Docklands welcomes retired farm dog

By Spencer Fowler Steen

Coco the kelpie is a farm dog who’s scared of cows.

Her owner, Richard, rescued her from RSPCA in Warrnambool back in 2013 and took her to live in Southbank.

They’ve since moved to Docklands where she’s now a comfortable distance away from dreaded bovines.

Richard said she’s an intelligent dog who’s now well-accustomed to city life.

“She’s a farm dog, but she was surrendered to RSPCA because she’s afraid of cows,” he said.

Although Coco, nine, lives a much more relaxed lifestyle nowadays, some of her farm dog instincts still kick in around her flatmate, Ella, who sometimes needs a little bit of structuring.

“Coco can be a bit bossy with her little sister because she’s a herding dog,” Richard said.

“She tries to get Ella organised and out of bed, tells her when to eat her meals and that kind of thing.”

Naturally an active kind of dog, Coco also loves her food – something Richard’s wife Lucy loves to provide for her.

“Lucy cooks for her. She gets fresh cooked meat and dry dog food mix. She also really enjoys dairy and really enjoys yogurt!” Richard said.

“When she hears the fridge door open up, she waits to see if it’s milk or yoghurt coming out – she’s very clever.”

Richard used to have a different Kelpie which sadly passed away around 10 years ago, prompting him to search for another one.

After rescuing Coco from Warrnambool, Richard and Lucy fostered Ella from a puppy farm, and decided to keep her after Lucy fell in love with her.

Having moved to the Nolan Building in November, Richard and Lucy are enjoying the relative peace-and-quiet in Docklands compared to Southbank.

“We’re loving it here, it’s much more relaxed than Southbank. It’s very noisy in Southbank,” Richard said.

If you go past Cargo during non-pandemic times, you might catch Coco sitting out the front soaking up the sun with her owners, potentially with a milk latte or yoghurt in her paws! •