Charlie – Once upon a time there was a Border Collie named Charlie. He had a rough time early on in his canine career. He was a scrappy little fighter who loved people but hated other dogs. He originally lived in a Condo, with a cat, instead of on a farm, where most border collies need to be. A Border Collie needs to work, have a job, stay busy. He eventually moved to Sturbridge and became the center of an old mans world.
(Charlie was rescued by a nice old couple who read his history at the dog pound and decided he should come back to Sturbridge and be free.)
December 9th, 2018
It has been a several days now. He is truly free. No one pesters me in the am, no one wants to check out a new noise, no one asks to go out or come in. No one wants to go to the Barn or up the hill. No one gives me an excuse to go for a walk at night, in the dark, under the stars.
The title to these stories “who saved who” was as real as the air I breath. He was wasn’t the best or the brightest dog we ever had, but he put structure and just enough aggravation into the old couples life right when they needed it most.
There are many words that could go in here. But for now I’ll take the dogs over the words; there is Murphy, Clyde, Myles, Sammy, Lefty and Fred.
No one is under my desk or behind my chair. We will go through mourning. The old man will leave his sadness here at the keyboard.
Izzy helped a lot, I believe she is 3 and recently lost her dog Hendrix, she says Hendrix is at the Rainbow bridge and that’s where Charlie is too. So its ok.
We will get to travel to a few places easily, we’ll come home, we’ll look around. Something won’t be right. We’ll start a new search for someone to give us some structure.
Saturday, Jan. 11th, 2019 update – I had forgotten I wrote about Charlie – uh-ohh – Alzheimer’s here we come.
March 2018
Charlie can’t catch a break. Every 6 months or so, he has to transition. The end of 2017 was next transition and 2018 changes were almost too much.
The old couple moved from the Barn to the half finished house, doors were missing, windows had no trim, the heat wasn’t fully working, it was a mess. But they all mustered on. Best part was that Charlie got to live upstairs with the old couple, beg at the table, eat at the kitchen sink with the old man and sometimes sleep on the big, soft, new leather couches. Best Dog bed Charlie had ever seen. Charlie was warned however “that his days were numbered upstairs”
Around October some changes were in the air, something to do with Sam and Sarah. They visited from time to time, but something big was up.
Then in late October or early November, it was formalized that Sarah and Sam were moving back east after some time in Colorado. The old couple were happy. Charlie was happy. Sarah would arrive first sometime in January, Sam would arrive later.
There was a lot to do, the compressor came out, tools and saw dust was were every where, the old woman was on a tear, she ordered that old man to “Get To Work” … “Sarah needs her space” …. “she’s bringing the cats and maybe 1 dog”. Charlie fell out of his dog bed.
“What?” Charlie thought to himself. “That can’t be right”.
Then Charlie heard the old man say …. “what, that can’t be right” (Charlie and the old man are mostly simpatico on things)
Charlie and the old man got on task, the old man would start the compressor, Charlie would ditch and go back to the barn. There was a bed, water and dog biscuits. Charlie hated the compressor.
Time was a blur, the old couple were moving stuff around, every time the old man left, the old women went shopping and came home with something new. She also would move furniture, driving the tractor back and forth from the shipping container with stuff. The old man was mostly clueless until he realized half his tools and junk now resided back in the Barn.
It was a cold January. The days marched. Then it all became real.
It was a cold, rainy day when Lefty, Billie and Nermal rolled into town.
New food dishes, a dog bed, cat huts, a scratching post, new smells, new sounds – lions, tigers and bears, oh my !
Charlie was fairly cool about the new comers, a slow intro, a few walks, a box of dog treats. This may work. Lefty, sometimes known as Lucky to the old man (he was forgetful about names), was a fairly cool actor. She would hold her turf, then here ears would go back, she smiled and wanted to be carried around like a baby. She couldn’t wait until you sat down, because there wasn’t a lap she didn’t like. Charlie loved Lefty’s bed. it was few sizes too small, but he made it work. Charlie was a little confused because Lefty was allowed on furniture. He was not.
