A Sad Day

Today we said goodbye to our puppy, Cooper. Shortly after Thanksgiving, Chris finally gave in to the idea of us getting a puppy for Mackenzie. She had been begging for at least the past 2 years & I finally decided that I really wanted a puppy too. No idea how I actually convinced my husband but he agreed & we brought home the sweet ball of fur.

and that's when the real fun began...


1. I grew up with dogs but NEVER cared one bit for them. I think it probably had to do with the fact that I was seriously bit...twice. We also had a dog that barked so much that the police paid numerous visits to our house because of neighbor complaints. Fun.

2. Chris grew up with a dog or two but they were completely OUTSIDE dogs. And by outside I mean, "we don't care if it's -80, that's where he belongs".

Add the two together & you pretty much have what became of our household this past few months. Also add in the fact that he was a puppy with a ton of energy & the fact that I do home daycare = not a good combo.

Mackenzie started out doing well with her chores. Feeding him each morning before school & cleaning up his potty messes. But the bigger he got, the more Chris insisted that he had to be out in the garage (in his heated/insulated dog house) & the less Mackenzie wanted anything to do with him. I convinced Chris to let Cooper stay in his kennel since I was the one doing potty training but things were not going very well & obviously Kenzie wasn't going to get up in the night to let him outside in the freezing weather.

We finally came to the conclusion that we were not being fair to this sweet puppy. He needed to run & play, be trained by someone who knows a thing or two about animals & be happy...none of which we felt we were giving him. After a few days of debate, Mackenzie agreed that we could find him a new home.

Things worked out perfectly because we found someone that lives in the country & lives on a farm with 3 boys. They already have one Golden Retriever & she's a vet tech. Her son is going to start obedience classes with him in March & then plans to show him in 4-H. Add in the fact that there are a few other animals (horses & a few cats) for him to befriend & I can't imagine a better home for him.

With all that said, I've been crying my eyes out all day. It's bittersweet. He was so sweet & SO adorable but I know we gave him a better life by giving him away. Love you Cooper.