Charlie

We have a dog that I will always call "puppy".  His name is Charlie and I think he is the perfect dog - except for the occasional puking on my new carpet.  He is an armful of soft fluff and I still love his kisses - on the cheek or anywhere but my mouth.  He is relentless when he wants to play fetch, unless it's time to go to sleep.  Then he snuggles up as close to you as he can get, sometimes giving you a back ache by morning, which he makes up for by bringing you his ball. 

This is what he looks like when he wants me to play and I need to work. 

No wonder I can't seem to get much done on that book I'm trying to write! 

This is what he looked like the day he came to live with us:

The head tilt still cracks me up 2 1/2 years later.  And he uses it to his advantage - like when you are getting on to him for something, he will sit down and tilt his head at you which makes him entirely too adorable to discipline.  But he is actually pretty disciplined.  He is my easiest child - by far.  He obeys really well, wants to go outside to use the potty (unless his apple cart is VERY UPSET), and makes us feel like really good doggie parents.

Charlie needs to be brushed every other day to keep from getting mats and he needs to be bathed once a week to keep from getting disgusting.  He really should go to the groomer once a month but since his haircuts cost more than mine, he only goes when I can't make him look decent anymore.  This is what he looked like one Sunday morning about 10 minutes before we needed to leave for church:

That Sunday someone stayed home.

This month since I have been at the hospital about half the time, Charlie has been pretty neglected.  Finally today, I stayed home for a while and gave the puppy a bath.  He usually hates baths but I think he actually knew he felt better after this one.  I love the crazy run around the house after the bath routine.  That's when the ball game gets serious!

The hubby and I are going to Branson later this week for a conference.  I'm going to miss that puppy!  Maybe we should bring him with us.  He makes a pretty good traveling companion . . .