We have an old shaggy dog-named Charlie. He looks as if he takes a ride on a roller coast daily or maybe goes for a spin in the washing machine. Let’s say he looks like Albert Einstein on a very bad hair day.
He lived across the road from us with his pal Dawg. The family that lived in the rental trailer there had three or four kids and it was apparent that they didn’t have much money or material goods. We were never sure what happened, but one night the family just disappeared, all except for Charlie and Dawg.
We kept thinking surely they would come back to get their dogs, the ones who played with the children daily. Days went by and soon Jilda and I were trying to figure out what to do about Charlie and Dawg. In the meantime she had been taking them food and water. After a couple of weeks, Charlie and Dawg followed Jilda home and never looked back.
Dawg was not in good health and he only lived with us a couple of years and then went over the rainbow. His pal Charlie grieved for days and would look at us with such sadness in his eyes.
Charlie (he’s older than Dick Clark, I swear) is the smartest dog who has ever lived with us.
Not long after he moved in with us, we took a weekend trip. When we got home, all the dogs were out of the fence but Charlie. We tried our best to figure out what happened. We had left our dogs in the fence many times and they had never escaped.
A few mornings later Jilda stood at the back door watching the dogs play. Soon Charlie meandered over to the gate and opened the latch with his nose, looking around to make sure no one saw him.
Of course all the dogs went out the gate except for Charlie, he just ambled back up the deck.
Jilda stepped outside and Charlie looked at her as if to say” these dogs are not smart, you should put down as soon as possible.” If he had thumbs he could open the refrigerator. Soon there were bungee cords around the gate latches. It was like child proofing cabinet doors.
We know Charlie misses his pal Dawg and the kids he use to play with. Sometimes we watch him walk up the drive way and sit, staring across the road at his old home place. I know he wonders what happened and why they all left him, but if Jilda sees him sitting there she walks out and gives him a hug and he follows her back to our house. Charlie is a dog we will never forget.
