Meet Our New Family Member, Cooper!

Would you believe that my mom has never owned a dog in her adult life? Well, I’ve been wanting my mom to adopt a furry friend for years now and she finally did it. Granted, she had great reasons for not adopting a dog in recent years (which I wish more people would consider) – she was too busy with school and work, and my stepdad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Recently, however, we got good news on my stepdad and things are looking up. So when I tagged my mom in a post on the Arizona Animal Welfare League Facebook page, I hardly expected her to take it seriously. Then less than 24 hours later, my mom became a dog mom to the adorable Cooper. Allow me to introduce you to this super cute little muffin!

My stepdad is retired, and now that his health is better it’s a great time to introduce a new puppy into their home. Of course, rescue was the only option. We’ve been supporting AAWL for a number of years, so it was fitting that they adopted for first dog from that shelter.

Cooper is a four month old male Maltese mix, who is pretty much the cutest puppy you’ll ever see in your life. When he runs, he hops like a bunny. His little barks are ferocious, and his puppy tummy is absolutely irresistible.

All is right with the world now, but it wasn’t exactly a stress-free process to adopt Cooper (whose original name was Jorgan).

Cooper’s photos were shown on the AAWL Facebook page after closing on Tuesday night. Of course everyone in the feed wanted to adopt him. I tagged my mom in the post, like I do frequently in my attempts to transform her into a dog mom.

The next morning, I get a phone call from my mom at 9am that she and my stepdad saw Cooper and they wanted him. The shelter doesn’t open until 11:30am but I immediately texted my contact at the shelter. I told him that my mom was ready to adopt the puppy at opening. Then I got the devastating news that someone was in front of us for Cooper, and I’d get a phone call if the adoption didn’t work out. My mom was already heartbroken.

I told my mom that if it was meant to be, it’d work out, otherwise there are always other dogs who need homes. I prayed hard, because my stepdad and mom were actually ready to get a dog and I so badly wanted it to work out.

Around 12:30pm I received a phone call that my mom was next in line for Cooper because the first adopter fell through. OMG. I quickly called my mom and she was already on her way to the shelter in an attempt to possibly speed up the process. Within an hour, my mom and stepdad were on their way home with Cooper!

The first to meet him? Me, of course. Before heading to my mom’s house I went to PetSmart and dropped $100 on necessities. I mean, it’s a chance to spoil a dog! YES PLEASE! I bought food, puppy pads, toys, chews, treats, leash, collar and harness.

When I arrived at my mom’s house, I seriously couldn’t handle the cuteness. I felt like I was gonna stroke out from how absolutely precious Cooper is. He just wanted to love up on me and give me kisses. I mean, omg. I have puppy fever now. Matt told me before I went over there, “Don’t get any ideas!” Oh boy. Cooper reminds me of Khloee when she was that young but he is actually smaller. I cannot express how loved he is already.

The best part is how excited my mom and stepdad are. They’ve been emptynesters for years, and it’s about time they have something super positive (and cute) to focus on. They got lucky with such an adorable, well-mannered dog, and Cooper won the lottery with them. I can’t wait until he meets my kids and we can have all the play dates!

I cannot express how excited I am that I have a new nephew, and a freaking adorable one at that. Congrats on your new son, mom and David!