Eventually, the dog gate opened and the 2 dogs met, much to everyone’s surprise, it went well. A lot of sniffing, a few growls, all in all, peace. It turned out what really had Charlies eye, were those cats, Billie and Nermal. Charlie already lived with cats once, it put him on drugs.
Border collies love a job. Cats are .. well … cats, they are sarcastic, aloof and love to tease dogs. Charlie was sucked right in. They teased, taunted and hid where Charlie could see them, but couldn’t get at them. Eventually Charlie and the cats couldn’t be left alone, Charlie just wanted to bite one.
There were some more changes, new dog gates sprang up, no dogs upstairs, it was an emotional roller coaster. Charlie didn’t get it, then Lefty and the cats whispered, “you just wait Charlie”, “Sammy and Fred will be here soon”.
Charlie was dumbfounded, “is this gonna be a turf war, he thought?” Charlie was ready to call Suki and Clyde in. Although he could barely stand those two.
Charlie pondered “Who was Sammy? Who was Fred” were they cousins? friends? enemys ? frenemy’s? ” Charlie needed assurances. He went to the old couple. They were coy.
Uh ohh.
2017 Update
July – Charlie and Clyde, whose house is it anyway ?
We are building on land we own, next to the house we sold. The new owners, have a dog, his name is Clyde. Half Lab, half Dane. For 2-3 years earlier, Charlie was used to hanging at the barn, but would walk back to the house when he was bored.
Then Charlie and his parents went to Cape Cod in the summers and Florida in the winters and everything became confusing. Charlie was really confused. He missed Cape Cod, then he was missing Florida, the AC, palm trees. The barn wasn’t that comfortable, the hotels were great but lonely. Where was his Mother ?
When Charlie would disappear, you would find Charlie in the old garage or on the south porch. He would walk from slider to slider looking in. He kept protecting the old house from Clyde, then protecting the kids from Clyde. Charlie was so confused.
Clyde – This “Clyde” was really an issue. Charlie always wanted to go to the old house, he would wait for the old man by the back door, peering in the windows, looking for the old woman. Something wasn’t right. Clyde was always over there, he would never leave. Charlie would growl, nip, herd and sometimes just be downright mean to poor Clyde. Clyde was just a puppy and just wanted to play. Clyde would sneak over to the barn from time to time, Charlie would chase him. This turned out to be a good thing. I could hear Clyde bark at Charlie and would watch from the field as they began to work things out.
At first Clyde bore the brunt of abuse, then Clyde figured out Charlie couldn’t catch him. Step one, Clyde exhausted Charlie, he would charge him, Charlie would try and snap, Clyde would leap or take off, Charlie couldn’t get near Clyde. They would run and run, to the point that Charlie used to give up. Then Clyde could lay down too. They got closer and closer, nicer and nicer. Then the chasing became more like tag in a school yard. This did take almost a month. There were a few problems, anytime there was food involved, yikes !! If there were too many kids or they were playing catch. Charlie is quite likely to steal whatever he could. After all he was an only dog child, raised in a condo and on Prozac, everything was his.
Fast forward 5 weeks, now you see Charlie coming home exhausted, just dying to get into the barn so he could have a break from running and playing. Now Clyde is the regular visitor, sticking his head through the weeds or coming to the screens, wanting dog biscuits or Charlie or both.
The best example was the day I went to find him after a long absence. I walked over to the old house and there he was, with Clyde, in the old barn; Clyde’s parents were painting the trim, the kids in the yard, Charlie was all set. I should give Charlie a trust fund and have him live there.
March – So it was early March, the permits were in hand, Charlie and the old man were headed back from Florida to Massachusetts to get started on Shelley’s new house. The 10 day was looking good, highs in the 50’s lows in upper 30’s. Charlie and the old man talked back and forth whether they could handle the conditions, after all most of the time would be spent either outside or in a barn. They were convinced that it was a good idea. Many other people said, “too early”.
