Cooper came into our lives in 2009. Before I knew if I would ever be a mom. My husband and I had been trying to get pregnant, and it just didn’t seem possible for us. Meanwhile women around me seemed to be just looking at their husbands and getting pregnant. It was a time of heartbreak.
When Cooper joined our family, we were able to pour all of our love into him. He was my boy. So full of life. I had never had a dog before, so I was blissfully unaware of how much work it would be. And work it was. He didn’t even seem to know how to go for a walk! And at the same time he brought more joy to us than I ever knew was possible. We had lived in our neighborhood for almost a year at that point, and hardly knew the neighbors. But if you have an 8 week old yellow lab, people seem to come out of the woodwork.
Cooper taught us to CONNECT.
And about 5 months after we got Cooper, I found out I was pregnant. This felt like a miracle. With Cooper, we would be a family of 4. When our daughter was born, I realized it was Cooper who had prepared us best for parenthood.
Cooper taught us to MEET THE NEEDS OF OTHERS.
As we learned to settle in to parenthood, we never pushed Cooper aside. He was in every single one of our family pictures. He loved when the whole family was together. If we ever went for a walk, he wouldn’t allow us to split up and go in different directions. He would howl.
Cooper taught us to STICK TOGETHER.
At home we had a doggie doorbell. We trained Cooper how to tap the bells hanging from a ribbon with his paw or nose to let us know when he needed to go outside. Boy, did he take advantage of this system. He went out. He came in. He went out. He came in. He went out. He came in. He absolutely loved being outside in nature. But he always came back in to “check on us”.
Cooper taught us to ENJOY THE GREAT OUTDOORS.
When Cooper came back inside, he loved to find one of his toys and bring it to us. He would drop it at our feet and then give us a look that said, “I dare you to try to pick it up before I do.” This was a lot harder than it may seem. He was so fast! If he grabbed it first, he would take the toy and shake it by putting it in his mouth and shaking his head back and forth. If we got it first, we could throw it for him to fetch.
Cooper taught us to MAKE TIME TO PLAY.
Cooper had a funny personality when it came to fetching. He was never in a hurry. He would take his time retrieving. This gave us the opportunity to run and hide. Sometimes in the bathtub behind the shower curtain. Sometimes behind an open door. Sometimes on the side of the bed. He knew all of our favorite hiding places and could always find us right away. Playing hide and seek with him was so fun. It would always make me laugh out loud.
Cooper taught us to LAUGH.
When Cooper was a younger dog, he was my running buddy. There was no one that would be more excited at the prospect of an R-U-N. As he got older, he was just as excited about a “W”. Which is what we ended up calling a walk because if we said “walk” he got too excited. Eventually he caught on to the “W” as well. He knew that a dresser drawer opening or the coat closet opening were highly correlated with these events. And you could be sure to find him ready to go.
Cooper taught us to DELIGHT IN EXERCISE AND MOVEMENT.
I hated leaving Cooper by himself. He was just someone I loved to be around. The best part of leaving him was coming back home. He could most often be found at the end of the driveway. He would give me 100% of his attention as soon as I pulled in. He would sit down as if to say, “I’m so glad you’re home. Now please pet me.”
Cooper taught us to ACKNOWLEDGE HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO HAVE EACH OTHER.
In our family, we celebrate Christmas. Even Cooper gets a stocking. The first year he got one, he didn’t really realize what it was all about. But once he discovered treats in his stocking, that changed. We showed him his treats, gave him one or two and then hung the stocking back up. Before we knew it, he pulled his stocking down, and ate a hole through the toe to access the treats. I patched it back up. A year went by. The next year when we hung up our stockings again Cooper just sat in front of his stocking howling for a treat. It was empty, but he remembered! From then on, it was Cooper who loved celebrating Christmas the most.
Cooper taught us to MAKE THE MOST OF CELEBRATIONS.
When Cooper wasn’t walking, running, playing, enjoying nature, or celebrating, you could find him taking a nap. He especially loved to lay under the kitchen table.
Cooper taught us to REST.
We didn’t know it was Cooper’s last night on earth. We just knew we wanted to be with him. We all laid in our king sized bed with a laptop computer set up on the dresser so we could watch a movie (Jumanji) and be with Cooper at the same time. We pet him, and loved him, and were just with him.
Cooper taught us to ENJOY THE SMALL MOMENTS.
And in the morning when we had to say goodbye to our Cooper, our hearts broke into a million pieces.
And Cooper’s final lesson was that LOVE WAS WORTH IT.
I will always try to live a life that Cooper would approve of.
