Looking back, it amazes me that my hair seems to have changed so much over the years. And of course, there’s a few extra pounds on the waistline – no idea where that’s come from. I always wanted to work in the legal profession but would never have anticipated that I would become embroiled in the world of dogs, let alone become a specialist in Doglaw. There was no such discipline as ‘Doglaw’ at University and so I like to think that I coined that particular phrase.
I would never have been regarded as a good candidate for getting into dogs. I’ve never owned one as an adult! We had a mongrel when I was a child – Sandy – a cross between a Dachsund and a Poodle, which nowadays would be a Doxiepoo and so be considered by some to be a ‘designer’ dog. But that was my sum knowledge of dogs.
This website is intended to be a whistle-stop tour of each of my adult decades in Doglaw. It’s very self indulgent and I feel suitably embarrassed at some of the praise that I’ve received over the years. I always try to point out that any success I’ve enjoyed has been due to a team effort and I do urge all readers to look at the acknowledgments as each and every person is worthy of a pat on the back, a warm handshake and possibly a free drink. This may well be a vanity project – but it’s about getting down on paper (+ online) my achievements over the years, before I forget.
A lesson of advice to anyone who wishes to follow in my footsteps – beware that there is virtually no money in Doglaw. So be prepared to do numerous things pro bono (I wish I had a pound for everyone who said pro bonio…), a lot of late nights, no social life… but you’ll make plenty of new friends.
I have never been good at keeping personal documents, so the fact that any of the articles have survived the passage of time is complete luck. The early cases pre date the internet (I know…..I must be as old as Methusala) so it’s hard to get across how ground-breaking my very first dog case, Saaba, actually was. You’ll have to take my word for it.
The cases I’ve detailed are the ones that have made the biggest splash in the press – mainly Saaba, Dempsey, Woofie and Dino. However, there have been many many hundreds (possibly thousands) of others which client confidentiality (and space) won’t allow me to include.
At Cooper & Co, we don’t profess to win every case – but we try very hard…………………….
Brace yourselves for a trip down memory lane. In November 2017 I celebrated 30 years of qualifying as a Solicitor, so there is a lot to look at. What next? Probably more of the same … perhaps doing even more for rescues if possible. I’m hoping that some day the week can be stretched to eight days rather than seven.
If I’m doing a talk at a village hall near to you please book yourself a place, pop along and say ‘hi’. It’s not as boring as you might think. You can get a ‘groupie’ badge, learn lots, occasionally giggle and see what my hair looks like.
Trevor Cooper