Charlie Sue Time

 

Charlie Sue is a Patterdale Terrier

A member wanted more Charlie stories.

Every day is fun with the prankster Charlie Sue. Her breed is sociable and that hardly begins to describe her. She is friends on the south fence, the north fence, and the west fence in the backyard. She loves them all and enjoys teaching them to race along the fence. She never barks indoors but she cheers the dogs on whenever they get lax.

Porchi and Dustmop are shaggy white dogs. One is huge and the other is half the modest size of Charlie. If I go out with the squeaker toys, they race with Dustmop and Charlie barking away. 

Can Charlie come over and play? And how about a thorough finger combing from her staff?
He turns around so both sides are thoroughly combed by my fingers. Fur flies.

We are getting more 60 to 70 degree days, so Charlie stays out most of the day, often digging holes (a Patterdale skill) and always staying along the fences with various dogs. 

Inside she is just as lovable, but always quiet. She does not bark for food, but twirls, which is always funny. To go out, if she is on her bed (which I lease from her), she twirls, jumps down, twirls, jumps up, twirls, just to show her joy and make sure she is going out. In the kitchen, going out is signaled by a wagging tale, especially when she hears the chatter and woofs of her favorite male friends.

 Charlie, Dustmop, and Porchie worked together to create a tunnel under the fence. Dustmop crawled under both ways and my helper quickly put down a lot of chicken wire. Even then, Charlie tried to go under the wire, so more obstacles were place on the wire. Ever have a big bucket of useless rocks? I did and they now rest over one wire roofed tunnel.

If the Doggie Day Car residents dare to challenge her, Charlie rushes over to sass them one and all. Sometimes that gets them so noisy that they are called into their quarters. However, the chief of staff has learned that all the yakking is part of racing the fence, Charlie teaching and coaching and yipping. I have even seen Charlie walk away when a DDC dog begs to run along the fence with her.

Charlie is the ultimate cuddler. She loves to hear what a special dog she is and how much her friends love her. She must store up her kisses by the 50s, because she never wants to stop. Charlie makes it clear how she wants petting and where she wants to lie on her bed. I made a square of MyPillows and covered them with a sturdy blanket, more of a square donut with an indentation in the middle.

We watch documentaries together and she rests her chin on my shoulder. Right now we are on the series Tea, One Cup, A Thousand Stories.

If I am immersed on the computer, she rests her chin on my knee. That can be a request for a treat or a trip outside. She is more likely to go outside in the dark if her boyfriends are making some noise. A "woof woof" is a clarion call for her. Above the low "woof" I often hear the chatter of Dustmop. They may be greeting human guests, but Charlie just has to see them one more time.

We have a lot of fun tossing her squawking plastic balls - about six of them. She will bring one back full speed and then will veer away to hide it. She often carries one to do a full circle, Indianapolis 500 style race with a big grin on her face. If I reach out to catch her, she runs even faster. 

I noticed her stash of multiple toys in one place or another. The DDC dogs often have a pile of colored toys on the other side of Charlie's fence stash. Charlie picked the worst and most thorny rose she could find as her little safe.