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.

Two years ago today, Charlie showed up in the yard while I was mowing the lawn. He was tired, dehydrated, hungry, and very sick. Debra took him to the vet and I tried to find him a home. Two weeks later we decided to keep him. He’s become a well adjusted companion, if somewhat overenthusiastic at times. He genuinely likes most people, and anybody he doesn’t like I view with some suspicion. I wonder at times if his reaction to people is based on “vibes” he picks up from Debra or me.

The dog’s a nut and an endless source of amusement. Debra and I weren’t ready for a big dog when he showed up, but now we can’t imagine life without him.

Several of you have asked how Charlie is doing.  He’s a happy puppy, as you can see from the picture above.  I was out taking pictures of the budding trees this morning, and thought I’d try some action shots of Charlie.  The tree shots didn’t turn out so great, but I thought the Charlie shots turned out okay.  I got the above as he was moving towards me and I was moving the camera trying to keep with him.  I’m surprised how well it turned out.

I also tried out the camera’s multi-shot feature.  Press the button and it takes five pictures in a second or two (I’m too lazy to look it up).  In any case, I squatted down and called Charlie to me.  Click on the thumbnail to see the full version in the camera’s native 640×480 resolution. The background moves a bit ’cause I was holding the camera in my hand and I wasn’t too sure if Charlie was going to run by or bowl me over.

I love this digital photography stuff.

Charlie the somewhat suspect pit bull sure knows how to pick a sucker.  After several visits to the vet, and almost two weeks of looking to find him a home, we decided to keep him.  I spent most of Saturday and Sunday repairing fences so we can keep him outside while we’re gone.  Staying inside, he was very quickly destroying things.  A 55 lb puppy can do an amazing amount of damage to wood cabinets and doors in quite short order.  A side benefit of keeping him outside is that he loves chasing the deer away.  And now that I’ve patched the holes in the fence, the chances of him catching a fawn are minimal.

Since we don’t know exactly how old he is, we can’t quite celebrate a birthday.  So July 14, in addition to being Bastille Day in France, is now in our household Found Dog Day.

The scabs and bald patches, by the way, are the result of the demodectic mange, for which he is being treated.  This picture was taken about a week ago, and he looks better there than he did when we found him.  Today the scabs are almost all gone, and the hair is growing back in the bald spots.  Next thing on the list:  obedience classes.

Charlie (every dog needs a name) is a young (somewhere between 9 and 18 months, as best as the vet can tell) pit bull terrier (probably a mix) who showed up in the backyard today while I was mowing the lawn.  He was hungry and thirsty, and it was obvious that he hadn’t eaten much for days.  We’ve taken him to the vet to have him checked out and cleaned up, but we’re not planning on keeping him.  He’s a very sweet dog who gets along well with people, cats, and other dogs, but Debra and I just can’t handle another pet right now.  Having so far failed to find the owners (driving the neighborhoods and searching the papers for lost dogs), we’re looking to find him a good home.  Placing a pit bull is difficult, though, because a few bad actors who raise the dogs to be mean have given the breed a bad reputation.  Fortunately, Pit Bull Rescue Central and other similar web sites contain a wealth of information, and everybody we’ve talked to or contacted via email has been extremely helpful.  With luck, and with the help of others who care, we’ll find a home for Charlie.