Sunday, July 14, 2013

Happy Gotcha Day, Charlie!


That's right, dear readers; today is our one year anniversary with Charlie!  In mid-June, soon after I moved back to DC from London, my parents and I started the process to adopt a labrador through Lab Rescue of the LRCP, and a few weeks later we brought Charlie home from an adoption day after having combed through the available labs on the website and chatting with his foster mom on the phone.  (Hi, Katie!)  I can't believe that it's been a whole year since I introduced him to you in this video - do you remember?

It's funny - there are at least 30 labs available for adoption at any one time through Lab Rescue, but there's no way we could have gotten anyone other than Charlie.  I don't usually believe in soul mates, but we were meant to be, you know?  I wrote him a love letter on the blog six months ago, so you can read that if you want more sappiness, but I think you know how we feel about him!

In honor of Charlie's Gotcha Day and with great appreciation for all that Lab Rescue does, I volunteered to foster a lab for a few days at the end of this past week.  Happy Jack was a delight to have, the chaos of our first night together notwithstanding, and he and Charlie became the greatest of pals quickly.  He was adopted by a lovely family after only ten minutes at the Lab Rescue event yesterday - not surprising because he's a total sweetheart, but I cried anyway.

Charlie seemed a little bereft when I came back home without Jack Jack, so to distract him we went to the dog beach at Downs Park.  We had the best time!  He's paddled around in Rock Creek and a local lake over the past year, but he always made sure his feet remained firmly on the ground.  He'd never actually swum before, but once I threw a tennis ball out into the open water he took to it like a... well, like a lab should, honestly!  We stayed at the beach for an hour, playing in the sand and swimming in the sun-glinted waters of the Chesapeake Bay.  It was glorious!

http://picasion.com/i/1Voei/

Charlie and I are going to head to the Dupont Circle farmers' market this morning for breakfast and to make some friends.  Let us know if you're around so we can say hello!  If we don't see you today, join us in celebrating Charlie's Gotcha Day by giving a dog some love.  It's the best way to feel love yourself!

24 comments:

  1. Aw, Happy Gotcha Day! Ours is actually just 4 days from now, and we'll celebrate having Casey for 4 years already. I can't believe it. How nice that you fostered Happy Jack- I'm sure Charlie loved having a friend. It looked like they were having a ball.

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  2. our chocolate lab was so "anti-lab" in every way that sometimes I forget what these dogs are actually like! I mean, the poor girl hated the water and was afraid of getting wet. She didn't like to fetch [aka, "retrieving"...] or play with toys or anything. She was delightfully low maintenance and we loved her for it. :) anyway, happy Gotcha Day Charlie! I'm so glad you found a home to love you forever and ever.

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  3. Aww, what an amazing anniversary to celebrate. Sending sloppy dog kisses! x

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  4. Happy Gotcha Day to you both!! The way you celebrated, by hosting Happy Jack and then hitting the dog beach, sounds PERFECT!

    "I don't usually believe in soul mates, but we were meant to be, you know?" Absolutely, 100%. And I've got my 75lb panting, shedding heart here to prove it :)

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  5. How cute! I love that dog beach. Wish we had something like that here!

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  6. Happy gotcha day Charlie and Betsy - you two make a perfect pair! I know what you mean about the soul mate thing, my yellow lab in California is just that :) xxx

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  7. Awe, how fun! I would love to be able to take my pups to the beach-they would love it! Unfortunately, there aren't too many of those in Arizona!

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  8. Happy Gotcha Day to Charlie from Ellen, Henry, Puck, and great-great uncle and aunt-in-dog. We love you all!

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  9. Such a sweet story, and I love the dog-friendly DC places. I would love to foster a pup at some point. My family has a lab and a golden retriever, but I don't think we've ever taken them swimming. Maybe time to check out Rock Creek park!

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  10. YAY happy almost gotcha day to you all too :)

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  11. haha I hear you - I don't think Snickers swam, either, and Charlie looked at me like I was an idiot when I threw tennis balls up until yesterday at the beach! they're so weird, our dogs.

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  12. haha I know exactly what you're saying but it sounds funny :P

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  13. it's amazing! now to find one where we're both allowed in the water...

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  14. oof no I bet not! but Charlie does love his baby pool - try one of those?

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  15. ooh yes do! technically they're not supposed to be off-leash there, but it's totally fine in some areas :)

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  16. Love the idea of a Gotcha Day! The day after Thanksgiving, we'll celebrate two years with our Welsh Terrier, Ruffy. Hope your 'Gotcha Day' was fun!

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  17. Yay for Charlie! What a joy he is!

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  18. Maybe Charlie needs a doggie brother or sister? :)

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  19. That's a great idea! Our pool doesn't have a shallow end so they're too scared to take the plunge. That just may be the trick!

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  20. Happy Gotcha Day Charlie! I'm sure Fifty will want to post about this on his FB page (Fifty's mommy is a bit of a dork)
    P.S. Love that first shot of you two :)

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