Another Cooper

While visiting Williamsburg, we met another cooper. This cooper is a maker of barrels and containers. We learned a lot of interesting things, but I think our Cooper is cuter!

Williamsburg was a lot of fun. We picked a good time of year to visit because it was not very crowded.

The Governor's Palace was beautiful. At the silversmith, I learned that since there were no banks, people saved their silver coinage and turned it into bowls & flatware. Engraving the pieces ensured that they could be recognized, if ever stolen.

The gardens were in full bloom and beautiful.

Shower Complete

The tile in the shower and on the floor has been completed.

The grout can be installed on both of these tomorrow.

It has taken a long time for the tile to be installed, but I am pleased with the result. I wanted the shower wall to be a focal point and I think it is.

Virginia Beach

We spent last week on vacation in VA Beach. We stayed in an ocean front hotel. When we walked onto the balcony on Sat night, we realized that we were over looking a monster truck race!

I am not a truck fanatic, but it was fun to watch. I thought Megasaurus was the best part. Megasaurus breathed fire and could eat cars - tearing out the inside before snapping the car in two.

On a rainy day we went to the VA Aquarium. I thought the harbor seals were the best part. The aquarium is being renovated and will soon have komodo dragons, which would have been neat to see. We saw an IMAX movie about life under the sea which was fantastic.

Passage East

For anyone who is wondering, "What happened to the Cooper stories?"....

We spent last week on vacation in Virgina Beach, VA. While we were in VA, Cooper was at Passage East Kennel in Wilton. I was nervous about leaving Cooper, but Jeff reminded me that he is a dog who has been through much worse than spending a week at a highly recommended kennel.

We dropped Cooper off with his food, cottage cheese, treats and toys. The attendant was very nice and did not laugh as I asked that Coop get cottage cheese mixed with each meal.

I thought about Coop every day and wondered if he was doing ok.

When we picked him up on Sat evening, I asked the owner if Coop was ok. He's great I was told, a perfect guest. I asked if he ate - the man seemed surprised, not a problem, cleaned his bowl out every time.

The owner did warn me that our MilkBones were not used because they have special bones that they give the dogs. I guess these bones must be fantastic, because when Coop got home, I gave him a Milkbone. He sniffed it and reluctantly took it with a look that said, "Is this the best you've got ?"

Passage East groups dogs by size, so Coop was in the Lab/Golden wing. We were told that Coop loved to play with the other big dogs (mainly Labs) and did not hesitate to rough house with them! I was surprised. The owner said that he thought Coop would love a brother/sister and they had some rescue dogs up for adoption.

We are not ready for a second dog, but I was glad to hear that Coop adjusted so well to the kennel.

The Longest Night of My Life

On Thursday, May 8th, 2003 I remember getting a call on my drive home. Jake had a seizure and Valerie was frantic. I arrived at home about 30 minutes later to a dazed and confused Jake and a more confused Valerie.

We put Jake in the car and rushed to the after-hours vet clinic. Half way there, he had another seizure and we pulled to the side of the road to comfort him during his agony. The clinic kept him overnight and pumped him full of anti-seizure medicine to stop the convulsions.

We brought him to his regular vet the next day and plotted out a course of action. He would be weaned off the high doses of anti-seizure medication to a point where he was functioning but not having convulsions. As the week drew on, Jake became more aware of his surroundings and we become more and more hopeful.

Hope came to an end on Friday, May 16th. As we finished cleaning up after dinner, Jake had his first seizure since he was on medication. About 60 minutes later, another one longer and more violent than the first. We doubled his dose and made a plan to see the Vet the next day. Then came another, and another. The choice was clear. Jake couldn't even make it up the stairs to go to bed, so we slept with him on the floor that night.

I didn't sleep a wink that night. The choice couldn't have been clearer but it still bothered me. When he was on the table about to take his last breath, he looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes that said "Thank You Papa."

Six years have gone by and I still see those eyes.

Danny gave me the same look before his passing. I hope to never see it in Cooper.

Jake

While living in NC, I saw an ad in the paper asking for people to adopt homeless Goldens. I always liked Goldens and knew that too many dogs end up in shelters, so thought why not ? Looking back I did not realize just how traumatized a rescued dog could be.

