Sooo.... I had a dream last night about my parents getting rid of my dog and woke up crying. Seriously. My parents are moving to a new, nicer, smaller house this summer and they've been talking about they want to get rid of Charlie. Um...HECK NO. Charlie is MY boy. Growing up, all I wanted as a kid was a dog. For years and years and years I asked my parents for a dog but the answer was always a firm "NO." For my 11th birthday my parents consented and bought me Dog #1-Crazy Max. Max was a Cockerspaniel mix and my parents found him at the pound. I remember I couldn't breathe when I first saw him leashed to a tree with a bow and balloons tied to his neck. Max was fun for a while but after about a month we realized why Max was put in the pound. It's not just that he was overly hyper but he was known to bite. After he bit my 5 year old sister my parents decided it was the final straw and gave him back to the pound.
Well, my parents were kind and decided to try again. So next came Dog #2-Penny-the Neurotic. We found Penny at this breeders house (more like a puppy mill) and when she brought out this teeny-tiny white ball of fluff, who could resist? We found out this little Maltese was born on MY same birthday so we felt like it was DESTINY that we found this puppy. Fools. Looking back I see we should have evaluated things a little better. This lady-breeder (haha I got a kick out of the sound of that) lived in a small trashy home and was overall a pretty trashy lady. All her kids were dirty and she treated them poorly (which she no-doubt did the same for her dogs). I remember ferocious sounding dogs in the background but all I could focus on was this adorable white little furball. It's amazing the sense-blinding affect puppies can have on you! Well apparently, Penny was the runt of the family and all her bros and sisters died (THAT should have been a red flag). A week or so after we got Penny she got REALLY sick. The vet told us it was a disease that puppies get in poorly cared for kennels. Nice. Being that all her siblings died from it, he didn't give her a very good survival rate. The next month was HELL. Being that she was my dog, I had to wake up twice a night to literally force this nasty goopy dog food down her throat. We had to keep our eyes on her 24/7 and I knew at any moment she could die. We finally nursed her back to health and she grew into the fine, EVIL dog we have been trying to erase from our memories.
Seriously she was BAD. First of all, we could not get her potty trained. We tried for about a YEAR and even hired a professional but to no avail. Besides that, Penny was MEAN. She would literally ATTACK whoever came to the door or really anyone within a 20ft radius of us. She was yappy, obstinate, and frankly neurotic to tell you the truth, so even I wasn't that sad when my parents recommended getting rid of her. In fact, it was sort of my choice. I just feel bad for the poor sucker that ended up with her.
After that, my parents were like "no more dogs." I still loved dogs but I decided not to push them for a little while. Then Brynn Kocherhans' dog had puppies. I fell in love. Well, 1,500 dollars of MY OWN money as well as a long deliberate consent from my parents, Sadie was mine. Dog #3-Sadie the Sweet.
Wow. Sadie was an awesome dog (especially considering the first two). She was beautiful, quiet , and one of the sweetest dogs you could ever find. We all loved her especially my mom and Johnny. And I think she loved them the most too. It's strange that I don't really remember a whole lot from Sadie. I DO remember, however, when she got sick. She had previously had a plethora of health issued but she never should have died as young as she did (2 or 3 yrs--I can't remember). Months before, it seemed as if Sadie was always depressed. I realize now that it's possible she could have just been in pain. A couple weeks before her death she got really sick and the vet put her on all sorts of medication. Medication that probably killed her being that the vet failed to diagnose her failing kidneys. Her death was a REALLY hard day for the whole family. We were all home when her body went limp and I'll never forget the feeling of holding a dead dog in my arms. We held a funeral service for her in my backyard and there was not a single dry eye from any of my family members. Pretty sure my big "tough" older bro Johnny was bawling as he dug the hole for her to rest in. The blue feelings actually stayed around that entire week and I think all of us could feel the hole in our family.
That Sunday, my mom said words that I NEVER thought I would EVER hear from her lips "I think we should get another dog." This is the woman that swore she always hated dogs and would never get a dog again (after Penny). I remember as soon as we thought of the idea of getting another dog, everybody perked up and there was a buzz around the house as we searched online for top breeders of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. (We had such a good experience with Sadie I think we are all Cavalier lovers for life). My dad spent months looking because we wanted to be SURE this dog would not have health problems like Sadie did. (Cavaliers are known to have AMAZING temperments but horrible health issues.) We found our top-of-the-line breeders and even found Charlie but had to drive to Arizona to get him. Not to mention, he was one expensive little pup! (Worth every penny in my opinion.)
I was the one that got to drive up to Arizona with my dad and it was an AWESOME experience. We spent the night in a hotel and picked Charlie up the very next day. The ride home was fantastic. I remember feeling SO excited to have this puppy, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. This was the time Charlie and I really connected (wow that sounds so cheesy when you're talking about a dog) but seriously. He followed me everywhere and completely owned my heart. When we got home, I think Charlie felt overwhelmed by all my excited family members and he would constantly run to me for protection (which he still does today ha ha). I remember my sibs being all angry at me cuz it was clear Charlie liked me best. Over time though, Charlie truly became the family dog and would share his love with anyone and everyone that would pay him the slightest attention. It was nice to finally have a true "Family Dog" and Charlie was the perfect dog for the job.
Picking out a name for him was heinous. I remember sitting in the living room with my entire family for like FOUR hours trying to name him. It was frustrating as heck cuz no one could agree on anything. Here were some my personal favorites me and the sibs agreed on but my parents vetoed.-Gambit
-Hendrix (love that one)
-Dante
-Scooter
and -Scout. We had about fifty billion other names but I guess they weren't important enough to remember.
Finally after what felt like days my mom was like "We're naming him Charlie and I don't care what anybody has to say about it." I didn't like the name at first but now I've come to see that it fits him perfectly.
Which FINALLY brings me to why I posted this blog in the first place. Dog #4-Charlie the Goof. aka Best dog ever.
Many people wouldn't see what I see in Charlie but whenever I think about him, I can't help but smile. Every dog has its own personality and I honestly LOVE Charlie's. He's just so goofy and loving and sometimes I think he's downs syndrome, or autistic or something along those lines. I can't explain it. It's kind of hilarious because anytime he gets super happy or excited about something--he cries like a baby. And I'm not talking about a whimper. I'm talking about a full-blown, heart-wrenching sobbing almost. It's hard to explain. It's sort of like he has SO much love/excitement/happiness/etc. that he literally CANNOT contain himself. Not only is it hilarious, but I find it very endearing. I wish I had that kind of emotion sometimes.
Charlie and I just "fit" ya know? Even though Sadie was a wonderful dog, I just didn't really connect with her in the same way as I have with Charlie. There's just something about him that meshes with my personality. He really is MY boy.
So this dream that I had, perfectly illustrates my feelings towards my parents giving him away. In my dream, I was so mad at the thought of my parents getting rid of him that I told them I would never speak to them again if they did. I yelled at them for caring more about cold hard pieces of furniture that for caring about one of my best friends. I woke up crying and its made me think of how much I really do love Charlie. It makes me wish I had taken him on more walks and played with him more when I was living at home and how I wish so badly he could live with me now.
There's NO WAY I'll let my parents take my dog away from me and thankfully I have my awesome sibs to back me on this. Charles stays with me and I hope we will have many more years of hilarious memory-makeage to come!
This is a picture of Charlie laying in front of my door that my sister sent me after I moved away to college.
Pretty sure I almost cried when I first saw it.
Love you boy!
