For the Love of Cooper
Cooper came to us from a family who could no longer keep him. He went to one of our wonderful beagle-experienced foster families. It didn’t take long for them to discover that Cooper’s skills in food snagging were well beyond the average beagle. In fact, he had Einstein level intelligence when it came to getting into all things edible. He wasn’t picky…anything would do –cat food, dog food, people food. It was just a matter of figuring out how to get it! The fosters went to great lengths to try to prevent his antics but at last count, it was Cooper 10; Humans-0.
As we typically do with all new intakes, a vet visit was scheduled for Mr. Coop and something wasn’t quite right. The itchy skin, ear infections and long nails are the norm, but there was something else with him. He did have lumps all over his body that were mostly fatty inconsequential tumors. What concerned us was his distended abdomen, so an ultra sound was ordered. It looked like he had some suspicious tumors near the liver and spleen so a visit with a specialist at Cascade Veterinary Referral Center was our next stop. A more detailed ultrasound was performed and read by a radiologist. Yep — it confirmed there were two tumors. One was large and less intrusive, but the smaller one was the one to watch, according to the vet. It was recommended that a splenectomy (removal of the spleen) be performed so that’s the road we went down. The surgery went well, however the results of the biopsies were the worst news. Cooper had a very aggressive cancer that had already attached onto the liver. He was now terminal and transferred to ‘hospice’ status in our system. Some people may shy away from having a dog in their lives that they know will die soon. Not Cooper’s foster family. In fact, they wanted to adopt him! With hospice cases, CBR will continue to cover the veterinary care to ensure the family isn’t burdened with the cost of a hospice case, which can get spendy. It was only a couple of months before the family knew it was his time. He stopped having an interest in food – -which is the Litmus test for any beagle. He was lethargic and his eyes told them. Although he was with them through his last breath, the past few months while in their care were fabulous.
We hold this family in our hearts during this difficult time and thank them so much for the wonderful love and care they gave Cooper.
We are sure Cooper is getting into heaven’s pantry at this very moment!
