One day in July 1996, I was pumping gas in town. I kept hearing a little puppy squealing and wimpering, and thought it was coming from someone else's car. My daughter soon discovered a puppy in a carrier on the sidewalk in front of the store. She squatted down and stuck her fingers in the cage and the puppy licked her fingers and stopped wimpering. There was a note on the carrier, Free to Good Home, Inquire Within. My daughter begged me to go inside and ask about the puppy and see if we could have her. I found out that she had been found wandering alone at a car wash around the corner by an older man and his wife, who had already had so many pets over the years and just didn't feel like they could take on another one. She was estimated at barely 6 weeks old. So they put her in the carrier and took her to the gas station with their phone number on a note, and said whoever could give her a good home, they would be glad to pay for her spaying when she was old enough. The gas station attendant gave me the note with the phone number, and off we went with the puppy.
When we got home, my daughter said to my sons, Guess what we got at the gas station....Thinking she was talking about a candy bar or ice cream, they came running, and were stunned to see the puppy. They named her Copper because of her coloring.
I called the couple and made arrangements to return their carrier and so they could meet us. They were very glad to see the puppy had a good home and did indeed pay her vet bill when she was a few months old.
By the time she was 7 years old, the vet was calling her geriatric. She was turning white around her ears, eyes, and muzzle, but still very much active and sharp.
By the time she was about 12, she was exhibiting signs of dementia and arthritis, but still loved to run around the yard and sniff everything. She was starting to lose her eyesight and her hearing, but it certainly didn't slow her down any. She could no longer hear car doors slamming in the driveway, and she slept most of the time.
She led a long and happy life for 16 1/2 years. One day she became sick and wouldn't eat. I took her to the vet who ran lab work and said her pancreatic enzymes were sky high. After spending two days in the vet hospital, her enzymes came down somewhat, but the vet thought maybe staying in the hospital was stressing her out, so she came home with us every evening, and went back to stay with them in the mornings. After a few days of this, her enzymes came down, but she still wouldn't eat and we discovered that now her liver enzymes were rising. One evening after bringing her home, she suddenly lost the ability to move her tail. Then over the course of an hour or two, she lost the ability to move one leg, then the other leg. She could pull herself around on the carpet with her front paws, but she still wouldn't eat. I hand-fed her chicken broth to get some nourishment in her.
Grief-stricken, we debated that evening what to do. Sometime overnight during the early morning hours of September 28, 2012, Copper died in her sleep. My son hand made a little wooden coffin for her. She is buried close to our back door, where she loved to keep guard over who was coming and going from the house, so she can watch over us to this day.
When we got home, my daughter said to my sons, Guess what we got at the gas station....Thinking she was talking about a candy bar or ice cream, they came running, and were stunned to see the puppy. They named her Copper because of her coloring.
I called the couple and made arrangements to return their carrier and so they could meet us. They were very glad to see the puppy had a good home and did indeed pay her vet bill when she was a few months old.
By the time she was 7 years old, the vet was calling her geriatric. She was turning white around her ears, eyes, and muzzle, but still very much active and sharp.
By the time she was about 12, she was exhibiting signs of dementia and arthritis, but still loved to run around the yard and sniff everything. She was starting to lose her eyesight and her hearing, but it certainly didn't slow her down any. She could no longer hear car doors slamming in the driveway, and she slept most of the time.
She led a long and happy life for 16 1/2 years. One day she became sick and wouldn't eat. I took her to the vet who ran lab work and said her pancreatic enzymes were sky high. After spending two days in the vet hospital, her enzymes came down somewhat, but the vet thought maybe staying in the hospital was stressing her out, so she came home with us every evening, and went back to stay with them in the mornings. After a few days of this, her enzymes came down, but she still wouldn't eat and we discovered that now her liver enzymes were rising. One evening after bringing her home, she suddenly lost the ability to move her tail. Then over the course of an hour or two, she lost the ability to move one leg, then the other leg. She could pull herself around on the carpet with her front paws, but she still wouldn't eat. I hand-fed her chicken broth to get some nourishment in her.
Grief-stricken, we debated that evening what to do. Sometime overnight during the early morning hours of September 28, 2012, Copper died in her sleep. My son hand made a little wooden coffin for her. She is buried close to our back door, where she loved to keep guard over who was coming and going from the house, so she can watch over us to this day.