One afternoon, after much discussion, but very little planning, they hopped into the car, a back pack, dog bed and the bowl for water. It was an uneventful ride, easy really, until they got near NYC. They opted for the loop that pushed them NW to Nyack, where they crossed the Tappan Zee. It is remarkable how 1000 miles can be so easy but 200 can be so hurtful. Only one way to manage that, 4 am travel.
Well, the weather patterns shifted a bit, the sun never came out, but they did their best. Some supplies were purchased, meetings were held, plans made. However by day 3 and no sun, Charlie began to shiver, the old man was losing his tan, they began to spend longer mornings at the hotel, it wasn’t going as planned. On the night of day 3, Charlie and the old man had a good, old fashioned sit down, the forecast was not promising, the tradesmen said “you are here to early”, Tom said “you’re a little pre-mature”, Shelley said “what difference does it make”.
This is when JR McKenna’s theory on “others possibly being right” theory began. “Sometimes you might want to listen others”
They got up early, 3:30 or so. (It wasn’t uncommon for Charlie and the old man to get up early, have coffee and snacks and go back to bed, but I digress.)
They got up at 3:30…… went to the barn, looked around, took the food supplies out of the fridge and headed south, fast. They raced down 84 to 91 to 95 … right through the NYC, hopped on the turnpike and they were gone.
Beautiful down in Ocala, upper 80’s, you drive the cart from shade tree to shade tree …
Fast forward to late March, those 2 were back at it, cajoling one another to be tough, one convincing the other that the weather would be better now in Massachusetts. This time they had a better plan, more supplies, more snacks and some tools. They still got stuck around NYC, still went around, saw Nyack again, had dinner in the Home Depot parking lot, waiting for the traffic to subside.
Turns out, late March, early April, mid-April all stink weather wise.
Damp and cool just isn’t that great. Why are we building here ? This year was extra horrible, there were only a handful of good early spring days, cool and damp right through May. Making plans on paper has nothing to do with with rain, mud and drainage. I bought more drainage stone than a person should. I bought more heating propane than a person should, Charlie was cold, I bought him a new bed, gave him a blanket. I had to dig out winter hats, a rain coat, the muck boots. Being a gambling man, I bet we don’t last here beyond October…
First contractor, April 1, 2017 — “We’ll be out of here in a month”, if their month is eight weeks, well, he was right on time. Between weather, the rules, a slight exaggeration of skills, man power, and planning deficiencies, we now had 90% of a septic system, a foundation, a little out of square, incredible drainage, a good retaining wall. It was June 3. The House system was to arrive on June 5th.
The house panels arrive, exactly 4 hours after a thunderstorm, which was preceded by a day of rain. The poor hay field.
I do feel a litle bad for anyone who works on this project, as Charlie and I are here all the time. So Charlie steals their donuts, begs at lunch. I like to mettle. I have all the formal sets of plans and mostly understand what I read. I ask questions, sometimes twice. I look over shoulders, I make requests. It is what I have done most of my days. I have designed and built before, I’m used to planning 80 – 90% of something, realizing that change will occur. If you accept change, nothing is really a problem, just an adjustment. The other part is I like to work and help, you want to drive a tradesman nuts, just catch them skipping steps, offer to do it for them and borrow their tools to fix it. (Thats another story).
We are building on land we own, next to the house we sold. The owners have a dog, his name is Clyde. Half Lab, half Dane. Charlie was a litte confused at first even being at the Barn. This “Clyde” was an issue. Charlie always wanted to go to the old house, he would wait for us by the back door, in the garage on the south porch. He would walk from slider to slider looking in. He kept protecting the old house from Clyde, then protecting the kids from Clyde. Charlie was confused.
