[Dailydrool] Pw. Charlie's Memorial.

[DDropp at aol.com]

As you know, I lost Pw. Charlie at the end of August, and Basset Buddies  
Rescue of Wisconsin asked me to write a Memorial for their newsletter.  I  
did, and they published it.  I thought I would share it with all of  you.
 
Pw. Charlie.
 
Charlie came into my life on Sept. 20, 2003.  I adopted him from the  WHS.  
He was turned in after his old master died and no family members  wanted 
him.  He was my first basset.  He was 7 years old at the  time.  Who knew that 
he would become my heart dog, but he did.  From  day one he started to rule 
the roost.  As he had an older owner, he had a  schedule different from 
ours.  He did not do well while we were at work,  and he would pee in the house 
when we were gone.  He did not do it  overnight, just when we were gone.  
To save our rugs we put puppy pads  around a coffee table in the living room 
which he used from then on.  He  set down the rules right away.  He got us 
up at 5 am every day, rain or  shine, week day or week end, hot or cold.  He 
set the time we fed him, when  we walked him and where we walked him.  He 
did attach himself to me, and if  I went away on a trip, he got angry and 
would pee on our bed.  This caused  us to install a gate to keep him downstairs, 
which did solve the problem.   He had the cutest run, that I regret I could 
not get it on film.  He would  lope with his ears flapping and with a smile 
on his face.  Charlie was one  stubborn dog, and I do mean STUBBORN!  If he 
wanted to walk or eat or be  petted, he would whine and give you the look 
until you gave in.  He enjoyed  sitting on the corner of the leather couch, 
so much so that I had a sign made  telling all that it was HIS place.  Even 
family and guests were not allowed  there if he wanted to sit there.  In 
later years I put several hassocks  there to act as steps for him to get up 
there.  Charlie loved his walks, no  matter what the weather, except rain.  He 
did not like rain.  Heat and  cold or snow were no problem, just rain.  He 
had back problems, and went  down twice, but always recovered.  In later 
years, I had to carry him up  and down the stairs to bed, even with my back and 
hip problems.  We finally  got a harness, which we used to help him navigate 
the stairs.  Twice I fell  carrying him, but made sure I was on the bottom.  
He helped raise over  $10,000.00 for Basset Buddies during his time, and 
was their top fundraiser for  many years.  He was to 6 Basset Fests, 2 GABR 
waddles, and 2 MBR  waddles.  In 2010, he started to slow down and have 
incontinence problems,  requiring him to use a belly band during the day.  In May 
of 2010, I had a  hip replaced, which required my wife and son to do the 
walking duties for  me.  That hart me a lot, as I loved walking him.  After I 
came home,  Charlie started to lose control of his bowels, and needed walking 
more  often.  I had a bed put in the living room and Charlie then slept  
downstairs with me.  As I healed, I would take him out for walks at 2 or 3  in 
the morning so he would not poop in the house.  At times he would just  do 
it and not know.  But he was my dog, and I did not mind it, even though  it 
was hard for me to walk.  Then on the 27th of Aug. 2010, during the  night 
his legs went out and he did not recover.  As the morning wore on, he  got 
worse and worse, until I knew it was time.  He was a month away from 14  years 
old.  As I watched him drag his little body through the house to get  to 
his spot on the couch I could no longer take it.  I called my son and  the 
Vet, and at 8:10 am he left for the bridge, leaving a huge hole in my heart  
that has not healed to this day.  Because of all the work he did for rescue  
and Basset Buddies and for his slave training, the Daily Drool awarded him 
the  title of Pw. Charlie several month before he left.  That was the saddest  
day in my life.  I am even teary writing this.  All his traits that  many, 
including my family thought were annoying, were endearing to me.  I  would 
so welcome doing all this stuff again, just to have him back.  His is  sorely 
missed by me.  He was my Little Old Man, and will never be able to  be 
replaced in my heart.
 
Douglas
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