Oh Charlie, We Will Miss You, Our Beautiful Little Dog...My Little Coffee Buddy

It's with a grieved heart to have to blog on something that has recently and suddenly broken our hearts.  We lost our precious little dog, Charlie very, very late, the night of the 17th.  That very morning I awoke to a severely injured little dog.  It appears he was attacked by a coyote that night or early morning, the wounds had all the marks of a coyote, it was horrible. Neither Jem nor I noticed that Charlie hadn't followed us into our room the night before, and it had never been a problem before.

We rushed our little Charlie to the vet and the vet did what he could.  Charlie came back home with us as we watched and waited... When I went to bed I had a funny feeling, even though Charlie was walking around, he was unsettled he would walk and lay down, walk and lay down, he lay under the lit up Christmas tree of all places on the white sheet I used as a Christmas tree skirt. Yes, that happened and yes my tree was unapologetically up, I had a lot going on.  That night before I went to bed, Charlie's eyes told me something.


Jem and I miss our Charlie so much.  Just so very much, and the thought of how he suffered that day is just haunting to us.  I have to just close my eyes and pause.

 
Charlie in his little wicker bed in our room as Gracie looks after him.

Gracie keeping watch over Charlie after we arrived home from the vet's office.  Gracie was nuzzling Charlie and being so motherly and sweet, animals are such sentient beings.  Little angels.  We had to keep boxes under our bed there because poor little Charlie had wanted to try to hide under our bed, we thought we would never get him out.  My husband, Jem could hardly read this blog by the way it is such an emotional thing for he and I both.



 This is Charlie just a month or so ago, it was the morning hours, I was spending time with God and I looked across the room to see my sweet little dreamie Charlie gazing at me from across the room...

Charlie was a character, such a happy little dog with a dramatic side to him as well, as we would sometimes call him Carlos after the character in the old movie, 'A Man Called Godfrey'.




 Charlie's Story


We were so blessed to have had Charlie for over twelve years at least...  We had lost our sweet dog, Minnie Pearl and the following week we saw in the local paper, Charlie's face with a little bandana around his neck. He had the same little eyebrows as Minnie Pearl.

When our youngest, Grace saw the photo she said, Oh mommy we have got to go get him!  Just the thought of Grace being so little girl like is sobering.  Jem, Grace and I went to the animal shelter, back then known as the pound.  Grace had in her still little girl hand a lavender envelope soft with handling...It was wrinkled and it contained all of her birthday money, it was going to cost $65.00 to adopt Charlie and that is what Grace did.  When Grace saw Charlie tears rolled down Rebecca's face and she said through the tears...I love him...

I remember leaning down to pet Charlie when he first became part of our family and the little guy would wince, it broke my heart.  Apparently whoever had had him before was not very kind to him, but gradually Charlie knew he could trust our hands and he knew we loved him and would never hurt him ever.  He was safe with us! 


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Charlie had become my little sit-next-to-me buddy since little Guiseppe died in November.  Charlie had been my special little coffee buddy for a couple of years now, I awake many times at 5am in the morning and usually Charlie follows me out of our room into the kitchen as I would say...Charlie?  Are you my coffee-buddy?  I would reach down and pet that little head full of curly silver locks...  It was a comfort and company for me.  It could be the middle of the night and Charlie would get up with me trotting right by my side.

One morning in the past couple of weeks I noticed he stayed in the living room with the larger dogs, Gracie and Coffee.  There was some wildlife out there they were intrigued by and they would go galavanting around exiting the dog door.  I didn't think too terribly much about it because Gracie is such a protector and usually Charlie is the Louie Zamparini of our dogs, he would quick as a wink grab a water moccasin in his mouth and shake it to it's end without a hitch.  He was just an amazing beautiful little dog who thought he was ten feet tall.

Many days I would call out to Charlie when he was outdoors as I held my hands up to cheer him on....Charlie!  Great and mighty wonder of  the wooooorrrrrld!!!   Charlie had adopted that title from our precious pitbull, Buddy who we lost several years ago.

He was Jem's buddy too, when Jem would hop into the Mule, his all terrain vehicle, Charlie would sit by his side.  When I took trips into town to say the auto mechanic, Charlie would hop on in with me, just so happy...such a happy little dog and he loved riding in cars with us.  He always wanted to go to the grocery store with us and I was always so sad to leave him standing there, but I would promise him a treat when we got back.  I would always say...Don't worry Charlie, we'll be back, we'll be back...  When I did come back he would be running in his cute little way up the driveway to greet me...And yes, treats were waiting for all of our fur angels.

When my dad came to visit over five years ago Charlie had jumped into his lap and my dad just loved Charlie.  Charlie was also my mom's favorite dog.  Everyone loved Charlie.




This photo was taken just a couple of weeks ago, he was napping next to me on the couch as I was texting my daughter, Zuzu.  I was laughing hysterically, even slapping my knee because of something I thought was so funny and he looked up at me so cute here...




We very recently had a flood in the area and were out scouting around and Charlie was just so enjoying his ride with us.   Best day ever.






Here are a couple videos Jem took of Charlie and Gracie, there was a water bird tormenting the heck out of them.   What is in these short videos is so very typical...  so cute the way Charlie would amuse himself at the pond many a day.  He would just have a ball galloping about the pond chasing after turtles hopping in the water and the like.

You can see Charlie at full right watching the pond.  He and Gracie were pals.
 Such happy little dogs....






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When we first moved out here I would go to the back of the property and spend time with God, and Charlie would be right there with me just enjoying the day...He just loved being with me.




This was very common for Charlie...Just contentedly laying in a bed or on a couch, sometimes the foot of our bed...just resting and taking it all in...Wherever he would go or follow he would get his little paws, (he stood like a ballerina) and he would burrow and dig into the fabric or rug getting perfectly comfortable.




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The day we discovered Charlie had passed to the other side...It was a cruel thing for me to have to go about cleaning the evidence of our suffering little fur angel...So.  Hard.   I felt as if I was the only person left in the world.  

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That evening I was walking around the house, trying so hard to do the next thing as Elisabeth Elliott suggested years ago...Thinking of Charlie, my dad, Guiseppe....Buddy... Esther....You name it...   Praying.  Praying hard.



I sat in one of our recliners and in a mindless effort I put this movie on from the list...   The Men of Boys Town.   



God spoke to me strongly through this scene at 3:37 of the movie.   I love the part of Father Flanagan, I do believe the character of Father Flanagan portrayed in this movie is truly like God's character.  I taped a capsule scene of the movie containing one important part...Perhaps I am a cross between Pee Wee and Ted in these times...  The entire capsule here contains elements of life for all of us. 





Father Flanagan:  Ted you've stood so much pain do you think you can stand a lot  more?  

Ted:  Why doesn't somebody else have to stand it?!

Father Flanagan:  Everybody does have to go through pain Ted, some seem to have more to endure then others and you're one of them I can't tell you why either unless it's... suffering seems to forge such a fine man that in the end you'll be better then the rest of us...







Father Flanagan:  It is the time when Giants will walk again on the land.  Be staunch, keep the faith...And you will walk among the giants.   God bless you.





Life is much like the movie above,  I do recommend the movie, 'Men of Boys Town' by the way, for many reasons.  Oh such a different time in our country.

I cling to God and I cling to the old ways. May we walk among the giants as we hold unto God's loving Hand. May we be that Ted as he walks in the end cradled by the Father.  

Hear the little boys singing?  It's a beautiful thing...Isn't it Charlie?


 

Be kind to people, we don't know what that visitor has gone through.  

amelia