January 2011 Update: Cooper has found his forever home with a lovely family in Campbell River. He'll be sharing his digs with a sweet Tibetan Terrier girl, two cats and some birds. Have a happy life, little guy, we're going to miss you.
If you wish to pursue an adoption or are interested in learning more about the rescue process please visit the website: http://www.fureverafter.net
Cooper came to us from an outdoor shelter near Abbotsford. A kind soul saw him there and realized he would not survive in the cold weather. She removed him from the shelter, took him home, treated him for fleas, bathed him and phoned us. He was then flown over to the island to live with us in his new foster home.
Cooper is a Miniature Dachshund, a breed that has a light single coat of fur. In very cold weather he may need a sweater. He seems fine on the walk as long as we keep moving. If we stop to chat to neighbours he will start to shiver. No records have been found for Cooper, so we don't know how old he is but the vet's guess is 2-3 years. Cooper is in excellent health and weighs about 5.5 KG. He has quite an overbite but it doesn't seem to give him any problems. It certainly isn't causing him to eat slowly. This boy likes his chow. And anyone else's chow he can manage to snitch.
Cooper has a lovely temperament; is friendly, playful and generally full of beans. He loves to cuddle. Dachshunds are born tunnelers and Coop is no exception. At night we give him a down comforter and don't see anything but a little black nose until morning.
Cooper has a tendency to be a bit stubborn and dominant...and clever. He needs calm, firm and consistent leadership from his human(s). Cooper is not quite completely house-trained yet but we have already seen a great improvement. He's gone from 50% to 90% of the time getting it right in just one week. I often think dogs that have spent time in a kennel or shelter experience some confusion about the correct place to relieve themselves. If Cooper has an accident in the house and we see it happening, we say firmly "No!" and take him outdoors. Whenever he does go outdoors we give him lots of praise. I expect he will be fully house-trained within a week.
I think Cooper would do well in many types of homes. My only concern for him is that children should never be allowed to play with him unsupervised and small children not at all. Dachshunds have a vulnerable spine because of their long backs and are prone to injury because of this physical feature. They should be discouraged from jumping onto or off of anything more than two feet high. He should also be kept in a secure yard as Dachshunds are sometimes prone to digging and tunneling (though we have not seen this tendency in Cooper. It might come out during warmer weather.) He is a real sweetheart and will make a great companion for some lucky person or family.