Bye Bye Charlie

This last weekend we spent Thanksgiving with my parents in Green Bay.  We had a wonderful time, but we came home with one less family member.  Don't worry, we remembered the boys but Charlie didn't make the trip home. 

It all started a few months ago with the "we should get rid of the dog" conversation Chris and I had.  He'd been part of our family for over four years, but between the constant barking that woke the baby, the peeing on the floor and jumping up when guests came to visit and him tripping our son this summer that required a trip to the dentist with x-rays, I just couldn't take any more.  He was a good dog, but not really a good fit for our family any more.  And since we now had two children to take care of, the poor pooch was constantly being pushed off the couch, pushed out of our laps and in general, just pushed away.  And as much as that dog annoyed me, I knew he deserved better than that.

So we put out an ad on Facebook.  Free dog to a good home.  Then my high school friend Jenny (who now lives in the Chicago area) called and said she works with some folks who are daschund enthusiasts.  Frankly I never knew such people existed.  Everyone I talked to who had owned a weiner dog said they would never own one again!  But one gal, Bonnie was interested and we started e-mailing back and forth - her asking questions and me sending pictures.  And after some correspondence she said she would LOVE for Charlie to come live with her.

Ok.  So this was really happening.  We'd always talked about getting rid of the dog but now here we were really doing it.  So I met up with Jenny over the weekend and she took Charlie down to his new home in Chicago.

And just like that he was gone.  For good.  We'd had several (I mean, several) conversations about this and we'd agreed over and over that this was what's best for our family.  But I have to admit, it was a sad moment.  Brooks took the transition in stride, but even he was a little sad.

And now it's quieter around here.  (And I say quiet-ER because with two boys this house is never truly quiet)  And that was the goal, I will admit.  But we're still getting used to not having him around.  I'm still conditioned to hearing barking when someone knocks on the door.  And I half expect to hear our tap dancing dog (hardwood floors) scamper up the stairs to bed at night.  And I never realized just how messy Brooks was when he ate.  The best thing that dog ever did was clean up crumbs from under the table.

And even though that dumb dog peed in my shoe the last day we had him, I kinda miss the little guy.  But from what Bonnie tells me, he doesn't get put in a kennel during the day, he gets to ride in the car to the dog park and he sleeps on her bed.  Um, yeah.  He's totally loving it there!