1 July 2008

A little over five years ago, in May, we were driving down a street here in town. Walking on the sidewalk, alone, we noticed a beautiful dog, with a beautiful coat of red. Momma and I looked at each other, and we had the same thought. I voiced it by saying, “Now that would be a nice dog to have.”

Later that day, Daddy and I stopped at the pet store to see if there were any puppies that would interest us on the bulletin board, since we were hoping to get a dog soon. As we were standing there looking at the fliers, nothing seemed to interest us. Just then, a lady walked up to us, handed us a paper, and said, “If you’re looking for a dog, you might check out this one!”

We looked at the paper, and saw several photos of a small dog, about forty-five pounds, with a tan-red colored coat. He looked like a sweet dog, and the lady told us that it was a stray, and they had been feeding it for about a week. Everyday it would follow her son as he walked to school, protecting him from any harm. We thanked the lady, and said that we’d go home and talk it over with the rest of the family, leaving the paper up at the pet store, just in case we didn’t want the dog.

As soon as we got home, we told Momma and Breezy about the dog, and we all piled into the car together to go and meet him. On the way, Daddy was explaining to Momma where the dog was. Then it hit us. That must be the dog that we had seen earlier that day.

When we arrived, the lady was out with the dog, “Buddy” was what she called him. He was more red in person, with a pleasant countenance. His standing height was a little over a foot, yet he had large, soft feet. We could see that he still had some growing to do, but didn’t quite realize how much growing.

After talking with one another, and visiting with the puppy, we decided that we’d give him a try. So, up he went into the car. He laid down on the backseat, right between Bre and I, with plenty of room to spare.

We had been babysitting a dog for some friends of ours for a year, and the next day the dog would be going back to his owners. We let the two dogs meet, holding on tight to each. Though the stray we brought home was younger than the the dog we were babysitting, it was in no way threatened. The dog we had had for a year was very upset, but our new dog barked and growled right back, almost saying, “Do you want a piece of me?”

Soon, we separated the dogs, and all was calm again. It was a Saturday evening. The next morning we went to church, which was about forty-five minutes from us. We tied our new dog to the pole barn outside, afraid of the possibility of him chewing things up in the house. The babysat dog went with us to church, and we dropped him off at his owner’s home.

When we arrived back home, the dog was still tied up, and jumping up and down, excited to see that his new family was home. Being a puppy, he liked to bite. And being short, he liked to bite ankles. At night when we would pray as a family, we would kneel at the couch. After we got our new dog, we had to sit up on the couches with our feet as far from the edge as possible, so that he wouldn’t chew on us with his sharp little teeth.

That next Monday was Memorial Day. Off we went to our church’s Memorial Day Picnic, with the dog in the car, right between Breezy and I. We had not yet come up with a name for him, so all the way to the picnic (about forty-five minutes) we threw names about, trying to come up with one that fit. “Charlie” was mentioned, then repeated. It just sounded right. So, when we arrived at the picnic we were able to say, “Here’s our new dog, Charlie.” And the name suited him perfectly.

From there he grew, and grew, and continued to grow until he was about three years old. At the end of his life he was 165 lbs. I believe he enjoyed his life, and being around his family. Daddy was his favorite person. Peanut butter was his favorite food, as well as buttered toast, and buttered/salted popcorn (he liked the kernels too). His favorite thing to do was take rides in the truck, though it was hard on him to get in and out. He could only walk for ten to fifteen minutes before he would start limping. Since he was a large dog, we knew that he would have a shorter life then smaller dogs, as well as have hip trouble. In his short life he had several ailments, but he sweetly endured them.

Once when we gave him a bone to chew on (we were having roast) he managed to stick his bottom jaw through it. We heard a small yelp under the table when it happened, but yelps were not unusual because many times his large feet or tail would get stepped on. When he came out from under the table after dinner, we noticed that he was holding his mouth strangely. After a few minutes we finally understood what happened. The bone was stuck over his bottom teeth and we could not get it off, it was stuck – very stuck. So, Daddy took him to the vet. They had to sedate him to be able to work on it. First they tried to cut the bone with a special pair of pliers – that didn’t work. Then the tried sawing the bone, and after about forty minutes they finally got it off, having to saw it in two places.

About two years ago he got an infection in his neck, and it swelled to about two times larger than usual, and he stopped eating. We said our goodbyes to him, and it was very hard. Daddy took him to the vet, and was expecting to have to put Charlie to sleep. But God spared him, and Charlie came back with Daddy, along with a bottle of antibiotics. Within a few weeks the swelling in his neck went away, and he was back to normal.

God gave us two more years with him, and I am forever thankful. Several weeks ago, Charlie began to limp, and since then it had only gotten worse. It was his back left leg and at first we thought it was his hip, but just recently found out that he probably tore a ligament. More and more weight was being put on his right leg, and then it came down to him hardly even letting it touch the ground.

He was in pain, and it was sad to watch him limp around. We began to prepare ourselves for the end that was inevitable. Thursday was the day. We spent all day loving on him, giving him his favorite treats, rubbing him, talking lovingly to him. All to make his last day a good one. Many photos were taken, as well as videos. In the evening we said our last goodbyes and Daddy took him to the vet.

I went into the house, sobbing, for my best furry friend would be no more. I sat down a the computer desk, opened God’s Word. I turned to Psalms, and the Lord put the number 126 into my head. I turned to Psalm 126 and read it to myself, then read it aloud to Momma. It was a great comfort to us.

“When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
The Lord has done great things for them.’
The Lord has done great things for us; We are glad.
Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.” – Psalm 126

Here are some pictures of our beloved dog. He weighed 165 lbs. and looked like a mix between a Mastiff and a Rhodesian Ridgeback. His name was Charlie, but we called him by several nicknames – Chuck, Charles, Little One, and Sweet One, etc. I didn’t realize how many things he did with us. Everything we do seems to have a memory of him doing it with us.

Here is Dad and Momma with Charlie at the Memorial Day Picnic, two days after we got him. It amazes us at how little he used to be – it didn’t last long.

This photo gives you an idea of how big he grew to be, though in this picture he wasn’t quite fully grown. It was taken in the Fall of 2003.

This is a photo of Charlie on Thursday, he was so content and happy, even though there were ants crawling all over his legs.

Here Charlie is biting his lip. He did this quite often, and seemingly just to amuse us.

He enjoyed getting his picture taken, even though he was a bit annoyed at times. He knew exactly where to look – at the lens. In this photo he is in the kitchen, one of his favorite places to lay in the sun to keep warm.

Charlie had so many faces, all entertaining. We always enjoyed his company, he was a wonderful companion.

Usually his “sticks” were logs from a tree we cut down, he would start by ripping the bark off with his teeth, spit it out (as shown above), and then chew on the wood.

He was a most learned doggy, who sat in on high school classes on biology, algebra, history, grammar, and every day heard God’s Word being read aloud. He learned much, of that I’m sure, for he was very clever.

He was a happy and content little fellow, and I am thankful for the years we had him as a companion and best friend.

Categories: Family, God's Creation, Photography