Charlie makes his first new friend – 2014
He had been in the pound too long, he was skinny and not too friendly. His demeanor was great with people but no so, with other dogs. He moved to a little farm in Sturbridge where he went on a lot of walks, had his own bedroom with 2 beds ! He now had an indoor water bowl, an outdoor water bowl and 4 bird baths he could drink out of. He no longer had to be on a leash, he was free.
Occasionally the old couple would have a friend come by who also had a dog. That dog was a black lab retriever, most Labs are the friendliest, nicest dogs out there. Her name was Suki. She was great, Charlie even liked her.
They did well when playing, each dog with their own stick or ball. They played tag and hide and go seek. They would chase each other through the woods and around the barn.
Every morning they would eat together, go out for walks, they like to visit Chip, the neighbor next door, who always had dog cookies in his pocket. Suki came from a farm in Maine, so she taught Charlie how to chase the squirrels from the garage, or follow the sounds of the wild turkeys, roaming in the woods.
The only time they didn’t get along was when there was food available, Suki loved to eat and not even a cranky dog like Charlie would get in her way. The other time that they had problem was at bed time.
One weekend Suki had a sleep over. This time she brought her fancy bed from home. She had a nicer bed than Charlie. It was a big one, lots of foam and cushion, it was a bed fit for a king or queen. Every chance Charlie could he would love to steal that bed leaving Suki with a smaller, less comfortable bed. After about the 3rd time Charlie took the bed, Suki decided that she would just lie down right next to Charlie and give him a little nudge and pushed him further and further out of the bed. They had tried to share.
The old man and old woman had noticed how much that big bed meant to Charlie and Suki so they went right out to the dog store and came back with a new bed for Charlie.
They put those 2 beds right next to each other and the dogs were best friends all over again. …
Charlie, Chip and Suki – 2014-15
This is the story that never stops giving – everyone should have dogs. The hand they force, the opportunities they create, the simple love of snacks, walks and purpose.
Chips land has been one of the great finds. – It has allowed for the ultimate Howard Theory – selfishness for all ! Dogs and people alike.
It started with trespassing, then acknowledgement of trespassing, then moved onto project sharing, story telling and dare I say a little forward planning. Forward planning is not what I do. I like strategy, forward planning states there is a goal, long term. Strategy, solves a handful of shorter term issues and building up to a plan and a goal. I am usually long gone out of long term plans, but they are set in stone forever.
Dogs change that. Suki has been a roommate to Charlie. She goes home Saturdays and comes back Monday night. Suki seems to be the only dog Charlie cares for. Suki enjoys the woods as much as Charlie. There isn’t a morning, lunch time or afternoon, where they aren’t simply waiting for the next jaunt. They just sit on the deck and wait, looking through the glass door sending you telepathic messages “it’s time” – let’s go for a walk.
Our house was almost sold in 2014, just as my trespassing and project sharing hit its stride. Our 35 acres isn’t really enough, adding Chip’s property and 30 new projects was making me rethink everything. The businesses we owned were working ok, the cleanup of 200 Fiske was good, but going for a walk and helping someone save tax dollars was sweet. The dogs would see that sun come up, and start pacing about the dog room, that was sweet.
Then I began to see a trail and desire to make it a road, poor Chip, little did he know. Chip is a pragmatic man, he burned firewood, liked his land, loved his critter friends, could spend hours out of doors and be quite content. We were good. Chip, likely nervous as I proposed some ideas, was a good sport. I asked, he asked. I pushed, cajoled and we all went forward.
The idea of a trail conversion was perfect, it allowed for better walking, more rocks for the walls, more firewood to burn and a pleasant excuse for being out of doors longer. The road would sweep down a hill, across a rock field, ride a wall overlooking a swamp and then loop back around to the an old “Kings Rd” one of the early major cartways in the area. The original ?? rt 20.
