Charley - SC

An update from Deb, Charley's new furever mom...as you can see Charley is right at home! Good morning - I wanted to give you an update on Charley. He is adjusting extremely well. When we first picked him up last Sunday, he cried and howled for a good hour in the car. It was heartbreaking! He finally let his body relax and sat down. He soon slept a little. He has been my little buddy ever since. He was not so quick to get used to my husband, however. He growled and barked and bared his teeth at him several times on Sunday and Monday. I stayed home from work on Monday to help everyone with the adjustment. My pet sitter, Laura, who comes daily to walk the boys at midday, stopped by to meet Charley on Monday. He barked at her but started wagging his tail pretty quickly. Laura has been involved extensively in dog training and some rescue groups. While she was at the house, my husband stopped by from work. Charley went ballistic when he saw Walt, barking, growling, etc. Laura advised us to do two things - 1. ignore his outburst and go about your business and 2. for Walt to begin serving the food at mealtimes. We did these two things and have had NO further issues. After Walt fed Charley on Monday night, Charley curled up in Walt's lap on the couch! Our four-year old dachshund, Oliver, decided to ignore Charley's existence the first day spending the first 5-6 hours pretending that Charley wasn't there. Then that first night, Oliver decided he wanted to play with Charley. Charley was sleeping and Oliver started crying and poking him with his nose to try to get him up to play. Charley wasn't quite ready to play yet, though. On Tuesday night, however, they discovered the run and nip game where they now chase each other all over the house. They have become fast friends and both want to be in Momma's chair when she is working on her laptop. Also, by the way, the first night we set up a bed for Charley in our bedroom including the blanket he had come with. My husband and I got into bed and turned out the light. Immediately, Charley hopped up on the bed and looked at us like, "I'm not staying down there when you guys are up here!" He's been in the bed with us ever since! We could not have asked for a smoother transition! Charley has had NO house-breaking accidents, is eating and drinking well. He enjoys his daily walks with Laura and they are going to walk with me today. We visited the vet yesterday and he said everything looked fine except that he is about a pound and a half underweight and that he has a little gum disease which will need to be taken care of sometime in the next year. We took both boys at the same time. Charley did not want to get his temperature taken until he watched Oliver first. The vet has placed him on Revolution (like our Oliver) as it is the best heart worm medication here and also prevents the fleas and ticks. We gave Charley a bunny toy the first day. He has pulled most of the stuffing out but he likes his toy. He has not bothered any of Oliver's toys and vice versa. Thanks so much for helping bring our family together.