The white retriever, actually. Charley was a breeder’s fancified version of a golden: a typical furry golden, but with all white hair.
Charley passed on to his furry fathers yesterday. He had a congenital ailment called megaesophagus, and it finally killed him.
That, and age. I believe he was 12 years old, a very long life for such a large and overbred dog. I remember thinking, when M’hijto got him, that he’d probably live about nine years. He outlived Cassie the Corgi and he outlived my guess. So he did pretty well for himself.
What next, I know not. My son is not speaking to me over the phone…partly, I expect because he doesn’t feel up for speaking and partly because during the weekdays he’s on the phone nine hours a day, working out of his home office for an insurance company that, recognizing the enormous savings occasioned by accommodation to the pandemic, announced they were closing their Arizona offices and henceforth everyone would be working from home. So now he manages a crew of insurance adjusters over the phone.
Can you imagine? I can’t…thank goodness I was born 30 years too soon!
Meanwhile, I wonder what the guy will do next, in the canine companion department.
If it were me, I would pause before investing another large pile of dough in an overbred pup.
If you want a certain breed, the local Humane Society has just about any breed your heart desires, at a vastly reduced price. Problem is, you have no idea what’s happened to the dog during its existence, and how it’s likely to behave now. But…that’s where I got Cassie the Corgi, who was just about the best dog I’ve ever had.
***
Meanwhile, speaking of dogs and that which we miss… Ruby has been on the lookout for Pool Dude since about 7:00 this morning. Nary a sign of him.
It is Monday, right? {checks computer calendar} Yep. He should’ve been here three hours ago.
Seriously: she knows when it’s Monday. Exactly how she knows escapes me. I don’t unlock the gate (he has a key). I don’t yammer at her that Pool Dude is on the way. She just knows.
The pool needs some attention…like, right now. I did clean out the skimmer basket (chuckablock full of leaves and palm tree debris) and the pump pot basket. But have neither the gear nor the products on hand to refurbish the chemicals, so if he doesn’t show up in a day or so, we’re gonna have a green pool.
So. I guess whenever I finish scribbling this blog post — i.e., right about now — I’m gonna have to get off my duff, trot a bottle of pool water up to the favored Leslie’s store, get it tested, and buy some chemicals for this week’s water-balancing act.
That, o’course, will risk missing the guy, which means I’ll have to re-test the water when I get back.
And in the meantime, I’ll also have to track down some references to a new Pool Dude.
{sigh}
nothin’ else to do with my time, eh?
I’m so sorry to hear of Charley’s passing. He was mentioned here often enough that I felt, in a small way, as if I’d known him. Best wishes for peace and comfort for your son.
Thank you! <3 He was a sweet and wonderful dog, a great pal for M'jiito. I hope We'll find a worthy successor, reasonably soon.
My condolences on the loss of Charlie. I remember the time a few years ago when he protected your home by barking at your front door. I think someone was on your porch, possibly trying to break in. R.I.P. Charlie.
He was a good dog, that’s for sure. But y’know, he had a good doggie life, and he lived to a ripe old age. And he had a pet human who doted on him, for that entire time. <3