Jeff had always wanted a red Retriever named Jake. When I called Neuse Golden Retriever Rescue and was told that there was a dog named Jake, I knew it was fate. When we first met Jake, a large red coated Golden, he did not walk, but crawled on his belly. My heart broke and I wondered what cruelty he had been subjected to, to be too afraid to walk.

Jake had large soulful eyes that always appeared haunted. We had Jake for 9 years and I could never erase the sadness in his sweet face. When we brought Jake home, he was terrified. A loud noise or sudden movement would send him scuttling from the room.

Jake taught me patience and Jake taught me that some wounds never heal. Trust is tenuous and when our vet said a nail had been intentionally driven into Jake's leg, we knew that all the love in the world might never be enough to make him feel safe.

Surprisingly, after all the abuse Jake endured, he did learn to love being near people. Jake loved to be petted, but not hugged.

Jake and Brandy became inseparable. Brandy taught Jake that jumping on the bed was ok and that toys were meant to be played with. Jake never learned to play fetch, but he would happily chase after Brandy.

At 90+ pounds, Jake was a big dog who brought much happiness into our lives. Jake had a white spot on his chest and I nicknamed him my "pure of heart" boy; even after all the abuse, Jake retained his Golden heart.

Jake's sweetness and gentleness were echoed in Danny's personality.

Brandy

AKC registered Sir Brandon of Stonehenge (Brandy) was the first dog that I ever owned. Brandy was not just beautiful, but drop dead GORGEOUS.

When we were out walking Brandy, people would often stop and comment on how handsome he was. One woman once asked if she could hire him as a stud for her female Sheltie.

Brandy did not walk, but seemed to prance. He was very intelligent, fearless, proud and an Alpha male. Brandy loved to bark - it could be at a leaf blowing by or a stranger at the door.

Life with Brandy was an adventure, you never knew what to expect. When I look at Cooper, I see the same zest for life that was such a part of Brandy's personality.

Brandy hated to get his feet wet and I can still picture him jumping over puddles on rainy days. Bath time was a nightmare, he would whine from the moment he saw the hose.

When Brandy was 10 years old, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and given 3 months to live. Brandy survived for 6 months and never slowed down.

Jeff had already moved from North Carolina and was living in Connecticut when it came time to put Brandy to sleep. Driving alone to our vet and saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I can still remember holding him in my lap as his life slipped away.

Jeff's Dad called that night and said, I feel bad that you are all alone and having to go through this. I remember saying, "I'm not alone, I have Jake...."

Brandy & Jake

Long before Danny and Cooper were part of our lives, we had two other dogs, Brandy a Shetland Sheepdog, and Jake a rescued Golden Retriever.

Both of these dogs passed away in the middle of May. Every year when I flip the calendar from April to May, their memories immediately come to my mind.

This week I will share some stories about these two special dogs.

Digging

After the last few rainy days, the sun was finally out today. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to let Cooper enjoy some time on the deck.

About an hour later, I looked out the window and saw dirt all over the deck. It seems that Coop had decided that it would be fun to dig in the containers that I recently planted.

Looking closer, I saw that the stems on the bulbs which had poked through the dirt were torn off and bulbs were scattered around.

Needless to say, I was NOT happy! Cooper, however, appeared gleeful.

Jeff's comment was, "And you thought your biggest problem would be the woodchuck!"

Summer's Coming

Summer must be coming, because Cooper is blowing his coat.

When I finished brushing Coop the other night, the brush was full of hair. As soon as I walked away Coop gave a hard shake and more hair flew everywhere.

I hate to admit that there are dust bunnies everywhere and they multiply faster than I can vacuum them up.

Pink Belly

You may remember that when we first got Cooper, he had little hair on his belly and his skin was black and rough. I can no longer see Cooper's skin, since his belly hair is now long and thick.

Last night while brushing Coop, I thought I should check his skin. When I pulled back his fur, there it was, a PINK belly. To be honest, the skin is about 90% pink. There are still some gray spots.

Dr. Duffy says Coop's skin is a reflection of his health, so a pink belly tells me that Cooper is recovering from his past neglect.

Hudson

These are the Bertch Hudson cabinets which we ordered for the bathroom.

