text: Coco, the answer to the mystery: Where's the dog? on ColumbiaMagazine.com
  Coco, the answer to the mystery: Where's the dog?
  I have a good friend named Patty. We were comparing notes about parents who sadly undergo dementia. Her story was more compelling than mine on this day.
  Here's Patty's story:
  Mama, bless her heart, got Alzheimers pretty bad near the end of her life and got really, really confused.
  I was going to Lindsey Wilson at the time, working on finishing a paper. She kept coming into my bedroom where I was writing until I said, "Mama, if you can just let me finish this page, I'll be in there with you."
  Mama said, "Well, do what you gotta do, don't let me bother you." So she goes on. I continued writing for a few minutes.
  Then I heard the these big thumping sounds and jumped up to go find what was happening.
  Mama had this little Chihuahua dog she loved dearly and I discovered the thumping noise was being caused by the dog -- in the running dryer!! I yelled as I was grabbing the door open to rescue her, "Mama what are you doing?? You can't put Coco in the dryer!!" Mama said, "Well, I was just gonna fluff her a little bit."
  Patty and I agreed, you have to allow yourself to laugh now and then to keep from crying when this happens to a loved one.