I ran across some shots today that Debra took of Charlie the day after he showed up in the yard.  The vet estimated Charlie’s age then at about 9 months.  He was malnourished, dehydrated, and suffering from an very advanced case of demodectic mange.  If you ever wanted to know what a mangy pit bull looks like, here’s a good example.  Click on the pictures to view full size.

It took about eight weeks to eliminate the staph infection and clear up the skin lesions caused by the mange, and for Charlie to put on 20 pounds.  In the shot above, taken on July 15, 2002, he weighed 50 pounds.  In this shot, taken on September 9, he weighed 70 pounds.  Ideally we’d like to keep him between 70 and 75, but he’s been tipping the scales at close to 80 lately.  I guess we need to exercise him more.

He was already housebroken and mostly leash trained when we got him, and it seemed as though somebody had begun obedience training as well.  Charlie is loving, happy, playful, protective, and an endless source of amusement.  He also has a lazy ear.  Whoever dumped or lost this dog missed out on a very good pet.  Debra and I weren’t looking for another dog when he showed up, but now we can’t imagine not having him.