Cooper, the 3-year-old male black/gray Australian shepherd that had been missing since late October, is back home, his owner happily reports.
Theresa Zwernemann of Congers said she and her family began searching for Cooper after he wandered off their property on Oct. 28, but they were hampered by that weekend’s snowstorm-related power outages.
They soon learned through Clarkstown Animal Control Officer Pat Coleman that Cooper had been struck by a car and injured his right front leg.
By the following Friday, after days of putting up fliers and spreading the word about Cooper’s disappearance, Zwernemann was beginning to lose hope.
But she got a throw blanket, put the scent of the entire family on it, and put it in the front yard. She also had been using a special whistle to call Cooper.
On Saturday morning, she went out the back door with a flashlight, shined it on the blanket, and there he was, limping out of the dark toward her.
Zwernemann told us in an e-mail: “So it was either my whistling gave him direction and the blanket gave him our scent, or a plain old miracle. But the outpouring of love and support and help from this entire community was overwhelming to say the least. Cooper is one lucky dog, and we are blessed to have him home. I can’t tell you how many people have stopped over to meet him, and expressed how happy they are for this happy ending.”
