A Joyous Memoir of a Rescued Golden Retriever. Memoir is not a word usually associated with a dog, but in this case it is appropriate because the general rule rarely, if ever, applied to him. His name was Cooper, and though no smarter or more beautiful than the majority of golden retrievers, he was weird, odd, crazy, and extraordinarily goofy. He knew how to have a good time, and in doing so he made me laugh every day.