Charlie lived his life pretty much like be wanted to. If he felt romantic， he would scour the neighborhood in search of female companionship. My sister had a female dog and wanted Charlie to mate with her dog. When the time was right， I grabbed Charlie， put him in the car and off we went to my sister' s. Once there， We closed the garage door and stood back to watch the romantic scene unfold. Never have I heard such growling and howling！Back and forth they went under the cars， darting here and there， it sounded like they were killing each other. This is not working I thought. Indignant that Charlie would spurn her dog， my sister said， "Your dog is obviously gay."
"No， not at all. " I replied， "Charlie is just a little choosy. We just need to put a small paper sack over your dog' s head， that' s all. "
Charlie and I went home， both a little huffy. So much for that. Never again would I put Charlie up for such ridicule. Then， weeks later， my sister called. Her dog had one lone pup， and he looked exactly like Charlie！
As Charlie got older he slowed down considerably. He was more content to just swish his tail when he saw a bird perched nearby， rather than go for the hunt. He didn' t play the game with my daughter and me anymore. I could look into his eyes and tell， something was just not right. After a thorough examination from the vet， I was informed that Charlie had kidney failure. His advice was to put Charlie out of his misery. There is no cure he said.
Breaking the news to may daughter was not easy. She was a teenager and to put Charlie to sleep was unthinkable. Everyday she would take Charlie to the vet and he would be hydrated. This went on for almost a month， but Charlie didn' t get better. I made a bed for Charlie in the utility room， his litter box sat unused. Charlie was too weak to get out of his bed. The only time he was out of it was when he went to the vet.