Sir Charles of Morning Sun “Charley”

2009 - 2024

The day we have been dreading for quite sometime, alas, has come to pass. The announcement of Mister Charley’s passing.
His brilliant, radiant flame became extinguished February 15th, 2024. He passed quietly and comfortably at home, surrounded by those who loved him the most. While we are so grateful the good Lord gave us 14 years with him, we are greatly saddened that it was only 14 years. He leaves behind his little buddy Shylow, a few dumb cats, and two grieving parents. Charley was a truly remarkable friend in so many different ways.

Our paths first crossed in 2009 when due to the state of the economy, wifey and I were forced to take second jobs in order to make ends meet while working our full time jobs in our own small business. While taking my lunch break outside one early morning at the rural “Big Box” store outside of
Oxford, Ohio, I noticed a few yahoos (idiots) in their cars chasing this poor dog around the huge parking lot quite a distance from my location. The dog eventually ran across the highway to safety. At shifts end, I drove the entirety of the lot surveying if I could find this poor creature. After a few passes, I spotted him, stopped my vehicle and tried to corral him. At the time, we had smaller children, so fortunately I had a cache of snacks and some bottled water in my truck. After a half-an-hour or so, I was able to entice him with the treats so that I could finally pet him. After a few packages of crackers, and a few drinks of water out of my cupped hands, he became calm and went to sleep, resting his head on my foot (a trait he exhibited often his entire life).

Since my wife didn’t work the shift that night, I called her and told her the story about this poor, emaciated, old dog and what she thought we should do with him. I snapped a few pictures of him and sent them to her to hear her proclaim, “Uh, Honey…that’s a puppy”. We discussed all options,
knowing full well, there was really only one option.

The journey began.

We took Charley to the vet within a couple of days. He was suffering from a nearly deadly stage of mange. He weighed 65 lbs. and the vet estimated his age to be 8 months. The vet injected him with Ivomec to treat the mange and we were on our way.

Charley was an intelligent, beautiful, sweet, gentle, loyal, prudently fierce, funny and adventurous soul; to the latter, a little too adventurous for our liking sometimes. A few times, he decided to explore far beyond our property boundaries. He would convince another pet in our household to accompany him on his journeys. We became sick to our stomachs as we scoured the countryside. Our family would walk/drive the roads, hike the fields, wade the creeks, post
“Lost Dogs” signage, and fortunately after a couple of days (or more), the good Lord would bring them back home or lead us to them. Charley truly loved life.

There are many outstanding tales surrounding this dog, but my favorite is a situation I witnessed one afternoon. Charley followed me into our living room. I sat on our couch. At that time, we had a couple of doggy beds on the floor, a chaise lounge, and a chair-and-a-half that our kitties and other
pups occupied on a regular basis. At this time, all of those “beds” were taken. Charley, looking for a place to lie, slowly, deliberately turned his head to each location and paused to examine and analyze his options. He repeated this cycle 2-3 times. When he realized there was nowhere to lie without disturbing the other pets, he flopped to the carpeted floor with a resounding “THUD” and the loudest extended sigh I believe I’ve ever heard, and then looked up at me with his big sad puppy dog eyes. I guess one could add “thoughtful” and “considerate” to his list of traits.

Charley went by several names in our household. Most notably: Mister Charley. But, we also had other “pet” name like: Charley Bear, Mr. Waggy, and Big Charwy. My favorite description of him was: He’s my 125 lb. bag of sugar.

So whatever name he goes by, we are confident he will be welcomed into God’s kingdom to walk with and among the angels. We are also excited about the prospect of him being unburdened by boundaries and health limitations, and to be reunited with my folks, his sister Little Blossom, Mr. Phoenix, and the other beloved pets from our past.

Also, we would like to extend our tremendous gratitude to Dr. Lisa at Grove Vet Clinic for her exceptional care of our pets throughout the years. Thank You.