Happy Ending for my "nephew" Copper. You may need tissues.
 Those of you that have been on for awhile know my family, and all of our business.  And, you may remember that 3 years ago my sister divorced. Before the split, she and her family lived across the field from us. After the split, she and the kids moved to town, and my ex- brother-in-law remained at the house in the country. At the time, they had Copper, an adorable two year old sheltie, that was a pistol.  Cute as a button, but a handful. I think when they got him, there were already storms brewing in the relationship, and he wasn't trained as he should have been. By this I mean limits set for barking, not abiding by commands ect... Their previous dog, Reece Cup, who was a chocolate lab, was the best behaved dogs ever... so I know they knew HOW to train- but, I digress. Anywho-- When Traci and the kids moved to town, she couldn't have a pet in her apartment, so Eric kept Copper. That was short lived.  He said he was too much to take care of at the time, so they made the heartbreaking decision to look for another home. We said we would take him, but, with "home" right next door, they didn't think that was a good option. Long story short, a good friend of my Mom's had two other shelties, knew the breed, and was thrilled to take Copper. We knew he would have a wonderful home with Carol and her husband. And that he did. He went to obedience school, they broke the constant barking habit, and he became a real gentleman. My Mom would see him frequently when she would visit Carol, and said he was thriving. He became best friends with Carol's husband Clark. Sadly, Clark passed away last winter. Right after his death, Carol became very ill, and had to have major surgery. Her sister came to the house to take care of Copper, Brody and Tasha. When Carol came home, her house needed a MAJOR cleaning. It was right at the time of Mom's dx of cancer, and she felt bad that she couldn't step in and help Carol at her house. SOO, my sister and I said we would take a weekend and clean Carol's house from stem to stern. Traci was SO excited that she was going to see Copper again. She never took Carol up on the offer to come visit, because she said it would break her heart to leave him again. But, she had put her big girl panties on for the weekend, and said she would be ok. When we got there, all the dogs met us at the door. Tears started to flow when we saw Copper. Traci called to him to come, and he almost knocked her down with excitment. This is after THREE years! She used the hand command for sit, and he did. Carol and Clark had not continued with hand commands, so he was really pulling from his memory!  The whole time we were cleaning Copper was right by Traci's side, and when we left, he tried to go out the door with her. It beyond broke her heart... Ok, I'm getting there-- stay with the story just a bit longer.  Fast forward to March... Traci bought a beautiful new house. AND-- Traci and Eric got back together!!!!  The house in the country, beside us, is now for sale. Sadly, Carol has not done well, and had to make a hard decision to re-home her dogs. Her sister wanted all three, but my Mom insisted that Traci be given the opportunty to get Copper back. Traci was beyond thrilled at the thought. Things in her life were normal again, and they wanted Copper back, no question. Then Carol had a change of heart two weeks ago. She couldn't part with her babies. Last week, Traci had to go out of town on a business trip. When she got home late on Wednesday evening, she opened the door, and there was COPPER!!! I guess the tears in their house that night could have caused a flood!! Carol had called my Mom, told her that physically, she just couldn't keep all three pups. She had tried, but in the end, it just wasn't possible for her. Copper slept with my nephew Jake before his "move". I guess his first night home, he was laying at the foot of Traci's bed. Jake called for him, he jumped down, ran to Jake's room, jumped into his normal place, and slept he whole night without a sound. He was finally home again.  |
|
|
| Great story and I love the happy ending. Welcome home Copper |
| A story filled with kind hearted people (and dogs!) all around. |
| That is a kleenex story! I'm sorry about Clark and wish the best for Carol. And I'm happy Copper is home with all of his family. |
| Quite the saga for Copper. Parts are really sad, but in the end all worked out well for everyone.  |
got sheep wrote: Quite the saga for Copper. Parts are really sad, but in the end all worked out well for everyone. Yes, Poor Copper! Timing? Devine intervention? All we know is our Copper is back, and happy as can be. Carol is getting along a bit better-- she had to have bowel removed, and the healing has been horrible for her. She is looking at at least 2 more surgeries When I fix meals for Mom after her Chemo, I've been making extra for Mom to take to Carol. Traci and I are cleaning again for her next week. It's the LEAST we can do, for someone that loved and took wonderful care of Copper, when Traci couldn't. |
You have to love a ending like that. I love that Copper always knew who his owners were ...and was waiting. It's like he went to boot camp and was finally ready to come back.  However, it is sad that Carol is weak/sick and having a hard time esp without a husband ...and esp since she loved Copper just as much. She has to get "some" comfort knowing the new owners ...know Copper and love him. Jake has to be thrilled!! |
| Glad Copper is home agin! Sniff! |
| |
 |
| What a beautiful ending for Copper. Sad about Carol. |
| Thank you for sharing, (am writing this as wiping my eyes and blowing my nose) It seems to be me that Cooper always knew he would go back to Traci and Eric (congrats to them for mending ties and hearts) - he just needed to wait and be trained So sorry to hear about Carol - I wish her well. |
| Very sad and happy at the same time. Best wishes for all. |
| |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|