Tony Cooper was born in TX, and moved to VA when he was eight. He grew up
in a DC suburb until he graduated from high school and joined the Air Force,
where he trained in computers. He used that knowledge for several jobs when
he left the service, including a stint working as a code breaker (he hates
that term!) working for first the CIA, then the FBI. Although he did
photography as a sideline during this period, his primary work was as a
computer programmer, finally heading up the Systems Department of a major
national fulfillment company.
I first met Tony online in late 1992. He was the SysOp of a local bulletin
board of which I was a member. We became good friends, talking about
anything and everything. I knew this was a pretty special guy. We didn't
meet face-to-face for about four months, but when we did, the first thing he
did was hug me. And that tells you just about everything you need to know
about Tony; he is warm, giving and caring.
Before we were even dating, he helped me through the first time I had to
help one of my Scotties, Bonnie, to the RB. He'd never even met her, but he
was there for me, understanding the pain of making this decision. He did
get to meet the grand old man that was my first Scottie, Mackenzie, and the
little girlie my mother bred, Skye. But he wasn't yet a Scottie person.
We became engaged in September 1993, and married a year later, with him
courageously taking on not only me, but my two daughters. During that time
my ex had our Scotties, and although we saw them sometimes, I missed having
them live with me. So we got Doogie. Although a sweetheart, Doogie was the
product of an uninformed backyard breeder, and was never a good example of a
Scottie. Moxie, the little wheatie we got a year later, was the key to
turning Tony into a Scottie lover. He nicknamed her "Little White
Underfoot" and she was decidedly his dog. Through a dreadful circumstance,
we lost both these dogs while my daughter was dog sitting, and it was very
hard for all of us.
Pat Baker came to the rescue, offering us a chance to purchase a wonderful
pup who just happened to have a damaged eye. We leapt at the chance, and
One-Eyed Jack came to live with us. A year later Tracey Edwards trusted us
with one of her wheaties, who we just had to name Benny. These two have
cemented Tony's love for Scotties, and he now knows, once you have that
infection, there is no cure! These two are his boys, and he's devoted to
them.
A year after we were married, we decided to pick up photography again as a
sideline, thinking of building a deck and getting a hot tub. Within in a
year, we were busy enough that I quit my job to man the phones and do
production work. In another two years, we'd grown to the point that we
moved TLC Photography out of our home, and into a storefront area, and Tony
was able to quit his full-time job. I still don't have the deck or hot tub,
though!
We now employ ten people, and two Scotties. Jack and Benny come to work with
us everyday, and serve as our official greeters. They do not hand out
little smiley stickers because they stick to their fur. They do, however,
give plenty of kisses! We have even incorporated a Scottie into the
official TLC logo.
TLC and Tony have become synonymous in the minds of clients in this area.
He and our other photographers do weddings, portraits, sports action and
commercial work, examples of which may be seen at www.tlcphotography.com.
Tony also teaches photography courses at our local college, acheiving a
life-long dream to teach.
In everything he does, Tony is thoughtful and caring, of our customers, our
employees, Jack and Benny, my daughters, and me. We're blessed to have him.
Diana Cooper
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