A Face in the Clouds

We looked towards the clouds today and for a moment saw your face,
And wondered just where you have gone, with a hope it's a better place.
Did you show yourself to us today, to tell us you're alright?
Or was it just a daydream, playing tricks upon our sight?

Then we thought of when you left, you did not say a word,
No hugs and kisses.. no good-bye was heard.
You have changed our lives forever, your time here not in vain,
And hope you know we always tried to keep you safe from pain.

We will always feel the void inside, because you are not here,
But each new thought you send our way lets us know you're always near.
So until our journey nears its end, and we hear the angels sing,
We'll face each new day as it comes, and live off the love you bring.

Author Unknown

 

Charlie was born 1-6-94 and we got him from a pet store (before I knew a thing about rescue) on 3-20-94.
We bought him for a hefty sum of $425.00. I would never help a breeder out knowing now what I know, but the story goes on.

Charlie was our first little boy and since I have no children he was my child, but he needed a friend so, still not knowing about rescue, to the pet store we went and got Millie (his significant other) as we call her and she was born 7-6-94. My Mom wanted Charlie, but that was out of the question, so we were going to breed the two and give one to my Mom and sell the others to good homes... This is funny to me as I write this because I would never dream of doing that again... but anyway...
Millie would not give Charlie the time of day and he was a little slow for her liking..so we took them to have artificial insemination done and it worked...on 12-15-98 Millie had 5 puppies... but one was to big to pass through her birth canal so a c-section was necessary..after all she went through and only breeding them for family and friends, I couldn't bear the thought of her going through that again, so she was fixed "post partum"...

My Mom took one of the pups, my sister, my co-worker and her sister in law (whom she lovingly named Charlie Brown, after his Daddy.. We kept the one that was left and named her Abbigail Von Dachshunberg and she still lives with us to this day along with her Mama Millie...

Charlie fought a long hard battle, initially with hypythyroidism and then his heart... He was on many medications for the last 3 yrs and he began to get distended in his abdominal area and had trouble breathing...so off to a very wonderful specialist he went.. who showed him the upmost compassion and would share her cottage cheese, if he would wanted some, right out of her bowl... Kristi Graham, DVM was her name in Indianapolis, IN and she was wonderful with Charlie and with us. Keeping in mind he was our first...and only the second dog in my entire lifetime..

After cardiac ultrasounds and abdominocentesis to remove the fluid from around his heart, he kept fighting and Daddy would get up with him at all hours because he was on lasix, along with other heart and thyroid meds, so he had to go potty alot...

In the end Charlie had alot of trouble breathing and nothing was helping and 2 more taps were done to drain the fluid from around his heart and iv fluids, overnight stays and much difficulty breathing and whatever med change they made didn't make a difference.. He was suffering and the last 3 days not eating... We would go get him Arbys because he would eat the roast beef and we just threw away the bun...but we were thrilled he was eating and we didn't mind at all but had to make a decision, one of the hardest of my 40yr life.

My husband called me at work on the 10th of April 2006 and said "Do you think it's time"... I knew what he meant but did not want to let go of our little boy. We were both at work, but he called and made the appointment for euthanasia at 4:30 that day.. it was 12:30 when he called me... I fell to pieces at work and of course left and spent the last 3 hrs holding Charlie, kissing Charlie and telling him how much I loved him and how much we will miss him..
Charlie liked baths, but it was the after bath blow drying and warm towels that made him very happy.. he knew what was coming after the bath so he didn't mind.

Charlie is the reason I found rescue.. I loved dachshunds anyway and saw a clip on tv about a rescuer of doxies and if you wanted to join to go to this site or call this number...

I joined Dachshund Rescue of N America on 2-12-04 and Charlie tolerated every foster with open paws and was kind and quite the gentleman to each..although he had to show one or two that He was the "king" of the house...and they got the message....

I still am in rescue today and if it were not for our Charlie who knows? I do know that at least 17 doxies may be dead by now or at the least abused and un-loved. To date we had not flunked "foster 101" but Daddy longed for another boy since he was now surrounded by 2 female doxies and me... along came Toby...
We wanted to keep every single foster we had, but I was thinking with my heart and not my head.. My heart says I love them, I want to keep them... My head says I have to make room so I can help another... well... we saved some, we transported some... we did home visits for some all through DRNA.. but the most recent one we are keeping. He is a long hair silver dapple and full of love and joy at almost 3yrs old.
He doesn't replace Charlie, but he fills a void that Charlie wouldn't mind us filling.
Charlie is now running about, healthy and with the Almighty Lord and someday I will see him again and the others maybe I made a difference for and I will be thankful for every minute I got to spend with each and every one of them.

This is a memorial to our Charlie---very much missed but much better off now... to not let him go would have been selfish of us.

Thank you Charlie for all the happy years we got to spend with you and all the smiles and kisses you shared.. all the snuggling and love you showed... We will never forget you and will join you in Heaven someday.

Love Mom and Dad Washburn

11-18-06 this story is dedicated to our baby boy.