Charlie is our beloved 2 year old dog that lives mostly indoors (and on our bed). He is best mates with our orange ginger cat Milo, and they love a good snuggle as well as a good play – mind you, anger and tears sometimes result but at the end of the day, like all siblings do, they never fail to make up.
When I walked past that petshop in September 2008, I had no idea how big an impact getting a dog would have on our lives. There, behind the glass, stood the fluffiest, whitest furball of a dog I’d ever seen, just pacing up and down in his cage. They told me he was acting up, because he had a sister that got sold earlier, and he was alone for the first time in his 9 week life.
Then they asked me if I would like to hold him.. and I did.. and my heart spun into freefall..
He was so light and fragile in my arms, I was so scared that I might drop and break him. When I put him down, I swear he singled me out and started barking at me.. it was like a “WHY did u put me down! Come on! You know u want me!!”
You’d think I was crazy, but I swore up and down that he knew my name right there and then. After 4 hours of deliberating (and ringing Mum, Josh.. and mum again), I paid for him and took him home in a little cardboard box pet carrier.
But that’s not the end of the story. The more he grows with us, the more we have learnt of his character.
At the petshop the sign read “Maltese x Shih-Tzu” but as you can clearly see, and as most people have commented, he is no maltese shih-tzu. He weighs 10kg!!
He loves people and dogs alike.. give him a treat and he’s your friend for life. He’s run away a couple of times, first time they found him in someone’s back yard playing with their dog, the second time he got out he followed a jogger down the road and so the jogger kindly took him home and looked after him..
This is indeed our one-of-a-kind Charlie.
