My name is: Cooper
I came from: Cyprus
Now I live in: East London
My favourite things are: Boiled eggs, cheese, big sticks, playing chase, sniffing flowers, tug of war with my friends and always being the centre of attention
Follow me on Instagram: My dog walker, Avalon (from @doginblackadventures), posts lots of pictures of our adventures on @avventurewiththepack

Cooper’s story

When my family adopted our first Cypriot rescue dog, Momo, from application to collecting her from the service station, it only took a matter of weeks. Though I know now that I was always meant to meet Cooper, it took almost six months of failed applications, and an unfortunate case of canine parvovirus and a litter of puppies I had been confirmed to adopt, before I was eventually matched with Cooper.

But in November of 2020, the wonderful Eve messaged me with pictures and videos of three white pups in foster care in Cyprus. Cooper was one of them and I could tell from then he was going to be an absolute character!

The Underdog team did everything they could to ensure Cooper travelled comfortably with his siblings (Albie and Harry) which meant when he arrived, though a little timid and overwhelmed at first, he very quickly settled in, made himself at home and it was so heart-warming to see how trusting he was of me and other people – all thanks to the great work the foster carers did I’m sure!

The first few months with Cooper was like a dream – he was so good with training, new environments, made friends easily and took new situations in his stride. However, after about three months in, he started to react to things that he never had done in the past, such as runners, cyclists, and other dogs. It’s been quite the journey with lots of positive reinforcement, desensitisation, and engagement training, but thanks to the support and advice of others in the Underdog adopter community and the amazing carers at @doginblackadventures who are just as committed to Cooper’s development as I am, I’m so proud of how far Cooper has come.

There were definitely days where I felt I’d let Cooper down and I was doing it all wrong, but he’s taught me a lot about patience, perseverance and I’m so glad that I took the time, effort and stuck with it! Training isn’t a linear journey. It can be expensive, time consuming, frustrating, lonely…. but so worth it in the end. We still do lots of training and learning together but we’ve built so much trust in our relationship that has meant he’s been able to join me on lots of adventures around the UK.

Adopting Cooper is one of the best things I’ve done and if you have the time, patience, love and commitment to go ‘all in’ there are so many others like Cooper that are looking for their forever home and deserve a life full of love and happiness.

- Yuka