Saying Goodbye to Charlie
It wasn’t until much later in my life that I realized how important pets are. They are the unconditional love, companion and guides in our life. This week, we said goodbye to my mom’s dog Charlie. Him and I had a very special connection …. a spiritual one.
The year is 2012. Keith King and I have decided to become roomies. The search for an affordable and comfortable arrangement for platonic friends to live together was on!
We toured a home near Long Lake. The owner, a woman was leaving empty to move downstate. “Everything had to go!” An upcoming estate sale was planned so I decided to attend that just in case I found any gems.
I did. Two mid century modern chairs that no one wanted. While we opted out of renting her house, I thought the chairs would fit nicely in whateverer apartment we found.
She was gracious about us turning her down and invited me to come back for the chairs, “How does $50 for both sound?” DEAL! The day I went to pick up the chairs turned into an hour of me sitting on the chairs with her listening to her entire life story, the reason for the move and liquidating, and one more item she needed to rehome:
A dog.
She had found him wondering the roads on Long Lake. She attempted to find the owners who she had met on a walk that summer, but she never did. So, a friend took this dog home only to discover she had terminal cancer and couldn’t keep him either. Who would want him?
My mom had been praying for a dog. She said, on repeat, “I just want a 10 pound tri-color rescue dog. God will find it for me.” My family made fun of her ridiculous request. I was very direct, “Mom. The Human Society doesn’t have designer dogs at the shelter. EVER!” She insisted that a 10 pound tri-colored dog would be hers in the near future.
I asked the woman, “Can I see a picture of this dog?” She pulled up a picture of a 10 pound tri-colored rescue dog. I had goosebumps from head to toe. He looked like a Charlie to me. She said, “I call him Charlie.” To which I said, “I’ll take him.”
Picture of me and Charlie, the designer rescue dog
So, that weakened while my parents were away, I took my dad’s Tundra down the two-tracks of no-man’s-land somewhere between Buckley and Ludington to pick up Charlie. I arrived to find him chained up in the backwoods and eager to escape with me. He jumped in the truck, onto the console and never looked back.
That weekend, I posted to Instagram and alerted my parents, “I have found a man we can both agree on. Like this post to meet him.”
They did and the rest is history.
Charlie became my mom’s companion at just the right time. He was her sidekick, ride or die, heating blanket, guard dog and friend.
Today he told her that it was time. His body could no longer move with ease. His eyes could no longer see. His mind forgot how to eat. His head could no longer lift without pain.
The boy who could scale the backseat height of a sofa had to be carried into the doctors office and there with my mom and dad by his side he said “goodbye”.
We love you Char-Char for the love you gave #shannon and the company you offered Poppy. We will miss so much about you and will forever remember you as the 10 pound tricolor rescue dog she was determined to have.
Happy trails 🖤
