Happy Got Day, Charley!!

Greetings from California on Charley's 3rd honorary birthday, and our 2nd "anniversary."  I remember every detail about the day I brought him home like it was yesterday.  

I'm sending two pictures of Charley -- he and I on the beach in Carmel, and a handsome mug shot looking out his favorite window.  Charley is doing very well these days, but we've definitely had some challenges this year.  Charley had a long bout with an unidentified illness/condition in November and December.  The poor boy had to be hospitalized to keep him hydrated.  We had test after test, but they never figured out exactly what was wrong.  And then this spring he had some mild seizures.  I think the seizures were caused by Frontline.  I did a lot of research online, and his symptoms exactly mirrored those of other dogs, about 48 hours after treatment.  Needless to say, we've moved onto a natural flea treatment.  As I look back, now wonder if his earlier health problems were also caused by Frontline too.  But we'll never know.  

The best part of the year was his 5-month cohabitation with a Great Dane, my niece's dog who lived with us last fall.  Though the Dane was 4 times bigger, Charley had no problem bossing her around. And Charley also found good use her.  He figured out how to stand in her shadow on walks in order to stay cool.  Smart boy!

Charley continues to be a loyal companion, a charmer and shameless womanizer, and a little crazy and obsessive.  He has a new border collie friend in the neighborhood who is the first dog who can out-maneuver him.  And he's perfected a new skill -- pitch-matching a howl to the sound of fire or police sirens.  One day on a walk, as an ambulance roared by, he sat on the sidewalk in front of our neighborhood restaurant and did a perfect long imitation.  He got quite an ovation from the people at the restaurant.  It's quite a skill he has.

I think of you guys often, and hope that border collies continue to find good homes everywhere.

-Thor

ps Barbara -- I get SO many compliments on the leash.  It's holding up beautifully.  If they're sold online, I could definitely direct people to the site.  I'll probably need a new one someday too.

Editor's note: the three-way leash can be purchased by sending us an email...we do hope to have an online store someday!

Adoption Update: Charley

One year later:

 

Greetings to our friends on the East Coast.  All is well with Charley and I.  The move across country was pretty smooth, and Charley has adapted to California living!

 

Charley is nothing like I would have ever imagined when I got him a year ago.  He's not the runner I was looking for. He's only a sprinter, and in fact, he doesn't even like being outside if it's warm and sunny.   He's wicked smart, but not as easily trained as you might think -- his stubborn streak almost always gets in the way, and when he's not stubborn, he's easily distracted.  When I first got him he never barked.  In fact, for several days, I wondered if he had a voice. Now he's a chatty boy -- barking at buses and squirrels, and talking up a storm with me, with a considerable vocabulary of groans, sighs, and other unlikely noises.

He's not at all aloof, like he was when we met.  But he is a great actor and can do aloof if it suits his needs.  He wasn't at all territorial when I got him.  Now he stands watch over our house with admirable vigilance.  And for weeks, he took little interest in food or toys.  Now he demands to sample anything that I eat, and he spends much of his day herding the toys around the house, seemingly demonstrating a canine OCD quality with his exact positioning of several toys in a line or a pile. He's never satisfied with a toy unless it's exactly where he put it.  If I try to relocate one, it disrupts his grand plan, and he intercepts and starts all over again.

 

He's a surprise in ALMOST every way.  What has always been consistent is his sweet and gentle soul, his ease around children and other dogs,  and his extraordinary skills as a snuggler.  He gives out kisses freely, takes snacks gently with his lips and front teeth, and loves to sit on your feet or have physical contact in any way possible.  Charley welcomes rubs from anyone and makes friends easily.  Everywhere we go, people ask: "Is he still a puppy?!"  No one believes he's full grown.   Apparently Charley drank from the fountain of youth!

 

We're about to start Agility 3.  He was such a confident ham in Agility 1, but Agility 2 was hard because he hates the tunnel. This brave pup who was leading the class one week, became the class clown the next week.  At the sight of tunnel,  he'd simply starting running crazy laps around the room.  Or some days he'd pee on the floor right in front of the tunnel.  We're going to continue working.

 

He seems to have fully recovered from Lyme's disease, and since then, the worst thing that's happened is a nasty skunking he got in our back yard a couple weeks ago.   The poor boy got it right in the face!

 

Meeting Charley on the farm last July was life changing for me.  He's my first dog, and yet I can't imagine how I ever made it through four decades without one.  

 

I hope everything is well there. I am grateful for what you do, and the ways in which you change lives for the four-legged and two-legged alike.

 

The latest photo of Charley -- his "headshot" as spokesdog for the new downtown Park in Los Angeles.  Yes, it has a dog park!

-Thor and Charley

Adoption Update: Charley!

Charley has become an even greater dog.  He's fairly reliable on the leash, is learning verbal commands, is easy with other dogs and people, is gentle and sweet with kids, has even made friends with a couple of cats, and is so affectionate.  He's right at my side all the time. He's no longer aloof.  Quite the opposite, actually -- his personality is really emerging, and he is very popular in my building and in the neighborhood.  

We just returned from a 2-week driving vacation, and no one seemed to miss me, but they all missed Charley! The doorman in my building acted like he was being reunited with a long lost friend.  The vacation was good too -- Charley was equally easy in a fancy hotel in Boston as he was in the woods of Maine.  He still doesn't come back when I call, so I can't let him off the leash.  However, one time in Maine he slipped out (leapt off the back deck in pursuit of a chipmunk, actually).  He wouldn't come back when I called, but after a 30-minute wild romp in the woods, he came running back, as fast as a leopard, and straight into my arms.  I took some comfort in that, but clearly we have a long way to go.  In any case, I learned what a runner and jumper he is.  Maybe we should do some agility training.

A bit of very disturbing news.  At our 1st vet visit last month Charley tested positive for the lyme disease anti-body.  The vet wants us to have another, more definitive test, and to keep a close eye on Charley.  My heart broke when I got the news. I'd be devastated if he developed the disease. However, apparently, there's a good chance he won't.

That's all the news here.

I hope you're all well, and that the hurricane didn't do too much damage in your worlds.  Charley and I were in Vermont when the hurricane hit, but he was a real champ.  He used to hate the rain, and now he doesn't even blink!

Oh, and I beginning to think that his other part is actually Boston Terrier, because every time he meets one he really goes a little crazy.  It's weird.

-Thor