Cooper LG Macdega
10/6/2003-10/11/2017

Cooper was the sweetest and most gentle of all our Shelties. Many said he was also the most handsome.

Known by many "pet" names including Cooper Dooper, Cooper Dooper Dog, Coops, the Coop, Nose, Coopie, Cooperoni, Buddy Dog, My Handsome Guy, etc., he was a warm and loving companion. He was also a chow hound. You could say he was really into food. Cooper loved to shop He did have a nasty habit of shoplifting though!

Every bag was a target...plastic grocery bags especially could be easily torn open. Cooper accompanied us grocery shopping one day. When we got home there was this strange red blob in the back of the car...Cooper had rummaged through the pile of bags, found the best smelling one, chomped through the bag and packaging to enjoy some steak tartare! He taught us that bags with food had to be secured in coolers or heavy canvas bags with zipper tops if we wanted everything that was in them to be there when we got home. Very few items escaped his inquiring teeth.

As a pup he would get horribly car sick and drool all over everything. It was so bad he became known as "Drooly Andrews." We tried everything including tranquilizers, motion sickness pills and even Valerian Root, all to no avail. He had to be placed in a soft sided crate in the car because he would otherwise shake his head and send the drool, which hung from his mouth like stalactites, flying all over the car. He finally cured himself. He loved his "sister" Skye who liked to use our van as a dog house. One day he circled and circled that van wanting to join her...and he finally jumped in...the drooling ceased after that!

Also as a pup, Cooper loved to chew anything that resembled a string. We lost countless pairs of shoe laces, all rugs lost their fringes and anything that was tied with a string was fair game. Even after we thought he had outgrown the habit, he did chew off the tassle from a visitor's expensive leather shoes...oh well. While he was a good pup and easily trained, let's not say he was always an innocent. He sometimes displayed his heritage, howling for attention or just for the sheer joy of it! Cooper grew a remarkable coat, often causing people to stop and marvel at his bounty of fur. Grooming returned him to his young pup looks.

Cooper joined us on all our trips and outings. He joined us on bike rides in a customized trailer. He rode with us on Seacycle in a basket we added to the back, he joined use on boat rides on Lake George, and even went to hockey games. As he aged and slowed down he joined us at craft fairs, shopping, dining out and just walking in a wagon, complete with an umbrella. He was often the subject of photos. He was an easy and cooperative traveling companion joining us in our trips to Maine, Massachussettes, New Hampshire , Florida, etc. He even traveled to Ohio to pick up his "sister," MacKenzie. He was a tv star more than once and was featured on the local evening weather several times. Although he did not enjoy swimming, he was happy to wade into a local a local stream or lake to cool off and he loved to wait for waves so he could bite them.

Cooper was a dog who enjoyed life and knew how to live it. He made our lives richer, fuller and happier. He is missed.