Introducing our Newest Family Member - Charlie Bo-Bo

It wasn't but a couple weeks ago that Chris and I were in agreement that we were nowhere close to being ready for a new dog in our family. We liked the idea of adopting a dog but with a toddler we weren't sure of the safety issue. So imagine my surprise last week when Chris sent me a text along with a picture of an adorable yellow lab and the message "What do you think?". We exchanged a few more texts and within 10 minutes the dog was in our backyard for a family interview. And guess what - we all immediately fell in love with him.

It's a bit of a long story as to how exactly "Charlie Bo-Bo Candlish" came into our lives but here are the most relevant parts of his history. Charlie grew up (he's 3) in Temecula and his parents divorced. Neither parent could take him to their new home so Charlie bounced around between a few homes. Recently he wound up here in Costa Mesa and was staying in a condo with a small patio and he kept getting out and running away. My father-in-law Richard found Charlie while working in east side Costa Mesa and when he called the number on Charlie's tags the person explained that they were desperate to try and find Charlie a permanent home and asked if Richard wanted to keep him. Richard couldn't keep him but being the dog lover he is he spread the word and THAT's how Charlie found us. Yep - we feel like it was all meant to be.

Charlie's timing and situation really couldn't have been better. We just lost our dog Bo after 12+ years (well, 11 years in my life but Chris had him longer than that) and obviously that was a very sad loss. Bo was Chris' sidekick - they were best buds and spent all day together . Bo lived for the most part at Chris' workshop in his final years (since Ruby's arrival) because he was part pit bull and we didn't feel too warm and fuzzy about having Ruby and Bo co mingle. Ruby knew Bo from a distance and loved him quite a bit, hence the middle name for Charlie. As soon as Ruby met Charlie she referred to him as Bo-Bo (so cute). Anyways, Charlie came at a great time. Chris once again has a buddy at work but Charlie also comes home nightly and spends his evenings and weekends as the perfect family dog.

We are so happy about our newest addition. We love that he is a "rescue" however we also know his past (he's lived in a home with 4 kids) so we feel comfortable inviting him into ours. As we all know no dog is perfect and Charlie does have a few forgivable issues - he is a runner if allowed off the leash and he sheds like crazy. So when you come over just make sure you shut the door behind you and when see our dark wood floors covered in white dog fur just pretend you don't see it OK? Thanks....