About Cooper

We got Cooper through SPCA about 2 years ago. We don't know his history before that. We got Cooper mainly to be a companion and comfort dog for our adult son who has moderate autism. Unfortunately, despite 2 years of trying to make it work, Cooper isn't a good fit for our family. Our son has mannerisms, such as pacing and gestures, that trigger anxiety in Cooper, and in a few instances (about 10 times in 2 years), Cooper has growled or snarled, and lunged at our son. He never bit him or drew blood, but we no longer want to risk that it may escalate. Cooper reacted 2 other times in a similar way to other people who came up abruptly to pet him when he was asleep or resting. With me, personally, Cooper has not once shown any aggression at all, and allows me to bathe him, trim nails, etc, without resistance. Finally, Cooper will fight with our other dog, a 14 year old finicky blind poodle, but only when they both think food is around. We have learned to feed them separately. The rest of the time Cooper is great. During all other encounters, with our son or with strangers, he just wags his tail and wants to get petted. He does great in the dog park, though he only wants to sniff grass, and not play with other dogs. On walks he greets dogs, but then loses interest quickly. Cooper and our poodle live peaceably, ignoring each other, when no food is around. We are looking for the right home for Cooper. The perfect home for him would probably be as an only dog, and with calm adults.

Henrico County
Glen Allen, Virginia