Copper Lawrence's Photos

A Little Bit About Copper Lawrence

Breed: Lab Mix

Gender: Male

Favorite Toy: Monster

Favorite Treat: Anything with flavor

Best Trick: Counting by barks

Favorite Game: Chasing squirrels

Favorite Pastime: Greeting the kids

Special Skill: Shake

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October 22, 2008
Life Lessons
I love animals. That might be why people seem so shocked when I reveal that I have tons of them and will probably get my English degree and become an animal rights activist instead. I just have this indescribable emotion when I see an animal specifically dogs and cats abused or harmed by people. Why anyone would want to leave a slightly grown puppy on the side of a highway in hot Arizona in the late summer? I don’t know, but the pound picked him up and that’s how I get my Copper. He’s my baby boy. Now pushing 16 years of age, we’ve been best friends since I first looked into that cage at the pound and saw him looking sickly leaning on the side, not even wagging his tail like the others begging to be adopted. “How about him?” my mom asked as we looked around.” I like him,” I declared to my mom at just 3 years old. He seemed to be the one who needed us the most. Turns out he was allergic to the food they were feeding him and that’s why he was so sick.
After taking him home, we spent a while letting him sniff the house and finally pinned him in the living room to decide on a name. “Copper, like from The Fox and the Hound” seemed to be a unanimous vote for my two-year old sister and myself. “He’s my best friend” I’ll proudly state knowing it clashes with all the cliché. I won’t lie to you. He is my best friend. My life’s companion. My dad was in the military, so growing up we moved a lot and even though you promise and they promise, friends never last long when you’re a couple thousand miles away. When I was younger, Copper and I would play in the living room and read Hooked on Phonics with mom. He never cared if my sister would climb all over him or if my baby brother would pinch or bite him. We could even dress him up in our nightgowns when we were little and he was never offended. He was gentle.
As I got older, we would explore and hike through the woods in my backyard or go swimming or bounce on the trampoline. Copper has lived in as many states as I have and gone on almost every family vacation including a trip to the Grand Canyon. It was my second visit, already having been there with my siblings, mom and one of her older sisters. This trip we had the RV. We were moving again from California to South Carolina and my mom and dad had decided to make it an adventure by buying an RV and visiting everything from national parks to a meteor site to some cowboy shows and train rides.
As we passed through the entrance, the RV was practically bouncing like its made-up name (Bouncer) from everyone’s excitement. My dad hadn’t come the last time and Copper normally had restrictions in other places, but at the Grand Canyon he was free to roam as long as we cleaned up his messes and he never got rambunctious. I think he knew that. Anyway, we piled out and began our exploring and “ooing” and “awing”. At one particular site, my dad, well, the nice way to put it is he disregarded the rules about “the wall”. “The wall” is a little wall about two feet high that is there for your safety, meaning you’re not supposed to go farther than that. Dad stepped right over the wall and to the edge of the canyon. Mom pointed out to me the two-inch crack surrounding the rock he was currently standing on, and as he was holding Copper I had a quick urge to cry, seeing them plunging forever into the canyon in my mind. Dad thought it was funny when we kids started yelling at him, because of course I had told Holly, and we didn’t think it was cute when he started jumping up and down to prove it was safe. An hour or two after lunch time, we were wrapping up our long day of walking, Ryan, my little brother, being stung by a wasp, and hot from the sun, we discovered a shady area to rest. Again, Dad was holding onto Copper even though we had all our share of walking him and just walked to the side of the canyon to look below. In this part, there were pine trees below instead of barren desert and Copper began barking and wagging his tail excitedly. From our spot on the bench, Mom, Holly, Ryan and I drinking water thought it was funny to see him cock his head to the side curiously as a young pup around three would do, at the sight of birds below his feet instead of above his head. Then he jumped and was gone. Just like that. We screamed, my sister and I, and ran to the edge despite Dad’s curious and bewildered face to see what had become of Copper. I thought it was crazy to see him standing on a thin ledge just under the canyon’s rim. Laughing, Dad handed over the leash and climbed down to retrieve our beloved pet. He went to sleep as soon as we got back to the RV and slept all night.
