Bow - Wow! Friends, Offspring Help Cooper Mark His 119th
He’s survived plunging through the ice on a lake, two strokes, and time behind bars.
He’s a little gimpy when he first starts walking, but takes advantage of gravity when going downhill to build up the speed of the old days. Unfortunately, he has to wear a modified Speedo swimsuit when he’s in the car or house because of a little … uh, control problem.
Cooper has put up with all of this, not to mention the same old food day after day for 17 years.
His master’s answer?
Celebrate.
On Saturday, Jack Dolan and Julie Green threw a birthday party for this champion English setter, inviting neighbors and animals, building a shrine of Cooper mementos on the kitchen bar - all catered for canines.
Cooper’s 17th birthday cake? Hamburger mixed with Mighty Dog Senior, iced with grated mozzarella cheese, topped with Meaty Bone Senior dog treats.
His grandson, Gozzer, attended the party. Both wore pointed party hats and consumed their special cake from “Happy Birthday” plates.
Neighbors joined in for a chocolate version of the taste treat. Estelle the cat also was on hand, though less excited by the food and definitely not interested in wearing a hat.
What else do you do for a dog that has survived so faithfully for so long?
More. Tomorrow, for example, five of Cooper’s offspring will come to this home high above Lake Coeur d’Alene to pay homage.
Cooper enjoyed Saturday’s food, but didn’t take to all aspects of the festivities. “I didn’t like the bath today,” he said through his owner and interpreter. “After that fall through the ice, I haven’t much cottoned to water. And I knew I was going to have to get my picture taken.”
It’s a dog’s life.
Dolan got Cooper from Wyoming when the pup was 4 months old. Cooper spent the first 10 years of his life in Colorado, where he had his first serious brush with death. He chased a fox out across lake ice and fell through.
Dolan raced around the shore looking for a boat to take to the rescue. Cooper kicked and kicked, finally wedging himself up on the ice and rescuing himself.
The dog had a stroke when he was 8 that knocked him down pretty well. Cooper came back. Last year he had another stroke - and came back again.
His master had the bad taste to put him behind kennel bars for a week one time. Never again. Now a dog sitter comes to the house.
Maybe the practice of having a sitter dates back to the horrors of doggie jail. Maybe it’s related to the fact that, on another occasion, Dolan left Cooper with friends in Spirit Lake while Dolan was traveling. Cooper got disgusted and, in just one night, loped back to Dolan’s house, then in Hayden Lake.
Dolan arrived home from his trip to find the dog on the front porch. He assumed his friends just delivered the dog.
Nay. They were frantic about losing the dog.
What’s the secret to this canine’s longevity? Good attitude, no stress, walking every day and “he’s never smoked,” Dolan said. And “even though he’s a bird dog, he doesn’t drink Wild Turkey.”
Cooper’s sight and hearing are somewhat dulled - though he can still pick up the sound of a can of dog food being opened from several hundred yards away. He has to take an aspirin a day for his arthritis.
After all of this time together - nearly 120 years in dog time - what would Cooper’s people do differently?
“Never miss a day taking him for a walk,” said Green, Dolan’s wife. “That’s his primary pleasure.”
“I would have spent more time with him because he appreciates it so much,” Dolan added. “I wish I could work a three-day week so I had four with (Cooper and Gozzer).
“Guess I’ll have to get Gozzer a dog-food commercial.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo