My New Best Friend-Cooper

I have been wanting a dog for a long time, and I thought what I wanted was a mutt puppy. Mutt puppies are about the rarest dogs in Maine because I couldn't locate a single one. Everyone had pure bred pups that they wanted hundreds of dollars for, and there was no way I could come up with that much. I thought I wanted a small mixed breed with some terrier in the mix. Finally, in desperation, I put my desire out on facebook. That very day, a friend from Church told me she had a male Shihtzu that she was willing to give me. They have very young children that were rough with the dog and he would get snappy with them. No problem--I have no young kids. Even my grandkids are all old enough to know how to respect a dog.

It took me two days of unrelenting pressure to convince my husband to even go look at the dog. I went ahead and bought all the essentials at Petco and keep working my husband.

We went to look at Cooper on a Saturday afternoon and he came right over to me and put his paws up for me to pick him up. Sold! We were told he wasn't a barker and was a great little dog, so he came home with us. Within an hour, my husband was down on the floor playing with him.

Cooper likes to take naps on the backs of our couches. He loves to stand on his hind legs on my recliner arm and put his front paws on a stand so he can watch cars go by. He gets very excited when Jim pulls the car into the driveway and then into the garage, and then he runs over to the door and waits for him to come in. The ONLY time he barks is when someone knocks on the door--perfect!

Given the chance, he will run over to the neighbor's house and then run home straight up the road. Not good. I put him on a leash and have to take him out several times a day (I don't think he connects those dots, but...) and he always looks wistfully next door. Perhaps he knows there's a pretty little female dog over there but I don't know how!

He sleeps with me. I keep my bed extra warm with an electric blanket and he sleeps down by my feet. There is a futon in my room and when he feels he needs to, he'll jump from my bed to the futon and sleep there for awhile. He's not a real snuggler or, thankfully, a licker.

He's only had a couple accidents which is to be expected. He's learning the ropes and routines of the house, and he's been with us less than a week. During the day, whatever I do he is close to me. At my computer, he curls up next to me on a rug; when I'm cooking he's on a rug watching me but not underfoot. He seems to have a good instinct for what I was looking for in a dog--he's perfect, actually.

I'm really quite glad I couldn't find a mutt.