Charlie

I've got three dogs now.

Cassie(L) & Charlie

We adopted Charlie from the Lincoln Humane society about 7 years ago.  When we adopted her, they said she was between 3 and 7.  She's quite grey, and very lame (bad hips and elbows) now, so I'm guessing she was 5 or 6 when we got her.

Charlie's an amazing dog.  We brought her home on a Monday evening, then left her alone in the house the next day with our two cats - No Problem!  Charlie's only bad habit was she liked to open the refrigerator - didn't take anything, just browsing.  Of course, the day came when she helped herself, but that was a couple of years later.

Charlie jumped right into obedience classes, and did great.  It was hard for me to believe someone just dumped her at the humane society.  Charlie easily passed her Canine Good Citizen test, and later passed her Delta Dog test to become a pet-assisted therapy dog.  For several years she's been volunteering at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, visiting patients.

Charlie's a model, too - I've used her in my marketing materials in my job as a Realtor at HOME Real Estate in Lincoln, Nebraska.  My Real Estate Web Site

Charlie is mostly retired from her Angel Dog duties now.  About all she can do is be the "neutral dog" while we're testing new dogs for the program.  She struggles with walking and stairs, so we're trying to limit her activity as much as possible.  She's still enjoying life, and will play a little with toys when she's in the mood.

Charlie's real legacy is this - after being around Charlie, my three kids have each adopted shelter or rescue dogs (and, of course, we've brought home two more).  In a very real sense, Charlie is responsible for 6 other dogs getting rescued!

Why Choose a Shelter Dog?

I'll probably never buy another puppy. Here's why:

1. Buying a purebred pup makes sense if you want to show them, if you're a hunter and want a specific breed from proven hunting stock, or if you want a particular breed for some other purpose. None of those apply to me, so I don't have the need for a purebred.
2. Many shelters euthanize about as many dogs as they put up for adoption. The "No Kill" shelters fill up, so many dogs that can't fit in there end up going to the other shelters (or being put down or abandoned by their owners). Adopting a shelter or rescue dog means one less is put down.
3. Many shelter dogs are already trained. Adult dogs are easier to train, and have outgrown some of the destructive puppy behaviors. Many shelters provide training to dogs in their adoption program.