Puppy love.

You know, there really is something special about a man and his dog. And this puppy isn't even mine. I know I've blogged about Cooper before, but this post is my segway into tomorrow's. (I'm leaving town for a few days so I am trying to schedule posts ahead of time, since I won't be near a computer - we'll see if it works. If it does, this one should be showing up on Sunday at 1:00 pm ... I'll cross my fingers.)

Cooper was an only "child" for over two years until Libby came along 6 months ago. We were all a little nervous about how he would handle having a baby around.

When she first came home from the hospital he didn't pay much attention to her. In fact he didn't really pay any attention at all - and it was a bit of a relief. She didn't seem to disrupt his routine one bit. Cooper would just look at her, sniff her, and go on about his business.

I think once he realized that she wasn't going anywhere Cooper took more notice. He started to keep an eye on Libby. When McCall would bring her in or out of the car and set her seat down, he made sure she was in the seat and then could walk away.

One morning McCall dropped Libby off at our house to be tended. She was asleep in her car seat downstairs and I was getting ready for work upstairs. After awhile Cooper came upstairs to me and started whimpering. I said, "What's up Coop?"

He ran to the top of the stairs. I came out of my room and he ran down the stairs. When I walked away, he immediately tromped back up to my room and whimpered again ... he kept it up until I went downstairs and he guided me to Libby's car seat. She had woken up and I needed to know. He had stayed by her because no one else was!

When Libby would be laying on the floor flapping her little arms Cooper would come over and start licking her hands. She would hold them still, not quite sure what was up, and he would keep on licking ... and she didn't seem to mind.

But that was a few months ago. Now Libby knows how to reach and grab and pull at things.

Payback. And now Cooper doesn't seem to mind.

He's such a good puppy.