Homeless

Written by Erin

Can you believe Cooper is still homeless? We sent him on a test drive with a wonderful family while we went on vacation, but things just didn't work out. The young daughter was allergic to dogs, and had runny eyes and nose all week, so Cooper came back home with us. I've had several people tell me they know someone who might want him, but I never heard back from those people. Several other people have told me they are considering taking him, but they aren't sure if they can handle another dog (similar to our story). At the end of the day, we have no serious contenders.

Cooper is now about 15 lbs. His growing seems to have slowed a little, but we still expect him to be anywhere from 30-50 lbs when he is full grown. He is done with all his puppy shots, is no longer on any medications, and is getting neutered in a week from today. He's still missing a little bit of hair around his eyes, but other than that he is a completely normal puppy. He is crate trained and stays in his crate, without complaining I might add, at night and during the day while we are gone. He hasn't chewed up anything in the house which is a surprise to me. Most puppies are destructive, but he seems to be able to differentiate between toys and everything else.

He is halfway potty trained. By halfway, I mean that when he is outside, he knows he is supposed to do his business. Especially since I won't let him come inside until he's gone #1 and #2. He will only potty inside if you don't let him out frequently enough. He hasn't caught on how to tell us when he needs to go outside yet.

Cooper is a very calm and curious dog. He knows the time to play and the time to sleep. He only barks occasionally when playing. He doesn't bite when playing very much anymore. We have already taught him to sit and lay down, and it took little effort. He just sits and stares at you, like he's trying to figure out what you're thinking.

We are going to keep Cooper during his post-op healing. Once his pain medications are finished and the cone comes off, we hope to have him a permanent home. If not, he will go to live with the in-laws and will be an outdoor only dog. I worry it will be a hard adjustment for him considering how much we've spoiled him.

Still Looking For a Home

Cooper still needs to be adopted! We've had a few interested people who want to help him, but in the end they can't sign up for the responsibility of a puppy in their lives right now. We don't want to force him on anybody.

Cooper has changed so much in just the past week alone. We switched him to a regular kibble diet, and he seems to have grown more in the past week than he has in total past month and a half. It was very noticeable when I was giving him his bath. Each day he looks bigger and bigger to me. He is also growing more and more hair. No more hairless ears! He is almost soft to the touch now. He is getting cuter by the day, and I know if somebody comes to meet him they will fall in love.

It is very tempting for us to keep him, but it's just not in our plans. Atlas is obviously very distraught by the little guy. He is very well behaved around the little pest, but we can tell that he is bothered by Cooper stealing his attention and territory. Atlas would prefer to be the only spoiled dog in the Edwards House.

Please please pleasssssse consider adopting Cooper! He has been through a rough journey and is now ready for his happy ending.

Cooper's Ready for a Home!

Written by Erin

ADOPT ME

It's finally that time! Just 37 days since being miraculously found on the side of the road, Cooper is ready for his forever home. If you can get past the incomplete puppy coat and the slightly skinny body, he is just like any other puppy. He is still on one medication for good measures, but after a lot of time and work, he is now considered a healthy puppy. He LOVES to play, just as any puppy should. He plays with every toy he can find, even the ones that are twice his size. He plays with people, cats, and dogs as well. He sleeps well in his crate, and he hasn't peed in it in over a week. He hasn't pooped in it in at least 3 weeks. Cooper runs around and leaps through the air all the time. He is significantly less clumsy on the stairs, and enjoys exploring the backyard. His legs have been acting normal, and we suspect it was just the effects of an uneven growth spurt. Cooper eats like a pig, bounces like a bunny, tumbles like a toddler, and loves like a dog. He will make somebody a very fine pet.

As you might expect, we will be very picky about his future owner. I think we have the right to be - we did save his life after all. Whoever adopts him must be somebody we know and trust to be a good dog owner. We can't have any doubts that they will take good care of him. We will request to be able to visit him as he grows. At the very least, we would like photo updates. We have put in a lot of work to get him this far, but all that's left to do is raise him and train him. Anybody can do that. If you are interested in adopting Cooper and loving him like a child, please send me an email at cooperneedsahome@yahoo.com. Cooper's ready. Are you?

