Goodbye Copper

Derek and I had to make the very tough decision to put down our dog Copper. We got Copper 4 1/2 years ago from rescue and she has become such a big part of our family. When we got Copper she had all kinds of problems that took the vets a LONG time and thousands of dollars to figure out! I think this process really bonded us to her and gave her such a special place in our hearts. Copper had severe allergies that required special allergy shots and daily allergy pills, along with other medications. We have been so thankful we were the ones to get her from rescue as most people would not have given her the medicine and care she needed and deserved!

A lot of you have had the great honor of meeting Copper. She was a bundle of energy, she loved to greet everyone with her wiggle butt! One of my favorite things about her was she had no idea that she weighed 55 lbs OR that she was a dog. She was determined for us to let her be a lap dog....we obliged many nights sitting on the floor and letting her lay on us.

I'll share what I would guess is one of Derek's favorite memories (this is super embarrassing for me :) ). When we first got Copper I was so excited to get to take her on walks, so we took her out for our first family walk. We have a small park area in our neighborhood that I thought would be a great place to let her really stretch her legs and run a little. I wasn't comfortable letting her off the leash because I didn't know if she'd run away, so I decided it was a retractable leash and I could just hold on to it and slowly let it come out while I ran with her....bad mistake. As Derek stood watching the leash line came to the end and Copper was still going full speed with me running behind...well she had a lot more force than I ever accounted for! I went flying and landed on my head (broke my glasses), I can still remember Derek's face, a small amount of concern and a HUGE hidden grin. We were so touched when our new dog came running back to check on me even though she was no longer being held by the leash, that was when we knew that she really loved us!

Copper was such a sweet dog...or again I should probably say girl since she had no idea she was a dog :) We will miss her so much, it is going to be a long time before we get use to not having her greet us with her cute wiggle butt! We love you Copper and already miss you so much.