Time went so quickly. Cooper came to us October 13, 2016 after we lost our Lenny in July of that year. We decided to try fostering. Cooper was our very first foster. He is a strong, outdoors type and LOVED walks, or I should say RUNS! He loved to run and run we did! He loved to bark at other dogs and sometimes people when we went for his walks. After all he was a 'farm dog' and everything was new to him! He loved every adventure and of course he loved car rides too!

By late December 2016/early January 2017, Cooper had surgery to take off a mast cell tumor. He did great and he was over 10 years old, but SO strong! Everything went well and he healed great! Unfortunately 2017 was a horrible year for our family. Cooper developed Degenerative Myelopathy. A disease that mimics Lou Gherig's Disease and no cure.

That didn't stop Cooper. He is so smart. He had a routine that we followed daily. One of the routines was every night the dogs would get a treat before bed and it usually came from the fridge. So at bed time Cooper would go to the fridge and scratch on the door. Then he'd wait until I got the treat out and he would go to bed. He had a special place at night, during the day and in the morning.

Later on in 2017, Cooper's skin Daddy was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer so while he was progressing in his disease, his Daddy was dying. He died January 8, 2018. Then after losing the use of his back legs Spring/Summer of 2018, his best fur friend Grissom suddenly left us and went to heaven. Such tragedy for the whole family.

Cooper gradually got worse and lost control of a lot of his body. Then in January, 2019, he lost the use of his front legs suddenly and turned for the worse. His mind and heart and will was not affected by the DM. But his body was. So it was with great heartache and sadness Cooper flew to Heaven on Valentine's Day, 2019.

My memories of Cooper: When our Cooper came to us he was so perfect! Strong, determined, athletic, loving just to name some of his attributes! He loved to be outside and his walks! He loved most all food, including bananas, sweet potatoes, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower (cooked of course). He had the best smile! He would consciously smile at you, especially when you pet him and loved him up!

We started noticing symptoms of Degenerative Myelopathy about 5 to 6 months after we started fostering him. Of course he became a 'forever' foster. At first his right, back leg would rub on the ground every few steps. His toenails would wear down; the two in the middle. That's how we knew. It gradually got worse and his other back leg would start to do it too. Then he started slipping on the floors that weren't carpeted so we put rugs down so he wouldn't slip. That was late 2017 and early 2018 when his skin daddy got cancer and only lived 6 weeks. It was a hard time for him and his fur brothers and his mama.

Still Cooper wanted to go on walks!! He loved his walks! We bought him a special harness so we could hold up his back end so we could. I know it must have been hard for him because it just wasn't the same. Still Cooper didn't mind too much. He had everything he wanted and mama helped him with everything.

Cooper is so very special. Never complaining once. As his disease progressed, he got some wheels and that helped. The other thing that helped him was his wagon rides! He loved to go on those walks because he still got to bark at people and other dogs! You see Cooper was a farm dog before we got him. He had free range of everything and got to bark all he wanted! I'm so glad he got the opportunity to do that as his disease progressed. But for now he was happy.... I love you Cooper! My Super Cooper!

February 14, 2021. Hello my Coop! Today it is 2 years since you've been gone! I miss you so much! We moved to a different house last June and there's a horrible pandemic! You'd love our new house! It has a huge back yard and there's 3 doggie doors! It's not the same. Rudy really really missed you after you left... he'd cry all the time and when he saw another dog outside he'd cry too! That's when we got Ruthie. She'll never take your place ever! In fact she's kind of an airhead! I don't know, maybe I'm just used to boxers. You are so smart! So chill! I still remember when you walked through our front door for the first time! You're such a large boy with so much muscle! Still kind of loopy from a vet appointment. Oh how I miss that big smile of yours! I wish you were here my baby Coop! You are such a perfect boy! I will treasure you in my heart forever and ever! Love you Cooper!!!!

Please also visit Grissom.