Day 2 - Making a Plan

Written by Erin

After we got home from the vet it was time for us to make 2 plans - one for how we will care for his special needs and one for how long we are willing to help.

First, we are laying it out plain and simple. We do not plan on keeping Cooper as our own. We already have a dog and cat, and we do not wish for the extra expense or responsibility of another pet. Also, we do not know if this puppy will even survive. Making long term plans for him could be setting ourselves up for heartache (I already fear that Mason is too attached after naming him). Cooper has been through the worst of his bad situation, but the road ahead still won't be easy. He requires special attention and his needs extend far beyond that of a normal puppy. We understand that most people are either unwilling or unable to care for this puppy and all the baggage that he comes with. It is highly unlikely that we would be able to find him a home right now even if we tried. Our plan is to continue to care for him until we deem him adoptable. No matter what, he has to be gone by the end of July.

Once Mason and I considered all the diseases, medications, and other special issues Cooper had we knew we needed a well-defined routine to manage his care. Before all else we had to consider the safety of ourselves and of our own animals. Cooper stays in a crate in the garage and will never be allowed inside the house. He has had zero contact with our animals and we plan to keep it that way. To protect ourselves we set up a station of supplies and implemented biosecurity rules:

• You must wear latex or nitrile gloves when handling Cooper or anything from his crate
• You cannot touch any doorhandles or lights while wearing dirty gloves
• All soiled towels and puppy pads from the crate must go directly into a designated trash can that is to stay in the garage
• All food and water is to go into disposable paper bowls which are not to be re-used
• Bowls and gloves must also go into the designated trash can
• The bottom of the crate must always have 3 layers - cardboard, puppy pad, towel

Cooper is being fed approximately every 3 hours during the day. We take him outside for a break at this time. If he has gone to the bathroom inside his crate it is immediately cleaned. He has a few medications to take in the morning but they are banana flavored so he doesn't mind them much. We check on him frequently throughout the day. He is usually sleeping. We look forward to monitoring his progress and seeing the fruits of our efforts.