The beginning

Hi,

My name, as you have probably gathered, is Charlie. I live with my mum and dad (he's my brother really but I call him dad) in Plymouth. I am a long haired German + Belgian Shepherd. My best friends live nearby and we all gather in the field to exchange news and views. Yes, even us dogs have opinions!

My life has not always been easy, in fact it wasn't until Mothers Day in 1999 that my life really began. Until then it was something I would have escaped from if I could. In order for you to understand, I must go back in time.

Born on 7th August 1997, I was given to a lady who thought I was very cute. To begin with everything seemed fine, the children loved me and my owner seemed nice. It was not long before they all became bored with me and I was thrown out of the house and kept in a cage in the garden. The children used to grab my hind legs and pull them through the wire, which caused me a lot of pain. I cried, but they didn't care.

One hot day I remember the children playing in their paddling pool, whilst I lay sweltering in the heat. Suddenly one of them came and took me to the paddling pool and put me in. I was still a baby so the water nearly covered me. At first the feel of the cool water on my hot body was lovely, but suddenly a hand pushed me under the water and held me there. I couldn't breathe and was not strong enough to get away from the hand holding me down.

I don't remember what happened next, but I slowly became aware of the grass under me and a hand gently pushing against my chest. I was coughing and spluttering, then a man picked me up and held me close, fussing me and talking gently. All I could do was shake and whine, I was so frightened.

Then the man who owned me came out and took me away from the nice person. They were shouting and I got so terrified I cried as loud as I could. The nice man walked away and my owner threw me back in my cage.

After that things got worse. They never spoke to me, hardly fed me and never took me for walks. I was just left in the cage, which got smaller as I grew.

I don't know how much time passed, dogs have no real concept of days and months, but I know I had grown in to a big dog. The cage was so restrictive there was no room to turn easily. I had to sleep curled up as small as I could make myself.

Then, one day, the woman took me in to the house. It was frightening because I did not know what was going to happen. The children were making a fuss of me and so was the woman. I didn't trust them and just wanted to go back to my cage, but they wouldn't let me.

Then a knock came at the door. The woman answered it and I could hear strange voices, a man and a woman. The children were still crowded around me and I couldn't get away.

Suddenly the door opened and a great tall man walked in, followed by a woman. As I looked at them I had such a strange feeling and just wanted to go to them. They both smiled at me and said hello, then came and knelt beside me, moving the children away from me.

The man spoke to me in a quiet voice and they both petted me gently. I'm not sure why, but I felt safer than ever before. The lady ran her hands all over my body and then looked at the man in a funny way. They both stood up, but the man kept his hand on me.

I was worried they were going to leave and I kept pushing up against them both, trying to let them know I didn't want them to leave. They were talking to my owner, who then left the room and came back with a lead. The man took it and attached it to my collar, then suddenly he was leading me out of the house!

The lady was still talking to my owner, but she said something to the man and he led me away, out of the garden and down the lane. It was so exciting to be out and away from the people who hurt me, but there was no way of knowing when I would have to go back.

We came to a field further down the lane and the man took me in there, then he took off my lead. I wasn't sure what to do, so I stayed close to him. He walked me round the field and eventually I had a little run. The man called me and I ran straight back to him, wagging my tail. He knelt beside me, put his arms around me and started to talk. Of course, I had no idea what he was saying, but his voice was so kind and soothing I felt my spirits soar. I knew I wanted nothing more than to stay with him and tried to tell him by nuzzling him and pushing my head in to his hands.

He started to walk from the field and called me to his side. I thought he was taking me back, but when we got to the gate we met the lady who had been at the house with him. She fussed me too, then we got in a car and drove away.

I didn't know it then, but I was going to my new home!