Dec. 9 1990 —- March 18 2000
Yellow Lab
My husband & I bought Charlye on Super Bowl Sunday Jan of 1991.
She was fattest & cutest puppy.
We didn’t have any children at the time so she became our very first child.
She went every where with us. When ever we went to friends house they new
Charlye would be coming and they all accepted her as if she our family member.
Every one that knew Charlye love her so much. Growing up as a puppy she
went through the normal things that puppy would go through.
Chewing on things that didn’t belong to her wanting to be in the house with us.
She slept at the foot of our bed each night. Her favorite thing to do was swim.
We would take her up north and we couldn’t keep her out of the water.
We took her out on our boat and we couldn’t keep her out of the water.
Then 3 years old we brought her two friends to play with and protect.
Our set of twins. She was a little jealous at first but she took to them very quickly.
She was so gentle with them. As they grew she grew and they all played
out in the yard we went for walks we spent alot of time together.
Then four years later we had another child. And Charlye became our
baby’s best friend. Adam loved her so much. He would kiss & hug her
he would put silly hats on her and sunglasses and she would just sit there
and let him make her look silly. But if Tim or I tried she would shake her
head and walk away. She was so good with our children.
Our neighbors loved her as well. An older couple lived next door and Charlye
would go visit them any time she would go inside their house and sometimes
just sit with them in the evening. They would give her treats. No matter who came to
our house we received compliments on what a good dog she was.
Even the mail man loved Charlye. But then Dec 28th 1999 Charlye had a stroke.
It scared me so much. We took her to the vet right away.
She survived. The vet said an animal would recover a stroke faster & better
then a human would. I would say she recovered about 90%.
But then January became hard she got sick. Her chest had swelled up.
We took her to the vet and they tapped her chest cavity her chest cavity
had filled up with fluid which was calasping her lungs making it hard for
her to breath. It was like a roller coaster where she would seem like she was getting
better then she would take a down fall and seem like she was getting worse.
We had her back and forth to the vet and we weren’t getting any answers.
It was very frustrating not knowing what was wrong.
They said maybe it was Poisson or maybe it was cancer. But never a sure answer.
Then one Friday night she just was so bad after the whole week of not
eating or drinking. Her right front paw had become very swollen.
Her breathing had gotten harder she developed a cough and you tell she
was feeling miserable. It wasn’t fair to see her suffer so when she had
been such a good dog all her life.
I telephoned the vet and said I wanted resolution to this problem.
I needed to know what was wrong and if it was more we could do to make her better.
The doctor felt we all did all we could and the best thing to do was put her to sleep.
They told us to bring her in in the morning. That was a very long night.
It was like she knew. She didn’t want to come near us.
It was like she was disconnecting herself from us.
That morning we told our children that Charlye was very sick and she was
going to the doctor and would probably die. We told them she would be
going to doggie heaven. They took turns hugging & kissing her and telling
her good bye and they loved her & they would miss her.
Our youngest gave her a hug & kiss and said bye bye Charlye.
He didn’t understand he is only 2. We took the children to my brothers house and
my husband went to the vet together. This was so hard. I had such a lump in my throat
knowing what was about happen. We went in the room with her and we stayed
with her until the end. My husband put his arms around her and held her and
I put her head in my hands and held it her big brown eyes looking at me like
she knew was going to happen. Seconds after the doctor injected her she was gone.
My husband told me she was gone and I said no she is still looking at me.
He took his hands and closed her eyes and I cried I sobbed and sobbed
I could not stop. I couldn’t look at my husband either and I know he too was crying.
The doctor left us alone with her to say our finally good byes.
The pain was so unbearable. I just couldn’t believe she was gone.
What a perfect dog. But she died in peace with Tim & I right by her side as she had
been by our sides all her life. This was Saturday March 18th 2000 only 1 week ago
so my pain is still very new. We had her cremated they put her ashes in a tin in the
shape of a dog bone. When we brought it home it gave my husband & I a sense
of comfort knowing a part of her is still with us. It also has given my older children a
sense of comfort as well. My oldest son who is 6 took it the hardest out of
our 3 children. He says a pray for her every night & he still cries. I tell him thats ok.
It’s ok to cry. And sometimes I cry with him. People who don’t have pets in their
lives don’t understand the love they bring to you and the pain you feel
when they are gone. Our dog was everything to us and we miss her so much
our house seems so empty without her here.
But remember all the good times and happiness she brought us.
We will get another dog but we need to get over the loss
of Charlye first. Maybe next year.
We will probably get another lab this time maybe a chocolate one this time.
Thank you for hearing our story it actually helped me to write this.
And as I write this Charlye is sitting right here next to me in the tin.
We think someday we will take her up north and spread her ashes in
the lake since she loved the water more then anything.
All you pet lovers please take care.
Tim & Paula
| Charlye Jo |