Charlotte

Updated 7/17/11

Charlotte, age 1 1/2

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Pretty 18-month-old Charlotte was just too much for her busy family. Too active! Wants too much attention! No surprise, really—she lived almost entirely outside and, naturally, was so excited when anyone came out the door that she pestered them endlessly, pawed for attention, knocked coffee cups from their hands with a single forceful nudge of her snout (ha! we all know what that’s like), and so on. On top of that, Charlotte really doesn’t enjoy the car, and the family was preparing to move. “It’s a 6-hour drive and she won’t like it and anyway we really aren’t sure we will have room for her in our new home.”  

Could GRR help? Absolutely… but there was just one catch. Charlotte lived many hours away, even farther north than Abilene. It just so happened, however, that Pat was heading that way to collect Traveler—so she valiantly added an extra 40 miles to the return trip and picked up Charlotte, too. The poor dog resisted mightily when being loaded into her crate, but was good as gold all the way back into Austin, “mainly because she was frozen with fear,” said Pat ruefully. But the main thing is—she’s here, and starting a new life!

In foster care, it’s baby steps for Charlotte as she figures out how to live inside. “She looks fantastic!”  says her foster mom. “Healthy girl, maybe just a little bit chunky.”

On the personality front, one thing’s for sure, she is great with kids. “Loves. Loves. Loves kids. My toddler has fallen on her once or twice and she’s great about it. She will find a place near him and lie down to watch him play, wagging her tail the entire time. She LOVES my daughter, who is 4, and gives her kisses every time she gets close.”

Other dogs? She needs time to warm up. “She had no issue with Bonnie, our Golden, at all. She hasn’t accepted our puppy yet, though—I think the puppy probably intimidated her when she was first here (I had to crate her and introduce them to each other slowly, until the puppy got the hint that Charlotte didn't want to be her best friend right away). Charlotte just grumbles and walks away.There haven’t been any fights, but we don’t leave them together unsupervised yet.”

Charlotte isn’t housebroken yet—no surprise, given her yard-dog past. She’ll get there! Right now her foster mom & dad are working on letting her know that it’s OK to go out in the yard, that nobody will keep her from coming back IN again.

She LOVES to collect stuffies and toys and just tote them around. This is very cute! if she accidentally takes one of the kids’ toys she will give it back without a fight or having to be chased around the house.

“Charlotte is  very docile and sweet. She likes to be near you, but she hasn’t been following me all over the house. She’s very calm for such a young dog. She likes to come up to you for some pets. I coaxed her onto the the couch (she was a little timid about it) and she fell asleep with her head on my lap—she’s definitely a snuggle bug.”

More news about Charlotte as she settles into her new life and we get to know her better…