Day 33 - Bad Legs

Written by Erin

Cooper is a completely different dog than he was a week ago. He is acting just like a puppy should. He wakes us up every morning barking in his crate. Sometimes he is barking because he wants out, and sometimes he's just playing with his toys in his crate. When we let him out, he bounces through the living room while wagging his tail. He is able to go up and down the 6 stairs leading from the deck to the yard. He is playing with the animals, toys, and our hands. We have to be careful he doesn't learn to bite us, because he has some sharp puppy teeth. He also loves cuddling with us. If we are in the floor he loves lying down against us. Mason pulled him onto the couch and let him sleep against his belly the other night. This morning I woke up to Cooper sleeping between us on the bed! Mason is a such a sucker for whining puppies! 


Cooper's hair is growing back and he is growing cuter by the day. I put a bunch of pictures from the past few days at the bottom of the post. He still has bumpy skin, but no more flakes. We think he is just about ready to find his forever home. But then we hit a speed bump...

Cooper's limping got really bad on Wednesday. I called Thursday morning and made an appointment for this morning. Of course, Cooper decided to stop limping just in time for his appointment. We were the crazy clients with a healthy puppy. Dr. Nemetz knows we wouldn't make something like that up, and he gave a thorough exam. There are a few possibilities for what could be going on.


First, it could be a soft tissue injury. This seems likely since he limped for a short time and then stopped. Also, it coincides with his increase in activity. He is now climbing stairs and jumping around a lot, so a sprain would be likely. Also, his joints could be weak because he doesn't have much muscle mass to support them.


Another possibility is metabolic bone disease. The biggest example is Rickets. This condition is usually caused by nutritional deficiencies and is the reason why vitamin D is put in our milk. It is commonly seen in puppies that are being fed adult dog diets. Cooper is on a good diet that is approved for all growth stages. He was extremely malnourished for the beginning of his life, and he may be having trouble recovering still. We were told to monitor the leg. If it keep re-occurring, it is more likely to be a growing metabolic issue. He is already on a good diet, so we might not be able to do anything but hope he grows out of it. If the issue continues to worsen, we will take him back to the vet for radiographs.


This all sounded fine and dandy, and we were glad Cooper was no longer limping. Until dinner time. His front left wrist jutted out again, and he was limping. Within a few minutes, his front right leg was bowing out too. Not good news. I took a video of him walking. We have noticed that his leg issues get more noticeable near the end of the day when he is tired from jumping around a lot. We are hoping that he just doesn't have enough muscles to meet his activity level. After taking a nap, the legs seem to improve. We will monitor those wobbly legs closely over the next week.

Day 29 - Acting like a puppy

Written by Erin

The past few days inside have done a world of good for Cooper. He has become very playful and is enjoying interacting with the world around him. First, he is interacting well with toys. Yesterday, he showed particular interest in one of Atlas' stuffed dog toys that we got at a Braves game. He went over to it and started biting it. At one point he picked it up and shook it. Today, he shook it a lot. He also carried around a cat toy, played with a fox toy, and cuddled up with that fox toy. He has been trying to chew on the giant antler bone that is for Atlas, so we got him a puppy chew bone for his crate. He's already worn the ends down.

Second, he is interacting with the other animals more. He continues to nip at Atlas, and Atlas tolerates it very well. I would not enjoy being jumped on and bitten by a little thing. Cooper has also been trying to cuddle with Atlas. Atlas is not a cuddler. Not with humans, not with animals. Cooper has sat down close to him a few times. He even tried to lay down against him twice. As soon as Atlas feels contact or sees Cooper so close, he jumps up and lets out a loud, deep bark as he walks away. After Cooper was rejected earlier today, he cuddled up with the fox toy instead. Cooper also wants to play with the cats. He pounced and barked at each of them today. They just turned around and walked away.

trying to cuddle with Atlas

Thirdly, Cooper is interacting with Mason and me more. He seems to know when I'm going to pick him up and carry him outside, and he starts to run away. Other than that, he seems to be enjoying our company. He sits up tall in his crate and watches us. If he knows we're in the other room ignoring him, he starts barking in his crate like a normal obnoxious puppy. Last night, he even tried to cuddle with me! I was sitting on the floor leaning against a chair (because Atlas was sleeping in the chair that I sit in with my laptop). Cooper walked across the room and sat a few inches from me. After a few minutes, he scooted against my arm. There were a few moments when I thought he wanted to lie down. He put one of his paws on my arm, and he even rested his head on my arm, but he wouldn't go all the way down. I put my computer aside and adjusted my arm so that it made a more appealing bed. He walked over and sat next to it again, trying to figure out how to use it. He did lie down, but not against the arm. As I write this post right now, Cooper is playing with Mason's hand. He is nibbling at it and pawing at it like he plays with Atlas.

