LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Cooper is a playful, happy pup, but his life looked a lot different a few weeks ago. He lived in a kennel at the Lee County Domestic Animal Services shelter for more than three months.
"It was just such a close call for Cooper. I'm just so glad everyone can work together to get him out of there," Dyna Higgins said.
She and her husband, Steve, met Cooper when they adopted their other two dogs from the Lee County animal shelter.
A few months later, Higgins saw a post in a local Facebook group that said the shelter was going to euthanize Cooper unless a rescue group could find a foster or adopter.
Watch Lee County Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades report below:
Dyna Higgins said, "I just busted out crying. I showed it to Steve, and he goes, okay what time?".
Geri Cerilli with Animal Justice connected The Higgins with a rescue group to save Cooper.
"We need to fix what's going on right now and stop this horrific euthanasia for totally adoptable animals. That's got to stop," Cerilli said.
The next day Steve went with the rescue group to the shelter.
He said, "The supervisors then came on out and tried to persuade me into not taking Cooper."
Higgins said shelter staff believed the dog was aggressive; however, he said it didn't make sense because he had met Cooper before.
"I had been in there twice. I had petted him already," Higgins said.
Lee County Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades reached out to Lee County, and they sent the statement below:
"Cooper was being placed with a rescue partner. While that process was underway, a prospective adopter inquired about the dog and was told by staff that the dog had demonstrative aggressive behavior. It is our understanding the dog was adopted through the rescue partner."
The county allowed the rescue to take Cooper, so The Higgins could adopt him.
"I didn't think I was gonna be able to drive home because he just didn't want to get out of the lap, and he just has been good as gold the whole time," Higgins said.
Steve and Dyna added, Cooper gets along well with their other three dogs, and they haven't had any issue with him.
Once the brought Cooper home, they notice his ears bothered him. They took him to the vet where they treated Cooper for a double ear infection. Cooper's medical records from LCDAS don't mention anything regarding an infection or treatment.
He said, "The Cooper situation was weird, and we heard a lot of stories about the place, and I didn't see it, so I didn't believe them, but now I do."
The Higgns gave Cooper his forever home and love their family of six.
