Charlie

A much-loved pet is great medicine for a host of ills, don't you think? It's hard to beat the warm fuzzies from a happy little dog who acts like the world turns on my arrival, every single time I come home from anywhere, any time of day or night. So eager to please, and so easy to please, he likes nothing better than sitting in my lap, drinking in all the attention I can give him. Our Charlie has been part of our lives for five years now, amazingly. He caught my eye at the Adopt-A-Pet kiosk in the mall when I'd gone to get a close-up look at a mini schnauzer featured in the newspaper. I saw Charlie first. He was a little black and white, curly, scraggly dust mop, shyly wagging his tail, looking up, but sort of cowering at the same time. I was drawn to him right away, but with determination I went to have a look at the schnauzer I'd come out to see. He was pretty, all right, but he immediately began to bark at every single passerby, tugging on his leash with all his might. I opted to visit with the dust mop. As soon as I sat cross-legged on the floor and lifted him into my lap, he settled in and thunked his little head down on my leg and let out a deep sigh as if he was home. What did I do at this point? Bawled like a baby! Big ol' tears just slid down my face as I explained to the concerned volunteer that if I didn't know better, I'd have believed that this little guy was channeling our previous dog Max, who we'd lost due to sickness and old age nine months before. I hadn't been interested in getting another dog until that very day. And the silver mini schnauzer I had wanted to see was not my dog at all. The timid but friendly, scruffy little schnauzer mix, who was believed to have been abused and neglected in his two years of living, was mine. He picked me; he stole my heart the moment he let out that contented sigh and relaxed in my lap. Home we went. We got rid of the long, scraggly dust-mop 'do, and soon his look started to match his perky personality. It took a while for him to get over his skittishness, but when he did, he really did! Now he's valiant protector and defender, official greeter, exhuberant playmate, critter chaser, cozy snuggler, and faithful shadow, all in one. And, thanks to a God who cares about the details of our lives and who knew we needed each other, he's all ours!