Having a traditional family, making our own tiny humans, hasn’t been an option for us. And that’s okay, because our hearts are absolutely full with love and appreciation for our fur-kids.
Nick came to the relationship with Hiero, a magnificent beast of a Boxer-Pitbull mix with the biggest heart and a complete misunderstanding of his size.
Danalee came with The Minions, Ziyal and Riker, two of the most charming Chihuahua mixes you’ll ever meet. Everyone that has been able to spend time with them falls in love and agrees that their preconceptions of Chi’s have totally changed.
And then… there came Cooper.
Riker, aka Rikes, is one of the most spunky, goofy heart-stealing, lap-warming Chihuahua’s you’ll ever meet. He may be old and only have two teeth, but he makes it work and plays like a puppy.
Cooper is the puppy of the pack. He is obsessed with his ball and is incredibly suspicious of the pool. Don’t let his breed fool you; he is all bark. And oh boy what a bark! But really, he is all love and snuggles.
Ziyal, aka Z, is the princess. She never really got the hang of being a dog and prefers to chill with the human folk. Especially if they have a warm lap and lots of pets to give out.
As with many big decisions in our life, absolutely zero thought went into it!
We were hanging out at one of our favorite cigar bars, chatting and randomly browsing the Craigslist ads. We had been talking a bit about getting a puppy since we wanted to get one before Hiero passed on. And that’s when we saw the ad. A bunch of little furry faces stared at us, and I was instantly hooked. Of course, I had to play it cool and joked about going to “just take a look.” Who am I kidding, we ALL know what that means.
We text the lady and sipped our beers… me still thinking this isn’t going to be a thing.
Next thing I know we’ve hopped in the car safely, we were not drunk and were on our way across the valley to a random Pet Smart parking lot. The lady greets us with a cardboard box with three little, floofy puppies. It was down to a little girl that was dark and brindle like Hiero and Cooper. The lady tells us that Cooper is the most outgoing and that the girl is much shyer. In hindsight, we may have gone for the shy one! Totally kidding! Or am I?
Cooper is growing into a great dog. He’s all of what you would expect from an Australian Shepard, Red Heeler mix. So smart. All the energy. Absolutely all the back talk and sass. But I would have never expected him to be so sensitive and loving.
Unfortunately, Cooper did not have as much time with Hiero as we would have liked. We said our final goodbye to Hiero in July of 2021. It’s been a rough transition for everyone. Still, we’re finding our new rhythm, and although we miss him dearly, the pain is starting to subside.
If you want to follow along with more of the fur-kid shananagins, you can follow them over on Instagram @Cooper.and.thepack
