Hewwo

In case you haven’t noticed, Little Cooper has his own FB page now. hehehe

I talk about him so much I figured he deserved his own page of love. In the short 6+ months he’s been with me he has become a neighborhood staple. He has a contingent of fans that always stop to hug and pet him when he is out and about. Many of the locals know him by name and comment every time they see him. Not to mention, the crews at the local Starbucks & Walgreens always ask about him when he isn’t with me. lol With love like that he needs a place to be worshipped. lolol

Cooper has flourished under our love and attentions. His weight has reached healthy levels. His potty training is under control and his behavior has improved greatly. He get’s time off the leash now when we are out and about, when I feel it’s safe. He knows to stay with me. He knows to stop at curbs. ^[1]Except for birds. He has suddenly taken a liking to chasing birds. I have to keep an eye on him if they are around. I’m still working on his socializing skills. He isn’t mean but he always wants to establish dominance with other dogs by humping them. This leads to friction, so to speak. lol Now that I know, I watch him and intervene before he gets to that point. He gets trips to the local dog-park about once a week and he does well. He even recognizes a few dogs now that tend to be there around the same times. He seems mostly bored with other dogs now though. lol

At home, he loves to sleep in all kinds of strange positions. He’ll actually sleep on his back laying up against the sofa sometimes. It cracks me up every time too. When he attempts to scratch his face, he’ll do summersaults on the floor. He loves to run and roll-over every morning like clockwork after he’s been fed. Thankfully, his heavy chewing is relegated to toys. I’ve yet to have any problems with him chewing wires, shoes, etc. We used to let him sleep on the sofa at night but he started getting territorial of it so we’ve had to curb that privilege for awhile. He’ll eventually get special times on the couch but only when a certain blanket is laid out as a signal.

On the down side, he has a particular aversion to strange noises. Especially high-pitched beeps, loud trolly noises, and high-base rumbles. He gets very worked up and will go into a panic, even at home. In public I have to make sure to hold him around the trolly cars as he’ll bolt even if he’s on his leash. Ironic because he tolerates the underground LRV’s pretty well. We ride MUNI pretty often and he enjoys it. There must be a distinct pitch from the trolly cars that he doesn’t like. Don’t even get me started on skateboards, strollers, garbage cans, etc. His jumping on people from excitement is improving as well. He still has to be reminded at times but it seems to be less and less. I think in part because he gets so much attention he doesn’t feel neglected anymore.

While he has mostly solid white fur, his skin is covered in spots. Recently, we’ve noticed the faintest beginnings of brown spots on his fur. I have the feeling he won’t stay solid white too much longer. I won’t mind but I’ll miss it a little as it garners him a lot of extra attention, which he loves. lol

While we don’t know his official birthday, he was roughly 17 months when we picked him up so June 22 will be his official two year birthday for us. He’ll get his first trip back to the vet since coming to join us. I’m a little nervous about taking him back to the vet as I wonder if he associates that with his previous abandonment. I discovered the Petfood Express store we go to all the time has a veterinary service that comes every saturday to do shots. He likes going there and it isn’t overly expensive. I just don’t want him to suffer any undue anxiety by thinking he is being left again. ^[2]Apple guy says I’m turning into a “cat lady”, just with a dog. I don’t really care. He keeps me sane and I luvs him. He is growing into a very happy, well-adjusted doggie.

Anyway, the lord Cooper will occasionally pop in here to do guest posts like Spike did. He’ll probably have something funny or dastardly to say regarding his plan for world domination.