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<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Pw. Charlie.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Douglas</DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>