sitting against my arm

Yesterday I noticed Cooper sitting with his front left leg bowed out. I thought it was coincidental, so I decided to re-assess later in the day. Sure enough, he was sitting that way again. He was putting most of his weight on his right leg. I then watched him walk and noticed that at times he was limping. I palpated the leg, and it didn't feel broken. It also wasn't painful, although this strong pup has never shown pain to us. It wouldn't extend all the way, which I thought was weird. If I can find a hole in my schedule this week, I will take him back to the vet.

sitting funny

Day 27 - First Day Inside

Written by Mason

We let Cooper socialize with the animals in the main room today. He would follow Atlas trying to lick his face.

As time went on he started nipping at Atlas' face and at one point Atlas had laid  down. He let Cooper bite him for a while but then Cooper started to bite Atlas' leg. Atlas responded by barking which temporarily scared Cooper off but it was only for a little while. Atlas also almost sat on Cooper one time and when he realized Cooper was at his feet he started growling. Overall though Atlas was very well behaved and seemed to be trying to let Cooper know what his limits were whenever he barked or growled.

The cats and Cooper acknowledged each other but didn't really interact with each other which is much better than fighting

Cooper fell asleep next to my foot before I carried him back to his crate to sleep so we wouldn't have to actively watch him.

Day 26 - Moving In

Written by Mason

I had worked out of town the previous days but was working at home today. I usually take Cooper out for long feedings and today was hot so the two of us hung out together in the shade while I petted him.

When Erin got home today was bath day. We had planned on moving Cooper in from the garage to the inside when his conditions had cleared up. We also felt it was getting important to get him to start socializing with us and our other animals. The temperature outside and predicted for tomorrow also necessitated getting him into the air conditioning so he didn't start overheating. So while Erin was giving Cooper his bath I moved the crate to our bedroom.

When I got done I went outside and Cooper was drying walking around the side yard. When I came out he started following me so I walked around the back of the fenced area and he continued to follow me. We were able to get Cooper to walk all the way around the house. Now that he was dry and finished exercising it was time to introduce the little guy to the inside. I carried him in and let him meet Atlas, Smokey, and Purrkins (Molly's Cat.) I then carried him to his crate for the night. All the animals checked in on their new roommate sniffing and licking him through the crate. He did very well not making noise all night and didn't seem stressed.

Hopefully, his health and behaviors will continue improving so maybe we can start playing with him.

following around the house

greeting Atlas

greeting Smokey

finally inside

Day 23 - 4th Vet Visit

Written by Erin

We took Cooper to the vet this morning for the 4th time. He is doing remarkably better, even since just last week. We increased his food intake over the past week, and boy did it work. He gained a full pound! We will still continue to feed him large amounts as he is still underweight. We went ahead and ordered another case of yummy food. His temperature had also gone up since the last visit. It was still low at 98 degrees, but that is much less worrisome than 94.

Much to his displeasure, Cooper had another skins scrape taken from his forehead. This involves scratching the skin with the edge of a blade until it barely starts to bleed. The skin mites hide deep down in the hair follicle and this is the best way to try to find them. Cooper is very good at the vet, and he never shows pain. He just ducked his head down. At first the techs couldn't find any mites. After a repeat skin scrape and more extensive searching, they found one demodex mite. He may still have mange, but it is close to being gone. The skin on his head and tail base is still rough and bumpy, so I suspect there are still mites hanging around in those areas. Perhaps you can tell in the picture below. We will continue giving ivermectin (medicine) for another few weeks, just to be sure.

Next, they took a look at some fresh poop under the microscope. The coccidia are finally gone! This means I will discontinue the banana flavored medicine. They did find 3 unusual shapes in the poop, and they had me take a look. They had smooth edges and were very small. They had a teardrop shape with a small clear end, making me think of another type of coccidia. They could have also been some type of debris, like pollen. The microscope didn't have very high magnification, though, so it was hard to get a good look. Due to the scare from last time, we decided to take the fecal sample to the diagnostic lab at UGA for them to take a look. I got a call a few hours later that the sample was negative. Either the unknown shapes were just debris, or they couldn't find any.

