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 Playtime! |
 Charlie at Tahoe. |
 Sleeping with a toy. |
by Michelle Majewski
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for raising such a wonderful, loving, happy dog, as well as letting you know that Charlie is happy and doing well.
I had stumbled across NORCAL's website while looking for a breeder and filled out an online application. I had thought I wanted an older, calmer dog since I'd be bringing whatever dog I ended up with to work with me every day. However, I agreed to go meet this 1-1/2 year old puppy that Pam told me about the evening of the day that I had my house check, thinking I'd pop over there, say no thanks and head home.
This rollypolly bundle of joy leapt out the door to say hello and it was love at first sight for me! I think the dad of the family tried pretty hard to find something wrong so that it wouldn't be possible to turn this sweetheart over to me, but he did relent. By the time I drove the 20 minutes to my house, with Charlie's head on my lap, I was completely smitten. Have been ever since, but we have finally established that I am the alpha dog (I'm embarrassed to admit that that was rather questionable for quite a while).
The only major change he suffered through was going on a diet, down to 2-1/2 cups of food a day. His weight had ballooned up to 95.5 lbs, but lots of exercise and less food has done wonders for him - he now weighs in at a svelte 78lbs - some of our friends from the dog park don't recognize him! Very handsome fellow, if I do say so myself. Charming and personality up-the-wazoo - everyone is his friend, even the squirrels and cats he loves to chase.
Charlie's got a pretty good gig with me. He comes to the office with me every day and has made friends with a ton of people here in Los Gatos. The mailman, FedEx people and neighbours bring him treats every day and he is learning to be a gentleman about taking them - better some days then others. He is always the first at the door to say hello and check out whomever might be coming by the office.
He goes just about everywhere with me; my friends have been terrific about inviting both Charlie and I over for parties, Thanksgiving and plain ole hanging out. We go for walks every day, over to the dog park as often as possible, and he has learned to love the beach. I really wish I had a video camera on him the first time we went there. He saw the water and raced towards it. Then a wave came in and he hightailed it out of there! Wouldn't go near it the rest of the afternoon. We've made several trips now and he jumps in as quickly as possible - can't keep him out of water in general. I've included a photo taken of him this past President's Day weekend in Tahoe.
We've gone through some training together and he picks things up very quickly, which I'm sure you knew. I don't think he knew the word "No" when I brought him home that first night, I said it and he looked at me blankly. He learned it quickly, though, and is a joy to work with. Like all goldens, he aims to please. I'm not sure if he did this as a puppy but he still sleeps with a toy in his mouth - he'll wake up after a while and look confused as to why his mouth is so dry. He's learned several commands: "drop", "stay", "wait", "over"(that one is sporadic), "come", "shake"and "touch".
I hope that this update on Charlie eases some of the sadness of giving him up, I'm sure that must have been difficult. I know how attached I am to him and can't imagine not seeing his furry little face the second (I kid you not) the alarm goes off in the morning. I hope that hearing about him and how happy he is brings you joy, and thank you again for raising such a terrific dog! Best of luck to you.
Sincerely,
Michelle and Charlie
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