You lucky people get to not only meet my wonderful pug Bruno, you also get to meet the youngest of the family Cooper. He’s such a clever pup and today I’ll tell you all about how we got him, as well as what he’s like!

Looking for a second dog.

When me and my husband moved into our home we knew that we wanted a second dog from day one. As we already had Bruno, we decided to settle down for a bit first and go on an adventure holiday before we actually started looking.

Just over a year later, we came back from adventuring Rome & Berlin and started looking on Pets4Homes (the same place we adopted Bruno from). We knew we wanted to rescue a dog and pretty much the same day we found this gorgeous 6 month old puppy called Milo.

He was currently living with a foster mum and was described as being playful, kind and great with other dogs and children. Something that’s a must when you already have a dog and small children in close family.

Meeting Milo.

About a week or so later, we met up with Milo and his foster mum Gill. We took Bruno, as this was a chance to make sure they got on and we could also meet Milo to see if we thought he was a good fit for the family.

Bruno loved Milo, maybe a little too much but we just knew he’d fit straight in and later that day we said we’d love to adopt him!

After going through all the home checks, we were approved and my husband went and picked Milo up from near his foster mum’s home. It was on this day, he became Cooper.

Cooper’s background.

Cooper was rescued with his brothers and sisters in his home country of Cyprus by an amazing charity called D.O.G Rescue Cyprus. You can see more on them here: Dali Organised Group.

He was found with his siblings in a box and the charity rescued him from the streets and brought him to their kennels. What the charity then does is raise money for their vaccinations and they even make sure to test for things such as leishmania!

Once this money is raised, they name the dog and then go further to raise money to bring them over to the UK. If you follow their Facebook page you can reserve a dog to pick up straight from the airport and those who don’t get reserved will go to foster parents. The foster parents will then help find these dogs a forever home and that’s how we got Cooper.

When adopting a dog from the charity, there is an adoption fee to pay. This covers the vaccinations and flight journey of another dog that will be rescued in the future. I believe it was around £375.

What did we know about Cooper?

Not a lot. We knew he’d been raised with other dogs, he was a friendly playful dog and also a bit shy. Understandable considering his background. We don’t really know what he’s been through but we do know he’s more loved than ever before. He’s the youngest (and naughtiest) of the family but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

It took Cooper a few days to settle in and as he was 6 months old, he was still going through his puppy faze. He’s taken a nibble of out of some of my shelves, destructed his own bed and also ripped up paper from the dining table but he hasn’t ever done anything super ridiculous.

Cooper’s DNA.

After having him for a few months, we’d discussed getting him a DNA test. He was so full of energy, yet loving and gentle and very hunter-y (if that’s even a word) that we really wanted to know exactly what we were dealing with.

As you can see there’s a few that aren’t surprising like spaniel, pointer, labrador and german Shepard but chow chow isn’t one I would have ever thought of!

Cooper now.

We’ve had Cooper for around 18 months now and he’s calmed down a lot. Although he still likes to play and would walk/run all day if you let him, he’s definitely become more cuddly when he’s at home.

He’s still nervous around unfamiliar objects and sometimes he get’s protective if he sees someone on a walk he’s unsure of and he likes to eat poo (street dog vibes) but apart from that he’s an absolute angel.

He’s super clever with so many tricks he’s able to do from jump, over, dance, legs and even ‘bang’. He’s such a good brother to Bruno and he’s so amazing with the small kids we have in the family as he is such a gentle dog. Also, how handsome is he?!

Cooper in three words.

Energetic. Unique. Needy.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the posts about my dogs, as well as their portraits. If you want your own dog made into a picture, see my Etsy shop here: Dog Portraits.

If you want to see more of the boys, make sure to pop over to my Instagram as they’re always on my stories. You can see more super cute dogs and illustrations on there too!

Love, always – B
Etsy shop: beccabynature