Our cabinet is in a different wood and color. We chose cherry wood with Autumn stain.

Illume

These are the Jado Illume faucets and shower fixtures for the bathroom.

They are in polished nickel.

Bark all you want

The other morning Cooper raced to the bedroom window and started barking and barking. I could not get him to stop and finally looked out to see why he was upset.

I looked and saw nothing, but even yelling "Be quiet" had no effect.

I looked more carefully and saw that Danny's nemesis, Silverback, was stretched out on a large boulder sunning himself! The woodchuck flicked his paw in a not too nice gesture - as if to say shut up dog.

I felt bad for Coop, he was obviously frustrated. If I thought Coop would come back, I would happily let him chase Silverback. However, Coop would either take off for Maine or end up stuck in a woodchuck tunnel.

Tile Started

It took us about an hour to lay out the tile design on the garage floor. Once the design was finalized, the tile cutting and installation began.

The theme of our bathroom is rectangles. This may sound odd, but I fell in love with a Toto rectangular undermount sink. Most sinks are round and the rectangle was different.

I saw the rectangular sink when we selected the downstairs bath fixtures, but wanted a more traditional look for that room. However, the rectangle intrigued me. I started to think about making the rectangle the upstairs "theme".

The red glass accent tile will act as the rectangular border on both the floor and wall. The Bertch cabinet drawers are simple and rectangular.

The sink fixtures were difficult. Jado has some VERY modern rectangular faucets, but in a traditional house, I thought they would be too out of place. I compromised on a more transitional faucet.

I hope all of these ideas will come together and the final look will be fabulous.

Sheetrock

All of the sheetrock has been installed.

Once the mud and tape is completed, tile installation will begin.

Tables

Whenever we sit down for dinner, Cooper always lays under the table. It doesn't matter if it is the kitchen or dining room or if there are two or six people.

Even when we went to my Mom's house, Coop was sprawled out under her dining room table during dinner.

We don't feed Coop from the table, so I find this a little odd.

Coop has now started sleeping under the coffee table in the family room and curling up under the office desk when Jeff work's in the evening.

When there is a thunderstorm, I can understand Coop hiding under the table. Beyond that, I guess this is just another Cooperism.

Window

The new bathroom window has been installed.

Walls

The previously missing insulation is now in place.

The sheetrock is starting to be installed on the bathroom walls.

Planting

Every year I plant several container gardens for the deck. Every year they get eaten by the woodchuck (but that is another story).

While at Costco, I saw some interesting bulbs and decided to plant them in the deck pots.

On this warm and sunny day, Coop and I went out onto the deck. I had my new shiny shovel, bag of bulbs and fertilizer.

I started to dig in the first pot and Cooper went crazy trying to bite the shovel. After yelling, "no", I realized the sunlight was reflecting off the shovel, exciting Cooper.

With the hole dug, I put the shovel down. Cooper pounced on it.

You can imagine that this short task took much longer and was much messier than originally planned.

Yet another reason why he is called Crazy Coop

Ceiling

The bathroom ceiling has been installed

Bathtub

When our contractor returned from vacation, he announced that his helper had quit. So, you can imagine that work is progressing slowly.

The new bathtub and subfloor has been installed.

How's Cooper ?

Whenever we talk with anyone, their first question is always, "How's Cooper ?". It seems our big eyed pup has a lot of people who care about him.

Cooper is GREAT!

If it were not for the shaved spots on Coop's neck and leg, I would not know he has cancer. Cooper has a sparkle in his eye and is more determined than ever to hunt down the deer and woodchuck.

The warm weather seems to have energized Coop. He loves to be on the deck or looking out the back door.

This is Cooper's first spring in Wilton and we are hoping he will continue to blossom.

We know Cooper's life may be short, but while times are good we will not focus on his illness but instead celebrate his uniqueness.

Extreme Alaska

While channel surfing, I ran across a tv program called Extreme Alaska on Discovery (?). When I saw a picture of the Bettles Lodge, where we are staying to view the Northern Lights, I stopped.

It turns out that the town of Bettles has a population of 39 people. There were 2 rogue grizzly bears that did not hibernate over the winter and were terrorizing the town.

