Have You Seen Cooper?

by Patricia A. Miller

Haven Beach resident Mary Ann Wurst and her family took their four dogs to the beach on Sept. 26. Cooper, their 16-year-old deaf Australian shepherd went with them. She took a picture of Cooper on the beach, but minutes later he had disappeared. He has not been seen since.

“We pretty much covered the island,” Wurst said.

Wurst is asking LBI residents to keep an eye out for Cooper and check sheds and garages he may have wandered into .Cooper is mostly black, with some white markings on his face and feet. He has a bell on his collar and was wearing an orange and black harness.

Cooper was a therapy dog at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick where Wurst works. He is very approachable and used to being around people, Wurst said.

“He will go up to strangers,” she said.

A dog similar to Cooper’s description was last spotted near Nardi’s restaurant on Thursday. Wurst asking that people attending Chowderfest in Beach Haven today please keep an eye out for him.

Anyone who thinks they have seen Cooper please call Wurst immediately at 201-777-0189. The family lives on Mississippi Avenue in Haven Beach.