The Story of Our First Dog and How He Changed Our World
February 10th 2013 was a day I will never forget. I decided it was time for me and David to get our first puppy. A friend of my dad’s had a dog getting ready to give birth to a litter of puppies.
I was excited to learn that they were purebred Shetland sheepdogs (shelties) and couldn’t wait to meet them. David wasn’t happy at the idea of getting a dog, especially a puppy. He had never been a dog person, but I reminded him often that I was. I wanted a furry friend to keep me company while David worked.
The day came and I went with my dad to meet the puppies for the first time. I had every intention to pick out a girl. There was only one boy out of the litter and every time I reached down to pick one up it was the boy that ended up in my arms. He was persistent so I decided he was the one.
A week went by and it was finally time to go pick up my new bundle of fur. David tried to act like he didn’t like him, but I knew they bonded. The cute little puppy I picked out to be mine chose David as his person instead of me.
We tried for hours to come up with a name for him, but we couldn’t agree on anything. David finally looked up and said, “Why don’t we call him Charlie?” We both looked at his furry little face and agreed he was a Charlie.
Charlie was our first dog together and he helped us realize a lot about each other in the beginning of our marriage. One of the major things he helped us realize was that we were definitely not ready to have a baby. We had trouble agreeing on how to raise Charlie. We knew we couldn’t handle a human baby and proceeded to push the idea of becoming parents further down the road.
As time went on it got easier for us to agree and take care of Charlie and he did become our furry little child.
He had epilepsy and needed medication daily along with other special needs. Our lives revolved around Charlie’s care and for nine years we loved and cherished every minute we had with that dog.
However, one night we found ourselves at the emergency vet office at Virginia Tech. Charlie was starting to bleed out and judging by his symptoms he wasn’t going to last long.
I knew his time was ending on this earth and instead of putting him through countless uncomfortable tests and procedures to try and stop the inevitable we decided to spend his last few minutes petting, hugging, and talking to him. We loved him too much to prolong his suffering and held on to him as he crossed the rainbow bridge.
When we left Virginia Tech that night we left with Charlie wrapped up in his favorite blanket, an empty collar, and two broken hearts. I have no doubt that Charlie’s spirit is in heaven with all my other childhood pets. We buried Charlie in the front yard where he can still watch over us and protect us like he used to do when he laid by the front door and overlooked the yard.
Charlie will forever hold a special place in our hearts. He brought so much happiness and joy to our lives. I know one day we will see him again.
Now that you know Charlie it will be easier to understand and get to know our other dogs because they all started with him.
Continue reading “Sarah’s Adventure: From a Devastating Beginning to Happy Tail wags” to learn about the next dog that stole our hearts.