Every year we would travel to Kentucky for a family reunion around the 4th of July; and because it was the 4th of July, fireworks would be set off the whole long weekend we were there. Ironically enough, we were never told to watch what we did because we could have blown our fingers off as stupid as we were, my cousins and I, but were simply told instead to “be back by dinner” or “don’t bother the neighbors”. Copper would always accompany us up the mountain trails to explore and set fireworks off randomly to scare each other, which everyone enjoyed. I swear I had never seen Copper be crazy in any way until the first time he went to Kentucky with us. The instant that first Bobcat firework popped he was out of the RV screen door like a rocket and sprinting across the yard to the site. Holly, Ryan and I tore off after Copper wondering what the heck had set him off and didn’t notice our cousins lighting more behind the tree. They landed next to my feet and Copper who had been sniffing the old firework, whipped around at the hissing and picked it up in his teeth! “Drop it! Drop it!” I yelled and tried to pry his mouth open. It exploded a second later as expected and Copper then dropped it on the ground and backed up watching closely. Brandon and Corey came out from behind the brush and we all stood, dumbstruck. From then on Copper was a bomb dog and we had to hold him back to keep him from getting at the fireworks while he barked and honestly put up a good struggle. Looking back, I think he knew we might be harmed playing as we did and was just protective. Or it was just his way of having fun by putting them out as it was ours to light them.
Copper has had a long life for a dog of his kind by being almost 16. He’s a lab mix by the way. A mutt bought from the Arizona Dog Pound for $50. He’s the first pet that I’ve ever had and I’ve always known how lucky I was to have him. He’s always been there for me through the good times and not so good times like moving from place to place, getting in trouble, exploring our backyard, family vacations, my parents’ divorce, my first boyfriend and break-up, starting high school, fights with friends and family and now my first year of college. I know he’s getting old; I see it when I watch him walk around on arthritic hips, hear him bark when he’s left alone in a room for a long time because he can’t jump up to follow, and see the soft gray fur that is dashed along his once all copper-colored body. I just can’t accept that he might be leaving me soon. My family is trying to prepare me for his leaving by mentioning that he might not be there when I come home from school and that I should always tell him I love him. When I started high school is when my family first mentioned his mortality to me. I had never thought about not having Copper by my bed when I woke up or there to greet my arrival home from school. They didn’t think he would be alive when I went to college, but he promised me. When I go home I lavish love on him and spend time with him talking to him like I always do. Copper is my rock and I can’t imagine life without him. I still partly refuse to think about it. He’s my best friend. My mom and I both cry every time we talk about it, but if life ever got so hard for him it hurt, we would help him.
Copper taught me so much. First about love because I never knew I would be capable of loving this much, and second about life; that it is lovely and sweet and valuable. I’ve watched him quickly go through being a young pup, rebellious teen, middle-aged man, and now to being my wise “old fella”. I miss him so much when I’m here and fear everything until I see him again, alive and wagging his tail to see me, eager to be petted as always. I believe that everyone should have a pet like Copper in their lifetime. So far, he’s only given and taught me love. I dread the day loss comes but when it does, I will never forget him. Not for one second. He’s my best friend.
March 11, 2009
Copper Lawrence passed away on January 24th, 2008 with me by his side holding his paw. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and continues to be to this day. I will never love another dog like I loved Copper and now cherish the memories I was able to create with him. My life feels empty daily here at school even with my attempts of filling it with activities, and simply unbearable at home in my room without him by my side. I dream about him often and his kind face passes my mind at least a million times daily. The only reason that I get by each day is knowing that I gave him the best life I could have and loved him more than anyone else would. I’ve always told myself that he needed me to be ok, but I realize that the truth now that he is gone is that I needed him. I needed him and he was always there for me, never complaining of listening to my problems, or having me cry into his fur, or tight hugs around his neck to make the world seem not so harsh. It was fate that we met and spent a wonderful life together and I can’t wait to see him again, tail wagging to see me, eager for me to pet him.
 

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