 6/26 and I have a little extra ear skin on one of my ears.
What do your Pawparents do?
My mom loves animals and always wants to help to better the lives of any living creature she can. Its one of her true passions which is why she works for a non-profit that helps train doggies like me to be service animals so that they can help their humans deal with some really hard experiences. She takes care of all the pups in the kennels and gives them all the love and care until they can find their furever homes like I found mine.
What’s the best thing for you about living on the First Coast?
I really like being able to do so many things! If mom wants to go to the beach or nature trails or just to hang out with friends, there’s always something for us to do together. She does her very best between all the madness and work to spend as much time with my siblings and I as she can. I love spending my time being loved and cared for by my not only my mama, but our chosen family we have found here in Jacksonville.
Anything else to tell the other dog families? Favorite charities? Favorite Veterinarians?
If you care about animals as much as my mom does, you all should go support and donate to an organization called Canine Cancer Bites. They do pet cancer education and provide financial support to local families facing pet cancer diagnoses! The woman who runs Canine Cancer Bites does everything in her power to ensure the betterment for all animals and deserves recognition for the effort she puts to help as many families as possible. She is so passionate about her work and wants to help as many pets as she can and ensures 100% of profits go to those in need. If you are interested in donating to a great cause, they accept monetary donations along with any project donations that can be sold at events to raise money for the families currently in need. They can be found on Instagram at @caninecancerbites or on Facebook at Canine Cancer Bites (@petcancerbites). Anything helps! Thank you.
- About the Author
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Author of more than 28 dog and dog training books, writer of hundreds of dogcentric magazine articles, and internationally awarded pet photographer of more than 1000 canines, Joan H. Walker relates that her life has literally gone to the dogs.
When she’s not photographing or writing about dogs, she is, you guessed it, spending time with her dogs. Walker is currently owned by four Havanese and is the chief pawtographer at Jacksonville, Florida’s The PAWtographers.