Finally, Cooper got his second DA2PP vaccination. He has improved so much that we do not need to go back to the vet for 3 more weeks when he will get his next DA2PP booster and his rabies vaccine. In the meantime, we will start giving him 2 baths a week to help clear up his skin. It is much smoother than 3 weeks ago, but he still has several scabs distributed all over his body. I sometimes touch him without gloves now, but the scabs and greasy hair are not fun to touch.

Cooper had a lot more gusto today. Both this morning and this evening he trotted after me as I walked through the yard with his food bowl in hand. He even ate from the bowl while I was holding it. Mason and I have been trying to get him to do this for the past few days, but he usually just stops a few feet away and gives us hungry puppy eyes. If he sees us as a source of food he will trust us more.

After eating, Cooper saw Atlas at the fence. He went trotting towards him with his tail wagging and head stretched forward. It was adorable. This little puppy really likes Atlas. He even barked at him the other day. You can see his tail swaying in the picture below.

After Atlas ran off, I again squatted down and called Cooper. He usually stops 2 feet away, but this time he was just a few inches away. He was soooooo close! He could've stretched his nose out and touched my fingers. I will be very excited on the day he decides to come all the way.

Day 21

Written by Erin

Today was a normal day. Normal eating, normal peeing, normal pooping, normal tail wagging. Another friendly visit with Atlas. Another deer ran by. We may start to do less frequent posts now that Cooper is over his biggest humps. He still has a long way to go before he's a fully normal puppy, but he won't make many magical improvements in a day. We are amazed at the progress he has already made. Just compare the pictures from today to those from the first few days. 

Day 20 - A Little Shadow

Written by Erin

Little Cooper seems to be trusting me more now. He followed me around today. When I went to pick up his poopie pile, he was walking towards me wagging his tail. I patted him and continued towards the target which was still several feet away. After I bent down to pick it up, I turned around and Cooper was sitting behind me. I rewarded him with more pets. I then went inside to throw away the baggie. Next, I came outside to pick up his empty food bowl. He again met me with tail wags, and again he was sitting at my feet when I turned around.

As I went back to the garage to throw away the bowl, he was following me again. I waited for him at the sidewalk by the garage. He came up to within a few feet of me as usual, and then sat down waiting for pets. I decided I'd give him extra attention. I put a towel in my lap, and put him on my legs to cuddle while I rubbed him all over. He started up sitting, and he seemed to be a little nervous. After just a few minutes, he lay down, put his head down, and took a little nap. He really seemed to enjoy when I rubbed his head. While we were there, a little chipmunk walked across the sidewalk in front of us. Cooper lifted his head to watch. When the chipmunk continued on his way, Cooper just put his head back down.

It seemed to be very hot in the garage yesterday. Even though Cooper has battled hypothermia, we found him panting a few times. We pointed a fan at one end of his crate. We still turned on the heat lamp before bed, just in case it got cold in the morning. We had the fan at one end and the heat lamp at the other so that he could decide where he wanted to sleep. We will leave the fan on at all times so that he never gets overheated.

Day 19 - Dog Visitor

Written by Mason

Morning feedings this weren't too eventful besides Cooper almost eating a yellow jacket.

However, this afternoon after feeding Cooper I tried to get him to play with his raccoon or tennis ball. I had no success but while I was making my attempts a neighborhood dog who gets walked off-leash decided to pay us a visit. The dog got within a few yards of Cooper but probably because I was there wouldn't approach any closer, not that I would have allowed contact. The dog's owner started calling but instead of immediately leaving the dog decided to sniff around and went into our garage. At this point I had to chase the dog off.

I have mixed opinions of dogs off-leash. I come from South Georgia in the country where many dogs live and roam free. In fact, we have had stray cats and dogs become pets and all have continued to live outside. We did have some problem dogs who eventually ended up with an electronic fence. This freedom makes me not want to overly criticize letting the dog off-leash but I have come to understand that social norms are different in neighborhoods. Since there are numerous other wild animals that can cause damage or poop in a yard including stray cats and dogs, raccoon, squirrels, etc I think it is up to a homeowner to avoid leaving things out that might be a problem (garbage, food, etc.) So in my opinion it is okay for the guy to walk his dog off-leash (since it is not an aggressive dog and seems fairly well trained) but he should be able to monitor it, call it out of yards if needed, and bag any poop.

Day 18 - Encounters with Wildlife

Written by Erin

Apparently Cooper didn't warm up to his heat lamp last night. Hehe. Mason checked on him around midnight, and he was hiding in the corner of the crate. He moved the heat lamp so it wasn't pointing over Cooper's bed. Later Cooper was back in his bed. His tongue had a slight pink color this morning, but it was still very pale.

