Cooper is a chihuahua that was acquired by my daughter, Jordan. My daughter and her friend thought they were rescuing him from a “breeder” who has some notoriety in our area for cruelty and neglect of his dogs.  This breeder was also suspended by AKC for those cruelty charges. 

When I saw Cooper for the first time all I could think was this puppy is not going to be around for very long. I didn’t have the heart to tell my daughter who had fallen in love with the tiny 1 lb. puppy.  He had one eye that went one way and the other eye went another.  Sometimes, I swear, they spun around in his head.   He was such a quiet inactive puppy.  I asked Jordan if he played and she said she did.  Whenever I saw him, he was asleep.   I thought that if he did live, he would be mentally stunted.  But he was still ever so cute in his little rolly eyed - see through his pink skin little way. He reminded me of a newly hatched bird or of Bartok, the bat.

We made an appointment with the veterinarian immediately. Not surpisingly, he had a cough and diarhea.  The ‘breeder” had given Jordan a bottle of amoxicillin for “just in case”.  This is your first clue.  If the puppy comes with a bottle of amoxicillin bigger than he is, well, realize, that just maybe, the breeder suspects the puppy is not well.  “Breeder” also recommended that one pound Cooper should be given 5 ml of Amoxi twice a day! I believe at that dose, Cooper’s liver could have become compromised at the very least.  Cooper was diagnosed with mange, kennel cough and worms.  Just a few days later, Cooper went into hypoglycemic shock.  That’s not a surprise in such unhealthy puppy.    We rushed him to the vet and I kept checking his vital signs.  By the time we got to the vet office, Cooper was unconscious and was not responding. It took awhile but my vet finally brought Cooper around. The techs still talk about how surprised they were when Cooper survived.   Cooper was a fighter!  Not only was he a fighter, he has a personality that is way bigger than he is, all four pounds of him today! 

My worries that Cooper wasn’t mentally normal were needless.  He is very bright and very manipulative.  He has us all wrapped around his little paws. He adores my daughter. He usually enjoys dress up. He prefers people-like clothes such as t-shirts. He does not enjoy being dressed up as a  pumpkin. He can be stubborn, territorial, and hates new people. He must meet someone three times before he decides they are okay.   IF he ever decides they are okay. A little food goes a long way to changing Cooper’s mind.