About the author

I’m Joey Cope.

By training, I’m a lawyer. I didn’t spend a long time in the full-time practice of law. Yet, I was blessed to be part of a great firm and to have solid mentors. I went to work at Abilene Christian University in 1989 and continued a small private practice until 2010.

For almost two decades, I’ve been studying conflict and the path to reconciliation.  Actually, the study part is pretty easy — without conflict, there’s very little to talk about.  All of history is punctuated with conflict — minor disagreements, friendly competitions, life-long antagonism, and lethal combat.  We spend the greater part of our waking hours navigating through conflict.

Granted, I’m better at conflict management on some days than I am on others.  For 17 years, I was blessed to serve as the Executive Director of Abilene Christian University’s Duncum Center Solutions (originally known as the Duncum Center for Conflict Resolution). I had a front row seat to see God’s work in action as we assisted others in their conflicts and educated hundreds more in conflict management. I transitioned from that position in 2017 to serve as Dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. Since June of 2020, I have served as Associate Vice President for Academics for ACU Dallas.

As much as I have come to know about conflict and about peace, I learn something new every day.  I am no authority, simply a pilgrim on the path to reconciliation.

You’ll find that the writings on this blog break all the rules for building a strong readership. I don’t concentrate on a single topic. Some posts are very serious. Others are just reflections on thoughts or experiences I’ve had. And still others bridge over into the fun that emerges from talking dogs.

Foster Dog . . .

The late Zoe, the Great Pyrenees – Siberian Husky – Wolf mix canine, who resided for three years in my backyard –  came into our lives over a decade ago when she was adopted by our son. She came to live at our house when backyard space became an issue. We originally thought this was to be a temporary arrangement until Zoe had a few health issues surface and we became her forever family. About that time, I began expanding my Facebook and Twitter worlds and I needed something to write about. And thus, Foster Dog was introduced to my friends. Others found her life to be much more interesting than mine and, thus, I dedicated a fair amount of energy to sharing “her” thoughts and philosophy on a semi-regular basis. It was all done for fun. Zoe’s time with us was too short.

Togo . . .

togo & killAs mentioned, Foster Dog is no longer with us. We are now the proud family for Togo. 

Togo has proven to be a challenge in some ways — as is evidenced by this picture when he was about one year old with his trophy, the remaining greenery of a particular bush he disliked. Shrubs, swings, air conditioner compressors. Nothing was too much of a challenge.

But Togo is past much of his youthful destruction and spends most of this time enjoying his daily walks and talking with me about the world around him. Togo makes us laugh and he teaches us lessons daily about love and not taking ourselves too seriously.

And now Togo has his own story page, Togo Goes!

I hope you enjoy the content here. I would love to hear from you!

2 Comments

  1. I must call your Aunt, Nancy Bradley,
    To ask about your dogs.
    I finished ACC in 1954.
    I love dogs & cats, & ALL God’s animals.
    I will be looking for your stories, Togo or any other🙏

    • So good to hear from you. And I know that Aunt Nancy would love to receive your call. Togo has moved his stories to togo.substack.com . Come see us over there!

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