When Al Cooper brought home a Bernese Mountain Dog named Davos, his life changed in many wonderful ways. Al had been battling cancer, so the pup was there to comfort him during some of his darkest days. Davos always keeps his family members smiling, and he loves going on adventures with them.
It didn’t take long for Al to find out that Davos loves golfing. Well, he loves watching his dad play golf and fetching lost golf balls. Davos has found over 4,000 golf balls during his time with Al, and the family found the most heartwarming way to use them!
Davos’ Unique Passion
Davos loves joining Al on golf trips. The pup rides on a golf cart with his dad around a nearby course. While his dad plays, Davos sniffs around, looking for golf balls that other visitors lost. Sometimes he finds dozens of them at a time. Al and his wife, Dusty Barrett-Cooper, clean off the golf balls and store them in the freezer.
“They are just a cute pair. Yes they are,” said Dusty. “It’s just turned us into a family. We’ve had great times with it.”
Eventually, Davos gathered thousands of golf balls, so his family had to figure out what to do with them all. They had a brilliant idea after seeing Davos get emotional during a commercial about neglected animals.
“He started crying at all those destitute dogs in those cages and stuff. Dusty came up with the idea of selling the balls and donating the money to the Humane Society,” Al said.
Golf Balls Save Shelter Dogs
So, the family sold the golf balls to golfers for $0.25 per ball. They ended up earning $1,000, which they donated to Animal Humane Society. They donated during National Animal Shelter week, so the amount will be tripled by anonymous donors. The shelter will use the money for day-to-day animal care and medical bills.
“We get the pleasure of starting the day with a big check from a big dog with a big heart,” said Deanna Kramer of the Animal Humane Society.
Al said 11-year-old Davos is starting to slow down, but that doesn’t stop him from making the most of life. Al and Davos will continue to collect golf balls and make donations while they still can, but they don’t know how much longer that’ll be. No matter what the future holds, Davos will always be remembered as the golf-loving dog who used his passion to make a difference in the world!
H/T: minnesota.cbslocal.com
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