Gabrielle Cohen

With immensely heavy hearts we announce the passing of Gabrielle Cohen on March 12, 2023. She was 68 years old. Gaby carried her incredibly long and debilitating disease (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) exactly the way she lived her life - with grace, acceptance and patience. And, as one might expect, Gaby quietly outperformed it, living well beyond expectation. Gaby is survived by her wife Mac, her brothers Dorian Cohen and Armand Cohen, sisters-in-law Tik Cohen and Susan Cohen, nieces Sophie Cohen and Kiki Cohen, nephew Artie Cohen, as well as by many cherished friends. She is predeceased by her parents, Arthur Cohen and Barbara Cohen (nee Kallam). Gaby completed a BA at San Francisco State University (SFSU) in 1978, an MA at SFSU in 1980, obtained three teaching credentials between 1984-1986, and completed a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis in 2002. From 1980-1998 Gaby worked at the California School for the Blind (CSB) in many positions, among them were Classroom Teacher, Orientation and Mobility Instructor, and Mobility and Low Vision assessor. Gaby returned to CSB in August of 2014 as part of the CSB assessment team and retired in December of 2019 due to her disease. Fulfilling her childhood calling, Dr. Gabrielle Cohen practiced small animal medicine from 2002-2014 at clinics in Fairfield and then Citrus Heights. A long-time champion of health and nutrition, Gaby was an author on a scientific paper published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (Taurine deficiency in Newfoundlands fed commercially available complete and balanced diets; 2003). Gaby held decades of knowledge and experience breeding and working dogs, most notably of her beloved Newfoundlands as an AKC Breeder of Merit under her SaltyDog kennel name. Gaby had an equal passion for building strong relationships with her dogs and thus they enjoyed healthy and full lives joyfully doing what they were bred to do, as she put countless numbers of confirmation, obedience, rally, tracking, draft, and water rescue titles on multiple dogs. Gaby volunteered her time as a draft judge, water rescue judge, and served on the board of the Newfoundland Club of Northern California in a variety of roles over the years, including President. Gaby had an accepting and accommodating view of life. For her, this was not a passive venture on the path of least resistance; rather, she chose how to spend her precious time on this earth with intention. Gaby was never negative, judgmental, or dramatic. Her humble nature, calm demeanor, and brave character will be missed just as much as her surprising one-liners and gentle wit. Gaby was one of a kind, and the easiest of friends. We cannot all hope to be as good, but Gaby inspires us to be just a little bit better every day. Above all, she would wish for us all to be loved as well as she was, and as well as she did. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.neptune-society.com/location/fairfield-ca for the Cohen family.