Charlie

Last spring we started looking for a dog to bring into our lives. Cate was looking at some pictures on the local dog shelter site and found several she thought looked promising, so we went and visited. They were fine dogs, but not really for us.

Then she found a listing that looked pretty interesting. He was in Traverse City, about 40 minutes away. We arranged an appointment and away we went. When we parked we saw someone getting out of a car on the other side of the parking lot with a dog we were pretty sure was the one we were there to see. He was jumping and lunging and Cate said “I don’t think this is the dog for us”. Foreshadowing.

As it turned out, he WAS the dog for us. We couldn’t take him that day, and they actually transferred him to our county, much closer to our house. We went and met him one more time to be sure, and then on the third trip we took him home. We named him Charlie.

He was about a year and a half old when we got him. He was very under-nourished, but clean, so they think he wasn’t fed at home and escaped. I uploaded a picture of him to Google and the search results clearly indicated that he’s a Plott Hound.

He seems to have separation anxiety. If I sit still he’ll lay down maybe 10 feet from me, but if I move he jumps up to follow. When I’m walking around the house he’s rarely more than 6 inches from me, and very often in contact with my legs. He’s been stepped on unfortunately, but never damaged.

It took only a couple days to get him house trained, so I suspect he simply needed to know the house rules. Someone taught him to sit for treats, which is nice.

He LOVES his toys. As a hunting dog his instinct is to grab onto things and whip them back and forth, so he does that with his toys all the time. He frequently loses his grip though, and they fly everywhere. We’ve found them on the tops of shelves, behind the couch and other great places.

We were told he’d be a very active dog, but while he does love a good run once in a while, he generally spends the day snoozing in bed.

He LOVES getting in the car, but HATES being in the car. He fusses and whines the entire trip. I think it’s because he wants to get out and smell the entire world.

We’ve had him for about 6 months now, and we’re pretty settled in. He has a bed in our bedroom and sleeps through the night. Every morning between 5 and 6 he comes over and gives me a gentle nudge to get up, and then goes back to bed. I get up, hit the bathroom, and then take him out. When he needs to potty during the day he also comes over and gives me a little boop with his nose, and then we go.

Here are some pictures.