One day in July 1996, I was pumping gas in town. I kept hearing a little puppy squealing and wimpering, and thought it was coming from someone else's car. My daughter soon discovered a puppy in a carrier on the sidewalk in front of the store. She squatted down and stuck her fingers in the cage and the puppy licked her fingers and stopped wimpering. There was a note on the carrier, Free to Good Home, Inquire Within. My daughter begged me to go inside and ask about the puppy and see if we could have her. I found out that she had been found wandering alone at a car wash around the corner by an older man and his wife, who had already had so many pets over the years and just didn't feel like they could take on another one. She was estimated at barely 6 weeks old. So they put her in the carrier and took her to the gas station with their phone number on a note, and said whoever could give her a good home, they would be glad to pay for her spaying when she was old enough. The gas station attendant gave me the note with the phone number, and off we went with the puppy.
When we got home, my daughter said to my sons, Guess what we got at the gas station....Thinking she was talking about a candy bar or ice cream, they came running, and were stunned to see the puppy. They named her Copper because of her coloring.
I called the couple and made arrangements to return their carrier and so they could meet us. They were very glad to see the puppy had a good home and did indeed pay her vet bill when she was a few months old.
By the time she was 7 years old, the vet was calling her geriatric. She was turning white around her ears, eyes, and muzzle, but still very much active and sharp.
By the time she was about 12, she was exhibiting signs of dementia and arthritis, but still loved to run around the yard and sniff everything. She was starting to lose her eyesight and her hearing, but it certainly didn't slow her down any. She could no longer hear car doors slamming in the driveway, and she slept most of the time.
She led a long and happy life for 16 1/2 years. One day she became sick and wouldn't eat. I took her to the vet who ran lab work and said her pancreatic enzymes were sky high. After spending two days in the vet hospital, her enzymes came down somewhat, but the vet thought maybe staying in the hospital was stressing her out, so she came home with us every evening, and went back to stay with them in the mornings. After a few days of this, her enzymes came down, but she still wouldn't eat and we discovered that now her liver enzymes were rising. One evening after bringing her home, she suddenly lost the ability to move her tail. Then over the course of an hour or two, she lost the ability to move one leg, then the other leg. She could pull herself around on the carpet with her front paws, but she still wouldn't eat. I hand-fed her chicken broth to get some nourishment in her.
Grief-stricken, we debated that evening what to do. Sometime overnight during the early morning hours of September 28, 2012, Copper died in her sleep. My son hand made a little wooden coffin for her. She is buried close to our back door, where she loved to keep guard over who was coming and going from the house, so she can watch over us to this day.
When we got home, my daughter said to my sons, Guess what we got at the gas station....Thinking she was talking about a candy bar or ice cream, they came running, and were stunned to see the puppy. They named her Copper because of her coloring.
I called the couple and made arrangements to return their carrier and so they could meet us. They were very glad to see the puppy had a good home and did indeed pay her vet bill when she was a few months old.
By the time she was 7 years old, the vet was calling her geriatric. She was turning white around her ears, eyes, and muzzle, but still very much active and sharp.
By the time she was about 12, she was exhibiting signs of dementia and arthritis, but still loved to run around the yard and sniff everything. She was starting to lose her eyesight and her hearing, but it certainly didn't slow her down any. She could no longer hear car doors slamming in the driveway, and she slept most of the time.
She led a long and happy life for 16 1/2 years. One day she became sick and wouldn't eat. I took her to the vet who ran lab work and said her pancreatic enzymes were sky high. After spending two days in the vet hospital, her enzymes came down somewhat, but the vet thought maybe staying in the hospital was stressing her out, so she came home with us every evening, and went back to stay with them in the mornings. After a few days of this, her enzymes came down, but she still wouldn't eat and we discovered that now her liver enzymes were rising. One evening after bringing her home, she suddenly lost the ability to move her tail. Then over the course of an hour or two, she lost the ability to move one leg, then the other leg. She could pull herself around on the carpet with her front paws, but she still wouldn't eat. I hand-fed her chicken broth to get some nourishment in her.
Grief-stricken, we debated that evening what to do. Sometime overnight during the early morning hours of September 28, 2012, Copper died in her sleep. My son hand made a little wooden coffin for her. She is buried close to our back door, where she loved to keep guard over who was coming and going from the house, so she can watch over us to this day.