When I stepped outside to place Cooper's food, I saw a wild rabbit in the yard. I ran to get my camera. In the meantime, Cooper was outside searching for his food. The bunny stayed in place for a little while before running away. I was surprised at how close it let Cooper get. Then again, Cooper isn't much bigger than the rabbit was.

As Mason was preparing Cooper's lunch, I peeked into his crate. He was resting with his head on his new raccoon toy. It made me smile. He may have just thought it was part of the towel, but it was still sweet.

Just before Cooper's final feeding, I saw a young deer in the backyard. I went onto the deck to take pictures. It strolled right on through Cooper's area. We frequently see deer around the house at that time of night. We saw a few last night as we were bringing Cooper outside, but they were farther away and they ran off as soon as they heard us. Now we have seen a dog, cat, rabbit, and deer in Cooper's area. Along with countless birds and squirrels. It's a good thing he didn't really have the raccoon roundworm to spread around!

Day 17 - Meeting Atlas

Written by Erin

Cooper had another slew of firsts today! The morning feeding and potty break were normal. We are lucky that he is in the habit of walking out of his crate, across the yard, devouring his food, peeing, then pooping. It was chilly this morning and I noticed the pale color of Cooper's tongue as I gave him his medicine. I guess it had always been that color in the mornings, but I just assumed he had a pigmented tongue. I didn't realize how pale it was until I compared it to his pink tongue that I saw yesterday when he was panting. Since he loses his body heat in the early morning, we bought him a reptile heat lamp. We will keep it on during the nighttime so that he can stay nice and toasty.

Mason handled the lunch duties because I was at work. He texted me to let me know that Cooper walked all the way back to the garage again. He was in the habit of doing this when the food was only 15 feet away from the garage door, but we moved his food much farther away last week, and since then he hasn't made the journey back. He usually just sits down at the other end of the yard when he's done with his business. We are glad he is now walking around more, and apparently still knows the way to his bed.

When I got home from work, Mason was in the middle of giving Cooper his evening meal. Mason came to greet me in the driveway as I got out of my car, and he then rolled the garbage can down the driveway since it got picked up today. I was headed towards the front door when Mason stopped and yelled, "he's running!" I promptly walked back around the corner of the house, only to see Cooper walking at a normal pace. Mason started rolling the garbage can again, and this time I saw Cooper start trotting away. It wasn't a full run where an animal leaps in the air, but this was definitely the fastest we'd seen this guy move. We tested the theory by stopping the trash can and re-starting it again, and we got the same results. He was scared of the noise, but at least he has energy to run now!

After the running incident, I went inside to put my stuff down. I then went into the backyard with our dog, Atlas. I walked over to the edge of our fenced backyard just to watch Cooper and Mason. Atlas walked over with me and leaned against my legs as he watched too. When Cooper saw the 2 of us, he stood up and walked over to us while wagging his tail. I should mention that he now wags his tail at me whenever I approach him and talk in high pitch puppy voices. When Cooper got to us, he stuck his nose through the diamond holes in the chain link fence so that he could sniff Atlas. Atlas lowered his head to sniff the strange being that he had gotten glimpses of over the past 2 weeks. When their noses met, Cooper licked Atlas! He did this repeatedly, and Atlas didn't really like it. He stayed next to the fence, but he preferred to sniff the grass instead of the puppy. Cooper looked like he just wanted to cuddle with Atlas and steal his body heat. I was delighted by the successful encounter, so I ran inside to grab my camera.

sniffing

During the final feeding of the day, I went to stand by the fence again, but this time I was in the side yard with Cooper. He once again came over to visit Atlas. Once Atlas ran away, I walked to the other side of Cooper and called him to me. He wagged his tail and came within 2 feet of my extended arms, but then he sat down. This was the second time he'd done that today. I don't think it will be long before he comes all the way.

We decided to spoil Cooper today, so we went shopping for him. He is finally gaining more energy and getting healthier, but he stays alone in the garage all day without any mental stimulation. We went to the pet store and got him 3 toys - a mini tennis ball, a rubber nylabone, and a stuffed raccoon to honor his unique story. When we checked on him an hour after placing them in his crate, the bone had been moved across the crate. Hopefully these toys will provide him comfort. And hopefully he won't ruin them with pee!