When the bears broke into empty cabins and bear tracks were found near the snowmobile trails, it was feared that someone could be attacked by the starving animals.

Jeff said nothing - just looked at me with eyes that screamed - We are PAYING to go here ?? Are you insane ?

The story ends with 1 grizzly being killed and 1 disappearing.

My only comment was, "This happened in Nov, surely by Christmas, the bears will be asleep!" (Or so I hope).

This trip is shaping up to be a true adventure.

Photo Source: Dave Hurteau of Field & Stream magazine

Tile

In the upstairs bath, we are using three types of tile.

There will be two different travertine tiles and one accent tile. The accent tile is composed of maroon glass and natural stone. This picture shows the accent and one travertine tile.

We ordered the tile from two different stores and it has finally arrived.

Now that our contractor is back from vacation, I am hoping that we will see some real progress on the bathroom.

Warm weather

We finally saw the sun this weekend and with temperatures warming up, it was a good time to do some yard work.

While Jeff was cutting the lawn for the first time, I was working on the spring cleanup - raking, picking up branches, etc.

During all this Cooper was out on the back deck. Cooper raced back and forth, checking to see where we were, barking at the neighbor's dog and chasing any and all shadows.

When we went inside a few hours later, I looked for Coop, but didn't see him. As I went up the stairs to check, I saw him curled in a ball by the kitchen door, sleeping. All of the fresh air and exercise had taken its toll.

Don't Try This At Home

Christoper Dodd Raises $1M Dollars

Christoper Dodd raised $1 Million Dollars in the first quarter of 2009 for his 2010 bid to return to the Senate. You would think that is a pretty significant advantage considering Republican challengers Rob Simmons and Sam Caligiuri are just starting to open up bank accounts.

Except out of that $1 Million Dollars, exactly five people from the state of Connecticut ponied up a total of $4,000. At least he knows he still has friends in the Nutmeg State.

Maybe it was the fact that Christoper Dodd turned his back on his constituents during the multitude of bailouts that are still ongoing.

Maybe it was his Clinton-esque "non-truth" telling during the AIG bonus debacle (which personally, I think those people deserved).

Maybe the people just had enough of his mortgage shenanigans with the now defunct Countrywide Mortgage.

Yes, even the polls are saying we should check Dodd with a meat thermometer, because he appears to be done.

Vote with your pocketbook, Connecticut.

You Can't Do That, Part IV

There's nothing wrong with having an outlet in a bathroom, especially if it's a GFCI outlet.

And there's nothing wrong with connecting an outlet in the same box as a light fixture as long as you have a dedicated power source.

Except, the person that did this bathroom decided that it would be all right to connect the outlet to the light fixture that was controlled by a switch.

How cool is that, an outlet that operates on a switch?

Truffle Hunter

I have decided that Coop missed his calling as a truffle hunter.

Pigs were previously used to hunt the rare and expensive truffles and now dogs are used to locate truffles. I think Cooper would be great at this.

When we walk Coop he is constantly sniffing the ground. If he smells something interesting, he begins to dig. Coop then sniffs the hole and decides is he wants to dig deeper or to the right or left.

I have no idea what he is smelling, but there must be some scent that excites him.

You Can't Do That, Part III

If you know a little bit about plumbing, you will recognize the drain coming out of the wall (white part). The sink was located directly above that.

The only problem is that the sink was atop a vanity. And the vanity was placed OVER the baseboard heater.

You Can't Do That, Part II

You would think I was all done after the insulation. Nope.

When adding a fan to your bathroom, you invariably have to add a power source. You could tap an existing power source and run a wire for a new switch. If you have the sheetrock off anyway, you'd have the whole wall open and you'd drill a hole in the stud cavity and fish the wire to the new fan.

The wrong way to do it is put the wire on the outside of the framing and then put sheetrock OVER it. Yes, we had that in two places.

Have no fear, I have at least one more coming.

Happy Easter

Easter is a time for reflection, rebirth and new beginnings.

I hope we each take a moment to reflect upon the many blessings that have been bestowed upon us.

We wish all our family and friends a very Happy Easter! Your support, especially during these last few weeks, means more than you can imagine. We are sending you all hugs and kisses.

