Charlis-Dog's Page
(September 8th, 1998 to April 25th, 2012)
Hi! I'm Charlis. You can call me "Charlie" if you like (everyone does) but it's actually pronounced like it's French - "shar-LEE." I'm named after the Charolais cattle breed, since my coloring resembled them when I was a puppy...
Born on September 8, 1998, I was the last pup come forth in a litter of nine. I'm a product of the unscheduled union of Rye, a registered Springer Spaniel and Lucas, a blend of every conceivable working cattle dog known to Man, and some coyote too! Here are my genetic parents...
It was my mother's first litter, and my brothers and sisters didn't fare as well as me. I was the only one to make it! Ever since I was pulled by my paws out of Rye, I've been smothered with human love and affection. My mother would run off when I was a wee-pup, leaving me all alone to become eagle food here at the foot of the mountain. Darrin brought me inside where I would cry until he picked me up and held me. Then I'd BITE 'HIM!!! It always worked. Humans are SUCH suckers! I was sleeping in bed before I was a month old, wearing improvised diapers Reehehehehehe! I'm much bigger now, but still have my bed-rights...
I really love to travel, especially in the campers my papa builds! Say "camper" and I'm there. Just show me the door and I'll jump in to go anywhere. If I'm not in an open vehicle like the old Unimog, I love to stick my head out of the bedroom windows!
I am partial to the beach, though! My favorite place is Fort DeSoto at the mouth of Tampa Bay. They have a dog beach where I don't have to wear a leash, AND a Paw Playground. There, I can fool around with other dogs, and even get a shower after swimming in the Gulf! I'm not completely sure there are mice under the sand, but I'm willing to look!
But even at the beach, say the word "chicken" and you have my full attention...
When I'm in Florida at my human friend Dave's house, I love to try and eat lizards. I rarely get one and Darrin doesn't like me doing it, but I simply can't resist. I KNOW there are some in Dave's tropical garden...
Life isn't all vacation, though. We're usually home in Wyoming where I guard my castle. I can see people come from MILES up here. It is MY castle, you know...
Down there in my house, Daddy built this strange room he calls a "zow-na". It gets really hot in there, like hotter than hot summer, but my humans go in there so I do too! Daddy asked my doctor if it was okay, and he said I could go if I wanted, so long as I could get out when I was done. I can smell it warming up, and I get excited to go in! I'm good for almost 20 minutes and have rarely missed a Sauna-Saturday!
In the winter, my daddy used to feed those big black cows I liked to chase (but was never allowed) every day. I'd go with him in the tractor and sit by the door, hoping that maybe, just once, he'd let me out to go get one!
I had a really good friend here in Wyoming too! This was Megs. (Ol' Megs passed away in early June, 2006... May she have many butterflies to chase in Doggy Heaven.) Darrin saved her from the pound in 1992. She was kinda gross and smelly, and didn't hear too well the last few years, but she was my buddy. She loved to go swimming, and was usually wet and muddy...
Believe it or not, Lucas and Rye did their thing again a year after I was born. (This inspired my humans to get her "fixed", whatever that is... They say I'm fixed too! I didn't know I was broken.) This time, Rye had eight more puppies. Most of them looked like Border Collies, but there was another one like me in there. All of my full brothers and sisters found nice homes - some in Wyoming, and some in Maryland. My sister Offie lives in Maryland AND Wyoming, as she travels with Darrin's parents back and forth! Here she is...
And then there's my brother, Clue! Clue also lives in Maryland with his human, Ginger. In July, 2007, I got to visit my brother when Darrin did some business on the east coast. We're not allowed into "Uncle Paul's and Aunt Robin's" House, so Clue and I just stand at the door and keep hoping...
(That's me on the left, Clue on the right...)
We play well together, and here's a little movie of us carrying on...
I can do lots of tricks, and have learned all sorts of things. All the regular stuff is pretty boring and even pointless (do I NEED to roll over before I snack?) but I learned some neat stuff mostly on my own. I know that when my feet are wet, I can't come into the house. Just tell me and I can dry them myself! Here's a little proof (WMV video)...
As I age, my body shows the signs but my mind never does! Dad says I should be careful and go "slow". It rhymes with "no" so I kinda get it. He says that in human years, I have a three year old's brain and a 95 year old body. It never slows me down, but for the last couple years my old bones really ache a lot! I spend lots of time on the sofa in my spot...
...or totally zonked in my bed by the front door...
Of course I never complain if I hurt because that's not my style, but I can't totally hide it. Just last week, I went hiking with Dad up on my mountain behind my house! It was so much fun, but pretty hard on me! Here I am, king of the world, and where I'll always be in my dreams and my daddy's....
Daddy here... This photo was taken Wednesday, April 18th, 2012. Charlis was really sore the next day and spent lots of time on his bed and the couch through my birthday weekend. I took him to town Monday afternoon and when we came home he broke his back right leg jumping out of the pickup. I took him in for surgery Wednesday, April 25th, to get it pinned. (He'd been in a temporary splint since Monday.) Our animal-loving wonderful vet called mid-surgery and said he couldn't fix the leg; it was bone cancer and there were tumors in his lungs too. It was amputation or euthanasia. He was still under anesthesia, so I let him go... There would have been no point in putting him through more misery, just to put him down later.
I just wish, oh how I wish, that I'd said a better goodbye. I put him in that pre-op kennel, patted his soft head, told him I loved him, to be a good boy, and that I'd see him later. God, I had BETTER see him later! I'm counting on it. I refuse to believe animals are without a soul.
I love you Charlis-Dog. Thank you for getting me through two divorces, thank you for being there when my other best friend, my dad, passed away in 2007. Thanks for all the stinky kisses! Thanks for the alerts when I couldn't hear the doorbell. Thanks for the warm fuzzy body to hug whenever I needed it; you always knew when I did. I am forever grateful. FOREVER! I will carry you in my heart
And thank you, God, for loaning me this wonderful creature. I knew you'd eventually want him back and that your timing probably wouldn't work with mine. He really likes chicken satay and Dutch meatballs. Please see that he gets them!
Charlis' Mama#2, Anna, was also deeply saddened by this news. She doesn't live here any more, but she had some things to say about it. With her permission, I am posting what she wrote. You can read that (and words from Mama#1, Andie) by clicking the photo below...
You can also meet Dad's new pups here, a couple rescues from Denver that have literally "gone to a big farm to play outside and be with other animals". That is NOT a euphemism for something horrible. It's really the truth! They are happy, and so is Dad.