Editor’s note: Julia Cox is a big fan of InMaricopa magazine, and she writes to us from Senita. She’s been penning a series of pet-related columns since June 2024.

To the editor,

He’s a good boy; this golden retriever–yellow lab mix, heavy on the former, questionable on the latter — an all-American dog right down to the oversized slippers he triumphantly carries in his mouth. His name is Cooper, but he will answer to Mr. Long and Tall, or simply “Sir.”

Other descriptions such as loving, loyal and hungry come to mind when describing our boy — a dedicated foodie who knows what time it is, right down to the second. Of course, there’s no such thing as “Dinner O’clock” or “Bark-fast,” but we don’t correct him on the finer points. That would be discouraging.

I came into Cooper’s life l

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