Many, many hours were spent roughing the road and many good, but unspoken stories were created. The road has produced countless hours of walking, several rocks, some firewood and is key to the daily life of Charlie and Suki, and Chip, Howard, Shelley, a hunter or 2, many deer, a coyote, the Owls, a red tail hawk or 3
Without being too deep about it, this is where all Howard Theories try to go. A good personal desire, a need fulfilled, a good deed done – that benefits all those affiliated, harms no one, creates something more user friendly, that will last a long, long time.
Charlie visits Cape Cod
Charlie knew something was up. He saw his parents going back and forth from the house to the car. First they were loading clothes, then they were loading food, then it was towels and sheets. Charlie was getting nervous, he thought they were going to leave him. Charlie was smart, he knew something was going on.
The old man started looking for Charlie but couldn’t find him. He left the back door open and Charlie snuck into the house and hid in his favorite spot, under the stairs.
Eventually they locked up the house, tricked Charlie out of his hiding place, scooped him up and put him right in that car.
When the car finally stopped and Charlie got out, he knew this wasn’t home. The grass wasn’t the same, there was sand and the air smelled completely different. He had heard about the beach and this smell from the other dogs at the pound but wasn’t quite sure.
After settling in and checking out the dog yard, it was time to go for a walk to the beach. Charlie wasn’t that happy though, he had a leash on, not his most favorite thing.
First they walked down the street and across the path and there it was, the biggest, bluest amount of water he had ever seen. The beach was great, sand to run in, seagulls to chase and water to splash in. The dogs at the pound weren’t lying, they said all the dogs love the beach, even more than the people.
Charlie loved Cape Cod, he loved eating dead crabs for breakfast. He loved going to Arnolds for ice cream. He occasionally chased a rabbit or 2. He loved the back deck for chips and water.
– He tells the old man he wants to live here some day. So does the old man.
Charlie winters in Florida
Charlie always knows when something is up. The old people start scurrying around, putting half filled shopping bags around the kitchen and mud room. There is a lot of going back and forth to the car, one of his beds disappears, only to show up in the back of the VW. He was getting used to going back and forth from the farm to the beach every few weeks, but this felt different.
Firstly, they no longer seemed to own the house, they always went directly to the barn. That is fun, but something wasn’t right. There was a new dog lying in his bedroom at the house, the side doors to the big barn were closed now … and who are those kids ???
One evening after leaving the beach and going to the barn, the old couple and Charlie went to a hotel …. Charlie was getting really confused and thought his parents had lost it. He was ready to call his old friend Suki and get her mother to do an “Intervention”. The next morning, they got up early, had breakfast at the hotel and loaded into the car. Charlie just went along, thinking they were going to the Barn. He couldn’t believe it, when the old folks finally stopped the car, they were on the Jersey Turnpike, Charlie had been here before. Uhh Ohh.
Last year, the old man brought Charlie on a ridiculously long ride, he was delirious, his body was stiff, the smell of the south was not easy to get used to. (Who are really talking about here). But it was warm, sunny and great for dog naps. Charlie was coming full cycle here, but it was better. He became a Condo dog again, for a solid 10 weeks. This condo had a grass field, a golf course, screen porch and a garage.
Back to reality … After about 20 hours of site seeing from the back of the car, they arrived in Fl. But much to Charlies dismay, the first stop wasn’t at the Condo but at the old couples favorite pizza place, Charlie sometimes thinks his parents are too pre-occupied with food. Now back in the car, drive another 45 minutes and we got to the condo.
It hadn’t changed a bit, especially the shared office / bedroom with the old man. Charlie loved that. The old man too. The best part of FL is really the weather, early walks are cool, late morning is 70’s. mid afternoon almost 80 and we go to the porch or garage, then dinner at 4 , and 2 more walks before bedtime at 8.
When we left the weather was rainy and 50, when we arrived, we were eating pizza and it was 81 and I went to sit in the shade. There is one little draw back, Charlie needs to be on a leash .. most of the time.
Oh yeah, Charlie loves a good Barbecue.