Cooper 05-392 [1]

11/19/05: Cooper came to us one week ago from our local Humane Society, where nobody claimed him and he was considered not very adoptable. He was picked up as a stray, with what impound records stated as a possible broken leg. He has puncture wounds on the top if his head and scabs on his face. It was quite obvious that Cooper had been in a dog fight, and we assume he lost the battle. Cooper met our four dogs in a very subservient manner, with eyes squinted shut, tail between his legs - almost as if to say "hi - are you going to bite me?". Once he realized that our boys wanted to be friends, you could see the relief on his scabby face. A week ago, Cooper was a floor hugging, squinty eyed stinky boy. Today, he is more confident, relaxed and quietly recovering from his shelter stay, his initial grooming (which he loved) as well as several trips to see Dr. Jones this past week.

What was thought to be a broken leg is actually an old fracture to his right rear foot that was left to heal on its own. All four metacarpals were broken straight across and have fused together as one bone. Cooper gets along very well, puts full weight on it most of the time, only occasionally picking it up about every 4 gallops when he runs. With good nutrition, gentle exercise and building muscle in his skinny atrophied body - he should do just fine. He won't be a marathon runner nor hiker, but normal walks (shorter at first) and regular yard and house play and activity are just what the Doctor ordered. While in for his neuter surgery on Monday, Cooper had two broken teeth pulled and a lump removed from his rump, right above his tail. He managed to get a few of the sutures out, so is now sporting a fashionable e-collar and a shiny row of silver staples. Cooper also has an upper respiratory infection for which he is receiving antibiotics. He gets his staples out the day after Thanksgiving, and will have finished his antibiotics, so we're hopeful that he will receive a clean bill of health. He is heartworm and fecal negative, up to date on all vaccines and has started on heartworm prevention. Cooper is proving to be a very lovely, mellow and patient boy who just had a really rough life prior to come to RAGOM. Pictures and more on Cooper coming soon....