Cooper's Amazing Senses

Can you see the little white puppy walking on a leash in the distance?

A couple of years ago we rode in a parade in Boston with a bunch of other women motorcyclists. They put us at the beginning of the parade. This was actually the second time Cooper and I had ridden in the parade. I'm not sure how many bikes we were, but we really did make an entrance and set the tone for the parade in a BIG way. I'll tell about the parade and how funny Cooper is with his audience in another blog. This blog is about something that touches my heart and tells of Cooper's amazing ability to just know what to do and how to act in situations that are impossible for us to understand.

On the day of that parade in June of '09 I believe, after the parade was over, we walked around checking out a bunch of vendors. The women I was with was another female motorcycle group I'm a member of called New England Thunder. Some of us had gone our separate ways and at the end we were all meeting up to walk back to our bikes to head home. What happened next will give me goose bumps for the rest of my life.

Cooper was watching intently to something on the ground a ways away from where we were. I thought he was watching pigeons, but when they flew away and he continued to watch, I realized he was looking at a little puppy. How strange it was that he saw another dog and didn't go nuts wanting to go visit the new dog. He always gets crazy and wiggles from head to toe with excitement and he lets me know what he wants. Not this day though. He just sat there with his head down watching the puppy.

I watched him for a while. I liked his attention so I thought I would reward him for being so appropriate without getting too excited. We walked over to the puppy. Cooper walked with me, not too excitedly. Calmer than most times. I asked the puppy's owner if my dog could meet the puppy. They told me he could but to be careful not to come up behind her because, 'she's deaf'. I could have fallen over. He must have been able to tell. His approach continued to be cautious and quiet with his head down, and he made slow movements. He knew she was deaf from across that wide open space, I know he did.

Anyone who knows Cooper, knows he gets over excited when meeting another dog.

He's usually a nut!

But look how calm and quiet he is here as he introduces himself to this little deaf girl.

The owners of the puppy told me she was going to be put down. She had champion pedigree but because she was deaf, she was useless to the breeder. The people that have her now got her for either free or cheap. I can't remember. She was 7 or 8 weeks old when we met her. What a sweet little thing. I was so taken back by Cooper's behavior, I'm sorry to say that I can't even remember the puppy's name.

Cooper's body language spoke volumes to that little girl. He let her know he was no danger to her. Before too long she was up and smelling and wanted to play with Cooper. He seemed happy in a protective sort of way. He was reluctant to bark at her when she was playful. Such a different Cooper from what he is like any other time he meets a dog.

I would have loved to make a connection to that puppy to watch Cooper's interactions with her again. That little girl would be two years old this summer. I can't help but think of her sometimes. I hope she will be there if we ride in that parade again this year or next. You can be sure that if we meet her again, we'll blog about it. And next time I'm going to be able to tell you her name.