Lazy Sunday

Hey guys- it's me, Charlie. Another lazy Sunday, another day in paradise! I'm really starting to love it here! My parents are crazy about me- especially mom. She's kind of nuts, I think. She's always talking to me, even when dad isn't around. Silly lady...



Mom's family was in town this weekend and she took me over to Uncle James' house to visit. Everyone was there, including Maddie. It was fun to see them again. She and I are getting to be better friends. We watched a lot while James and Grandpa Mike worked in the basement. Mom calls it the "man den" that they're building. Lots of tools and pretty cool stuff. I made sure to stay out of the way, and mom made EXTRA sure I didn't get into anything I wasn't supposed to.

Today they did lots of cleaning, I took about 27 naps and barked at a few people passing by out front. I'm starting to relax a lot more. I know that when they move from room to room, I don't always have to follow anymore. I'm getting really good at sleeping through the bussling around the house.

Speaking of things I'm good at, Mom taught me how to sit. I'm awesome at it. It makes her so proud and I feel pretty good too. Did I already tell you about that? Maybe....but I'm really excited. Next thing is to "shake"...whatever that means.

Well, I'm off for another nap. Have a great rest of the weekend!!

from Charlie

Hey everyone. This is Charlie. I finally convinced mom that I'm smart enough to write on my own blog. We'll see how it goes. I think she's going to be pleasantly surprised!

I wanted to show you some pictures from my vacation in Norfolk. I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and we had a really fabulous time. They have a dog, Maddie. She was OK, I guess. I think she was jealous that I was taking attention from her people. We got along, but we won't be sending letters to each other anytime soon, I can tell you that!

This first picture is of me and my ball. I LOVE tennis balls. They are my all time favorite toy. What I really love is tearing the yellow fuzz off and eating it. Mom tries to get me to stop, but I don't. Mom and Dad gave me some stupid stuffed animals, but they're lame. I totally destroyed the first two. They got me a new squirrel and I tore the ears off as fast as I could to show them that I don't like it. Hopefully they'll get smart and realize I don't want them. If my friends knew I was playing with dolls, I'd be in deep trouble. Get a clue, mom and dad!


I got to watch lots of Animal Planet and Grandma and Grandpa's. They have the best channels and even leave them on just for me!

Here's a picture of me standing by some pretty flowers. I thought mom would like this one.

This is me and Grandma. She really likes me. She's one of my all-time favorite people. She really knows how to treat me! She's not as fussy as mom and she has the most amazing backyard ever! I can't wait to go back to visit. It's my favorite vacation spot ever!



Mom dropped me off and made me take a picture with Maddie. We look pretty good together. And she shared her water bowl with me. We shared a few toys and ate a little of each other's food. So, I guess she's OK.

Well, that's all for now. Mom's busy tearing an ugly angel border from the bathroom walls. I'd better go help and make sure she does it right. Hopefully she'll let me post more often. I think I'm better at it than she is.

Ta ta for now!

Va-cay!

Mr. Charlie is on vacation. He's visiting my parents for the next couple of days while I make a run down to Tulsa. I spent the day at my parents' with him and he was loving it! He and Maddie their golden retriever were able to co-exist in a civil manner, although they hadn't become BFF's quite yet. Charlie spent the afternoon exploring their backyard and chasing tennis balls. He LOVES my mother and is warming up to dad, so I think he'll be just fine.

If I said that I didn't cry when I left him, it would be a big fat lie.

Video shmideo

I've been waiting since this morning for a video to upload onto the blog. For some reason, I don't think 7 hours of "uploading" is working. Ah well.

Charlie's fallen in love with his new bed- as you can see.


And we've gotten pretty good at taking pictures together. This was after an afternoon of laying out in the backyard. I read, Charlie explores the yard and sleeps in the shade. Summer in the life of a teacher and her dog- simply luxurious!

Update

I just got off the phone with the vet. They said Charlie is recovering nicely and should be ready to go in about an hour. They have to send him home with an e-collar because he'll probably want to chew on his food. The vet said that the toenail had a pretty strong odor, so the infection was pretty bad. Good thing we had it taken care of! Other than that, everything went well. :)

I'm off to the grocery store and then to get my pup!

He broke a nail!

If you're reading this, it's probably because you've taken an interest in our new furry friend, Charlie. Thanks. We love him. We love him like crazy. He's definitely spoiled rotten- so much that I'm concerned that I'm "babying him too much". I probably am.

In any case, Charlie got his hair cut last Wednesday, and has been a new dog ever since! He's running around like crazy and I've never seen him happier. He must feel like a brand new dog! We have noticed that he seems to be really itchy- scratching all over. I called the groomers and they had me bring him back in for another bath this morning. They used some special shampoo that was supposed to help his itchy skin. It could also be allergies, or the fact that he's never had his hair this short and simply isn't used to it. Either way, he's flea-free and feeling good!

Feeling PRETTY good.....he's also been chewing incessantly at his back left paw. Upon closer examination, we realized that he had a funny looking toenail and a hard nail-ish growth beside the bad one. I took him to the vet this morning and turns out, he broke his toenail! :( He probably broke it a long time ago, but no one noticed because his hair was so long. And now that it's shorter, Charlie was able to get at it and chew, chew, chew! So this afternoon the poor little guy is being sedated and having his toenail removed. The vet was very nice and said that the other growth was probably his foot trying to heal itself and could actually be the new nail coming in. Who knows. All I know is that Charlie is one expensive pup! Good thing we didn't buy that new patio furniture set- we're paying for a toenail instead! :)

Hopefully he'll be up and running by this evening. It was hard to leave him there, and I had to choke back tears as I walked out to the parking lot. If you know me, you're probably not the least bit surprised. If you don't already know, I've got a heart the size of Alaska, and I invest and cry, invest and cry. It's a vicious cycle!

Anyway, he'll be fine. He'll feel a lot better without a broken-falling-off-toenail. This is good for him. :)

a new man!

He did it! Charlie went to the pet groomers! I took him to a really great place called "Precious Pets". They let the dogs wander around the shop and play with each other while they're waiting for their turn. It sounded like they'd work on a dog for a while, give him a break, work on another dog, give him a break, etc. The dogs get to socialize and become familiar with the people who are grooming them. Charlie walked right in and started making friends instantly- which was no surprise. He's such a social butterfly!

Here are the before and after photos!

He looks so much better now! Plus, he new shave will be a lot cooler for summer. His ears are soft and mat-free, which makes him very happy!

He was so happy running around in the backyard once he got home. My parents were down to visit and fell in love with him. He fell even harder for them! I'm disappointed I didn't get any photos of him with them. I thought about it a million times, but never got my camera out! :( We'll be making a trip to visit them for a week or so in July, so we'll be sure to get lots of photos then!

 

And at the end of the evening, he completely crashed! It must have been exhausting to socialize all afternoon!