Bringing Home Cooper

 Mr. Cooper McGuire

Our introduction to Cooper with his former owner :)

Last Wednesday night, 2-16-11, our neighbor Sara asked me if Mark and I would be interested in having a dog. Being that Mark had mentioned adopting a dog early in the month, I told Sara that we may be interested. I asked her why, and who the dog was...
She told me that her friend had a year and 3 mo. old "Yorki-Poo," which is a popular crossbreed now...a Yorkshire Terrier mixed with a Poodle. She had purchased this pup for her 16 yr. old daughter who wanted him. Now, 1 year later, the pup was no longer getting the attention he needed from her daughter. The mother said that she wasn't really a dog person and this was a gift for her daughter and her daughter's responsibility... We have all heard this story too many times. It is sad when a pup gets a home and then no longer is wanted.

I asked my friend and neighbor, Sara, to send me a picture and to ask her friend if we could meet the pup if Mark gave me the go ahead. Later that night, Mark came home from playing softball with the Broward Seminole Club...he looked exhausted but I needed to ask him because I had told Sarah I would get back to her immediately (Cooper was on the way to the Humane Society if a home could not be found soon...)

So I did what any good housewife would do when I need a loving husband's answer...I made Mark and amazing steak dinner :)
I set the table with all of our new dishes, new silverware, wine glasses, 2 big marinated steaks, a large fresh flower centerpiece that Mark bought me on Valentine's Day...and then I started my "potential pup story." He didn't answer right away...so I waited...and waited...
He later said, "So this dog...its a "Yorki-what?" haha I knew a "foo foo" breed was not up Mark's alley, but I figured if his temperament was good, we may have a home for this pup.  Above is the picture that I was emailed of Cooper to show Mark. I loved his little face from the second I saw him.

Thursday night came around and the Cooper's owner told my neighbor Sara that she would let me have the dog for the weekend to get to know Cooper. This way, we would get more time to decide and basically fall in love with him.

I brought him home that evening, took a little video of him for my friends to see on facebook and weigh-in on, and waited for Mark to come home...

We had plans on this night to watch our wedding video together, so it worked out perfectly when Cooper cuddled up with Mark for our viewing party.

 

Cooper and Mark hitting it off :)

So, after we watched our wedding video and had a few glasses of wine, I could tell that Mark was playing with Cooper and this may be a match!
Lucky for me, Mark likes all-big or small- dogs, but he prefers "a dog with a snout." He jokes and tells me that my mom's dogs, which are Shih Tzu pups, are not real dogs because they don't have a snout and their face is pushed in. RUDE! So Cooper is a "real dog" apparently to Mark, haha. Cooper may be a "designer breed" as he is a "Yorkie-Poo" ...but you would look at this dog and just think he's a terrier mutt :) He gets along with everyone (even kids and other dogs) which is great. He is still exploring and getting used to us and our habits. His previous owner, had a doggy door for him so that he could go in and out whenever - so he is now learning: how to go on walks, walk on a leash, eating lots of food & treats! (I am trying to put a couple of more pounds on him since he is pretty thin right now), and all the sounds in his new home now that he lives in a condo (which has a balcony that we keep open a lot... bringing in sounds of birds and other pups playing downstairs.) Overall, Cooper is a adjusting very well, and we are very happy to have a new addition in our little family. We jokingly call him our son, being that it will be a while until we have kids, which leads to Mark treating him extra special :)
I can't wait to introduce him to our friends and extended family! We love our curly little mess, Cooper McGuire.