COMFORT AND JOY

 

This October my husband and I adopted sweet Charlie from Chicago Canine Rescue and our lives will never be the same!  Neither of us really grew up having a dog so it was a little like having your first baby....a lot of excitement and trial and error! Charlie made it very easy on us with his gentle and loving ways. He had a slight limp from a broken leg that healed a little crooked. He didn't seem to be impeded or in pain and the vet said Charlie would have a good quality of life even with his little limp. He seemed to be so glad to have found a warm and loving home and family.

 

He made himself at home with us quickly, winning over our hearts and the hearts of our grown children and my grandson.  Only a year and a half old Charlie still has plenty of puppy in him and soon we were on a mission to make sure that his attention turned to his toys and not our furniture, shoes, socks or our fingers when he got into a chewing frame of mind, which seems to be quite often. 

 

He follows us from room to room almost like a shadow and when we go out of the house for any reason he jumps on a chair near the window watching as we get into the car. He greets us when we get back as if he hasn't seen us in days, putting his nose to our face and coming close for pets and cuddles.  He loves going out in the backyard and just sitting and watching the birds fly back and forth and runs to chase them off the fence when they land. It becomes a constant game between Charlie and the birds and I often watch from my back porch chuckle at his relentless endeavor to catch one. He continues to grow and now I feel like he takes me for a walk instead of the other way around.  He so enjoys his routine of a morning walk with "mom" and an evening walk with "dad".
He loves just sitting quietly beside me on the couch if I am reading or praying. He puts his  head in my lap and closes his eyes as I rub his ears. He lays on the floor as my husband practices his guitar.
He senses that I am not feeling well and climbs up beside me laying still and quiet and we both fall asleep.

 

As Christmas approached this year, we decided we'd better get a tiny tree to sit on the table since we weren't sure how Charlie would do with a big tree, but we needn't have worried, Charlie seems, like me, to love all things Christmas...the lights, the decorations, the smell of cookies baking or friends and family stopping by (new people to pet and play with him!), he even seemed to like Christmas music and laying on the couch to watch Christmas movies with us, even when we watched White Christmas twice!

 

Yes, my husband and I feel blessed we found such a good match  as first time dog owners. Charlie has brought us many days of comfort, joy and laughter already and we can't imagine our home or family now without him.  He charmed our daughter who came in from Indiana for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, winning her over with his bumbling, gentle ways. How fun it was to see our oldest son getting drawn in to play tug of war with Charlie or coming by to bring him a treat or a toy he had bought for him!  Our youngest son and his wife and our grandson fell in love with Charlie from the first day they went to the rescue shelter with  us to help us find a dog. They came over on Christmas Eve bringing  several toys and treats for Charlie too.  They invited us over for Christmas Day and told us to bring Charlie so he could get to know their two big Golden Retrievers, Biscuit and Rye and learn to be more "social" around other dogs. The three dogs figured out quickly who was the Alpha Dog (Rye) and soon were playing together nicely after a few warning growls from Rye when Charlie was getting too frisky! We all enjoyed a fun day together as a family; parents, grown children, grandson, and dogs. As we drove home afterwards with Charlie sleeping contentedly in the backseat, I had such a feeling of peace and all being right with the world.

 

Looking for some comfort and joy in your life?  We can tell you that adopting a dog from a rescue shelter may be an unexpected source of both at any stage of your life!