cooper

A few weeks ago, we welcomed a new family member.   Meet Cooper, our crazy, adorable little blond Labrador.  We brought him home on a Sunday night and he’s turned our life upside down and added a few somersaults along the way.

Between his love of chewing leaves and bark from the back yard, his enjoyment of chasing my son around (who laughs and yells “Cooper!” at the top of his toddler lungs), and his newfound love of stealing the toilet paper roll out of the bathroom, he’s keeping this Mama on her toes.

But you know what? It’s all worth it.

From the moment we brought Cooper home, both the boys in this house — my husband and my son — were in love.  Starry-eyed, couldn’t stop playing with the puppy, love.   It’s fabulous.   The three of them roll around on the floor together, playing and laughing.

davecooper

My husband is in seventh heaven having a dog in the house again.   We lost both our beloved pets within the last two years — the cocker spaniel, Xena was mine, and I had her for 13 years.  Our other dog, Tucker the Golden Retriever, was my husband’s from puppyhood — 12 years.    When Tucker passed away at the beginning of this year, we were suddenly –for the first time in longer than either of could remember, without a dog at our feet.  (literally…Xena used to curl up at my feet, when she couldn’t finagle her way into my lap.)

cooperconnorAnd now, it feels like the house is complete again.  And watching my son learn to play with the puppy, laugh with him, chase him, get chased by him — it’s one of the best joys I’ve ever felt.    And I know that as they grow up, they’ll grow up together.  A boy and his dog, his best pal, his buddy…it’s a relationship he won’t ever have with another living creature.

In this week’s PEOPLE magazine, there was a review about a book called COWBOY AND WILLS: A LOVE STORY by Monica Holloway.  It’s about a young autistic boy and his dog and how that dog changed him.   With such an overwhelming story of love that a dog can bring into a boy’s life.  And that’s certainly not the only story I’ve ever heard of where a pet brought a miracle into someone’s life.

My husband and I joke that this puppy is sort of “his baby.”  When my son wakes up in the middle of the night, it takes barely more than a sniffle for me to wake up and hear him.  My hubby?  Happily in REM sleep.   But now?  It takes barely a whimper from the puppy for him to wake…and me?  Yeah, REM sleep is really nice these days.

I really think it’s a connection that only a boy (no matter how big) and his dog have.  It’s just a sacred, special connection.  And I’m glad I get to watch.