If you're visiting this blog for the first time and look at the heading you might be inquisitive. If this is the case scroll down to the next post. If you don't like the word 'sad' then you should skip reading. I'm writing to relieve the pain of losing my very best friend.
Charlie came into our lives four years ago on February 10. He was a three time rescue who spent the first year of his life in a cage at Pet Smart. Then we was adopted by a businessman from Cincinnati who happened to be a single guy. This person put Charlie in a cage when he left for his job and he stayed in that same cage until the man came home in the evening. Can you only imagine?
As it turns out the fella was about to be married and his future bride gave him the order; "Get rid of the dog." As it happened the guy knew my son and he, in turn, thought the pooch, name of Shorty, should be given to Her Majesty. I was reluctant to do so because I have a penchant of getting attached to animals and boy did I ever.
When Charlie first came to our home it was easy to tell he gravitated to females. The third day in Dublin he nipped at me when I scolded him then ran and jumped on The Queen's lap but in a few short days he had warmed up to me. Treats have that effect on our canine friends. It also didn't hurt that I fell in love with him. I'm good at petting and rubbing tummies. I liked to scratch his ears and he began to crave my touch.
The first night in our condo we put him in a cage in the guest room. He yapped for 15 minutes. I jumped out of bed and brought the cage into our bedroom and his barking stopped immediately. From there Charlie started out in our bed then an hour later he went into his cage. After two months his cage was folded and placed in the garage never to be seen again. It only took two months for him to become King of the Realm.
It should be told that I'm the world's biggest softie. When I was teaching high school some thirty years ago I had a reputation of being strict; not that that's a bad thing. For some reason I don't smile a lot. Kids, when they first came into my classroom---well----some of them we're scared. I told them not to worry. On the outside I might look like Simon Legree but on the inside i was singing 'Zippety Do Dah Dey'. You see I'm a soft touch. To be honest I have an alligator mouth and a hummingbird butt. I'm that easy and I was that way with my Charlie.
Her Majesty had her special time with Chaz. She's always up early, around 6 o'clock, which is when the lad likes breakfast. After his morning meal Queen Ann reads the Bible and Charley snuggles up on her lap--Every single day. When I came downstairs around 9 he'd immediately jump up on me.
I told some folks this morning, and it's the truth, that in the four years we had him, except for two weeks, Charlie and I were what you would call joined at the hip. Wherever I went he tagged along. I'm not lying when I write we spent almost four years with each other 24/7. I noticed in the past six months we were openly communicating with each other. He knew what I wanted and I could tell what he needed. The first couple times I noticed this phenomenon was one day when I was down in the dumps. I was sad. And right away Charlie jumped up on the couch where I was lying and he laid down on my chest staring dead ahead at my eyes. I didn't think much about it at the time but the same situation came up again a week later and I recognized it. I thought that was real bonding moment.
Speaking of bonding: Do you the first clue as to how much you love your dog? Put him on your lap and keep him there until your bladder is about to explode and is the size of the Goodyear blimp. Then you'd hold it until next month so you don't have to disturb them.
Also, in the past six months I knew my guy's vocabulary was getting fairly extensive. For example, Charlie knew the following: 'Treats'. They can come at any time but the official ones arrived at 2 pm. If I was late he'd let me know. The word 'food' was a natural for him and it came at 4 pm. If we were in the car and arrived home at 4 or after I'd open the front door and he'd sprint to his dish. He knew 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' as in 'Go upstairs'. If I said, 'Go to Mom' he'd immediately search out Her Majesty. When I said, "Let's go for a ride! he made a mad dash to the front door. When we went to the dog park and we're about a half mile away I'd say 'dog park' and he'd jump around like I had a T-bone steak for him. There are a number of other commands: When we were out for a walk and on our way home i'd say, "Go, go, go" and he'd run to the back door.(As long as he got a treat when we arrived).
Charlie was smart and he was polite. if someone came to the front door he'd bark until the door opened then he'd snuggle up to whomever it was.
I have to be totally honest with you. I didn't sleep one minute last night. I finally came downstairs at 4 am. I've cried until I didn't think I can shed any more tears but then almost magically they'll begin gushing down my face. I've had parents die and grandparents and other family members. I've known hundreds of friends and acquaintances who have passed on. Never in my life, since my Grandma died in 1960, have I shed this many tears.
It's therapy for me to write this just as it most likely was therapy for you when you lost a buddy from God's animal kingdom. I want to be as positive as I can regarding this situation. I have to believe that God made every living, breathing animal in His own likeness with the promise of an eternal reward. I want to believe when I leave this earth Charlie will be waiting for me at the Golden Gates and when he does see me he'll jump around with joy and give me eternal hugs and kisses. I want to believe. i have to believe.
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