NEWS

Dog with terminal cancer checks items off its bucket list

Erin Madison
emadison@greatfallstribune.com
After Cooper, a 13-year-old black Lab, was diagnosed with cancer, his owners made him a bucket list that included a steak and potato dinner.

Cooper, like most dogs, finds joy in the little things – a trip to Petco, a drink out of cold mountain creek.

After Cooper was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Cooper’s “parents” wanted to make sure the dog's last months were filled with all of his favorite things.

“I was just thinking of things I needed to do with him before he passed away,” said Brittney Lampert, who along with Corey Lampert adopted Cooper, a black Lab, when he was 5 years old.

Then she thought about the movie “The Bucket List,” where Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two men with cancer. In the movie, Nicholson and Freeman come up with a list of things they want to do before they die.

Lampert decided to do the same for Cooper.

The Lamperts made a list of 10 of Cooper’s favorite things to do with him during the remainder of his life.

Cooper, now 13, was 5 when the Lamperts found him at the shelter. As an older dog, no one seemed interested in adopting him, but he was exactly what Brittney and Corey wanted.

“We thought he was the perfect dog,” Brittney Lampert said. “We just made eye contact and I knew.”

Perfect is exactly what he turned out to be.

“He’s a lovable dog,” Lampert said. “He’s not aggressive at all.”

Cooper does have separation anxiety. The Lamperts were his third home. However, that has made him a loyal companion. He waits at the door for the Lamperts to come home and goes everywhere with them.

Then, after eight wonderful years together, Cooper was diagnosed early this summer with cancer in his leg. The cancer was removed and the dog had a clean bill of health.

“He was cancer free,” said Lampert, who is a third-grade teacher at West Elementary.

Later in the summer, Lampert took Cooper camping, one of Cooper’s favorite activities. When Cooper jumped out of Lampert’s Tahoe, he broke his foot.

Dr. Michael Norton at Best Friends Animal Hospital put the foot in a cast. But then last week, Cooper kept falling. Norton thought it might be a heart problem.

“They took X-rays of his chest and it was just full of cancer,” Lampert said.

Cooper was given a prognosis of three weeks to one month to live.

That’s when Lampert came up with the idea of a bucket list. It reads like a dog’s dream come true.

After Cooper, a 13-year-old black Lab, enjoys a steak and potato dinner, which was No. 7 on his bucket list.

Last week, Lampert made Cooper a steak and potato dinner and served it to him on a plate and placemat.

“I cut his steak up a bite at a time and fed it to him,” Lampert said.

A few days later, she gave him a candle-lit massage.

On Friday, she took him to Dairy Queen for a hamburger and ice cream.

“He loves hamburgers and ice cream,” Lampert said. “I used to get him baby cones.”

She ordered a maple bar from Albertsons with “Cooper” written on it.

The list also includes breakfast in bed, a photo shoot and road trip to drink out of creek.

“He loves creek water,” Lampert said.

Lampert also plans to take him to Petco, his favorite store. And this year, the Lamperts are celebrating Christmas in October. Christmas has always been Cooper’s favorite holiday. Often he would break into his stocking to get his treats before Christmas Day.

“Our stockings are up above our bed,” Lampert said.

After Cooper, a 13-year-old black Lab, enjoys a steak and potato dinner, which was No. 7 on his bucket list.

The Lamperts don’t have kids. Cooper fills that role.

“He is my kid,” Lampert said.

Lampert, of course, is devastated, but is trying to keep a positive attitude, at least when Cooper is around.

“I made a promise to myself that when I was with him I wouldn’t cry,” she said. “He’s very emotional.”

Cooper can sense people’s emotions. He always tries to comfort people when they’re upset, Lampert said. She wanted to make sure Cooper’s last days are happy ones, whether he’s eating steak or just enjoying time with his favorite humans.