Cooper at the stone crossing of Bass Creek at Finley’s Landing, Iowa, January 7, 2021
As most of you have recognized, I do not write much about our personal lives here in the blog, unless it is really related to my photography or to the circumstances that led to the making of a picture. However, last week we lost our beloved dog Cooper due to probably age related illness.
For those who don’t know his story, Cooper came to us in June 2010. A little stray, probably thrown out into the wild by his previous owners and with signs of abuse in his behavior. He started sleeping in a chair on our front porch for several nights in a row. We tried to find his owner, either in the neighborhood up here on the bluffs or down in the valley. No success. We finally decided to keep this puppy, who was probably between a year and a year and a half old at that time.
Cooper has been a great dog, who shared our outdoor activities of daily nature walks, tent camping, hiking, and paddling our kayaks. He has been in more states, national parks, state parks, and other nature areas in the United States and Canada than many Americans. And one of the reasons I’m writing about him here is the fact that he shared, in probably his own way, many wonderful moments I had in my photography and Joan and I had while being in the Great Outdoors. Often the dog waited patiently next to me while I fiddled with my gear or tried to work with the light. He was often very funny in his behavior and gave us many laughters. We are very thankful and couldn’t have wished for a better dog! Cooper will always remain in our hearts and memories.