Charles Asta Haywire 11-02-95 to 11-13-09

Better known to all of us as just Charlie. Charlie was a terror instead of a terrior, but will be very missed.

Charlie came on Christmas with his brother Max-two tiny wired hair fox terriers and filled our childhood with countless awesome memories.

The Beauty:
Charlie was of course the picture perfect wire haired fox terrier; he was gorgeous and he knew it, poor Max had gotten the short end of the stick when it came to beauty. Daniel and I took Charlie and Max out on a walk and they were so tiny they couldn't get over the curb without our help. On one of our walks, a couple actually stopped us and asked us where we lived because Charlie was so beautiful they wanted to mate their dog, Marcie with him. He was still so young we had to wait forever, but it wasn't long before Charlie was going to be a father before he was even 1.

The Killer:
While Charlie and Max were puppies we even had an awesome rabbit named Thumper. He thought he was a dog and lived in the igloo outside with Charlie and Max. Eventually Charlie and Max let the nature of their breed take over, so we gave Thumper to the neighbor across the street. Poor Thumper would always sneak out of his fence and always come back to see Charlie and Max- and eventually their nature won. Poor Thumper. I think it was a couple of years before we found out the truth.

Anatomy:
Charlie and Marcie were everywhere- you would open the bathroom door and there they were walk in the kitchen, den bedroom anywhere and there they were. One night all 7 of us were sitting in front of the TV watching a movie and Charlie and Marcie stopped right in front of the TV (this is back when TVs were on the floor) and they got kicked outside, but don't worry somewhere there is a tape recorder and a notebook where Daniel and I documented most of the action from the tree house. Needless to say we all learned anatomy very young.

Lucy:
Charlie and Max would constantly fight to the point of blood and it was so common we barely even noticed, but eventually Max went to live with Daniel and Lauren's dad and Lucy the pick of the litter, Charlie's daughter,came home to us. When Lucy first came home Charlie would literally carry her around with him in his mouth and spit her out at your feet. We still aren't sure if he was trying to eat her or not.

Escape Artists:
Charlie and Lucy loved to escape. If the door was open for two seconds they were gone- instantly. They would even run through the electric fence taking the shock just to escape. I think there was one year Charlie had about 4 or 5 rabies shots because the pound would always give him another one when we picked him up. One year we were at the beach for a week when the vet called to tell us he had Lucy. Apparently she had walked all the way from our house to the mall (a miracle she wasn't hit) and had walked inside through one of the restaurants and running from the security guards she ended up in the Gap. The sweet girl at the Gap called the vet from her rabies tag.
During one of their usual escapes dad actually found Charlie a couple of streets over on top of some body's car! We still aren't sure how he managed that one.

Opossums:
Charlie was good at rounding up opossums. One time he cornered and killed a mother- which allowed the baby to move inside. I will never forget the time Ashley and I came downstairs on a Friday the 13th- just like today to dad telling us there was a opossum under one of the twin's bed. I will never forget the look on her face(although I can't remember which one) to the site of all of us in her room staring at her bed with weapons in our hands. Eventually the opossum was caught and was given a new home out in the country.

Tar Babies:
Even Charlie was part of the action when I looked outside and saw Lauren, Laura and Emily covered in tar in the backyard. Dad had stripped them naked and was pouring gasoline all over them. Of course they had found the tar in the ditch and of course Charlie had found it in the backyard while they were getting cleaned. Don't worry, there will be a ditch blog memories to come.

There are so many others, like the huge scars on my knees when I decided it was a good idea to let Charlie pull me on the skateboard, Charlie collecting more Easter eggs than us or eating crabs on walks down the beach.

Best "worst dog" ever!!