Cooper hopes all his 4 legged friends receive Easter baskets filled with popcorn, tennis balls and chocolate dipped milkbones.

Gaggle of Goldens

I have always wanted a gaggle of Goldens. I can't imagine anything better than a house full of these beautiful dogs. However, I'm not sure that Coop would like having to share our attention.

When Danny's foster Mom, Linda, sent this picture it made me smile and I knew it should be shared.

Linda owns the 3 adult Goldens(Callie, Madison and Frankie). Frankie (recently adopted from Sunshine Golden Retriever Rescue) is wearing the radio collar and reminds me of Danny. They both have the same shaped head and such beautiful eyes.

The pup is a SGRR dog that Linda was fostering and was recently adopted.

You Can't Do That, Part I

There's something to be said for building a house from scratch.

The upstairs bath had been remodeled sometime in the 80's. I'm not sure of the extent of the renovations, but obviously a medicine cabinet had been abandoned and a mirror plastered over the open spot. No problem, what do you do with an exposed area, you fill it with insulation.

Once the room was gutted during this renovation, we see what the real problem was. The only insulation in the exterior wall was the little bit where the medicine cabinet had been abandoned.

Upstairs Bath

On Monday, our upstairs bathroom looked like the top photo.

Today it looks like the bottom photo.

We are not renovating this bathroom ourselves and have hired a contractor.

When the sheetrock was removed, we found out that there was no insulation in the outside wall! How is that possible ?

Congratulations UNC

The UNC Tar Heels won the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. UNC completely dominated Michigan State and won 89-72.

I can't say the game was very exciting, because after the first 2 minutes, the score was never close.

Several UNC players did not join the NBA draft last year so they could stay in college and try to win a National Championship. Isn't it nice to know that with hard work some dreams do come true ?

Cytology

Good news! The oncologist called and the biopsy of Cooper's lymph nodes came back normal.

I am not really sure what this means, since it is always prefaced by "this does not mean the cancer has not spread somewhere....".

We seem to be riding a roller coaster of emotions these days.

I am going to try hard to be optimistic and just believe that Coop will be with us for a while. The best we can do is to try and enjoy each day that our pack is given together.

Decision

We do not yet know if the cancer is in Cooper's lymph nodes. Yet even without this information we have decided that we will not be pursuing radiation or chemo.

This was not an easy decision. Many tears have been shed since we learned of Cooper's illness and sleepless nights are now routine.

Some people will agree with us and some will disagree.

We will not send Coop away to live in a kennel while he undergoes radiation treatment. I think Coop would feel scared, abandoned and unloved. The months of work to establish trust would be broken.

As for chemo, we don't want Coop's life to revolve around Dr. visits.

I wonder if we are letting Coop down? Should we fight harder to extend his time with us?

In the end, we felt that what is important is that Coop be happy for whatever time remains. Keeping Coop with us and showing him lots of love is the best way we know to make him happy.

New Furniture

The new furniture finally arrived!

Reality

When I see Coop running around the house, always wagging his tail, it is easy to forget he just had surgery.

But then there are days like today, when we can't escape the fact that Cooper has cancer.

We went to the oncologist and he said that the pathology of the tumor leads him to believe there may have been some spreading into the capillaries. The oncologist recommended radiation and chemotherapy.

There are no local vet hospitals with radiation equipment, so Cooper would have to spend three weeks away from us. Chemo would be an ongoing treatment as long as Coop lived.

Some additional tests are being performed to see if the cancer has already invaded the lymph nodes.

Without treatment statistics say that Coop could survive up to 12 months. Treatment could extend this to two years.

We will think about all the medical advice we have been given and then make a decision.

Terrified

We had a severe thunderstorm the other evening. I did not think anything about it until Jeff said, "What's wrong with Coop?"

I looked over and Cooper's ears were flat against his head, his eyes were wide and every inch of him was shaking. I never knew Cooper was so afraid of thunder.

I petted him but nothing stopped the shaking.

After the storm passed, I went to bed. Coop refused to jump up on the bed. He tried to crawl under the bed, but is now too big to fit.

Coop spent the night with his head and front paws under the bed. I felt bad, but he seemed to feel safe like this, so we just let him be.