Charlie’s in Charge

I’m Charlie, and I’m a dog. Well, technically I’m a lab/rottweiler/husky/American pit bull terrier, but I usually just go with “dog,” because that’s way easier. I came to live on the Miraflora farm a year ago, Feb. 23, when my owner adopted me from Mile High Lab Mission, a nonprofit that finds dogs like me their forever homes.

When I was homeless in Oklahoma, I met a horse who said being put out to pasture was the worst thing ever. I still don’t understand what he meant, because being out on our pastures is the best thing ever. I especially love running circles around all the alpaca. They think they’re soooo important, being the farm’s fertilizers and all, but all they do is poop in a pile. Meanwhile, all of mine gets scooped up and saved in special plastic bags, so I think that makes me more important, don’t you? 

The only alpaca I never mess with is Merlin. You may think that means I’m not the alpha male on the farm, but I think brains over brawn always win in the end. If you could see the look in his eyes when you’re standing between him and his hay... He just refuses to understand that I’m the one who brings him the hay in the first place, and that I don’t even eat hay, even though I do it occasionally just to get his goat. Oh well. Water under the bridge, so they say.

Another one of my chores is to go help collect eggs in the chicken coop. If only my owner would open that door and let them out…I keep trying to tell him that I only want to play with them, but I think he mistakes my “give me the chickens” look for my “give me the ball” look. I mean, I do always want the ball, but the chickens would be better.

After all my chores are done, I usually run around for a while sniffing for bobcats, racoons, deer, and sometimes elk, though I never really know what to do when I actually find one. I do know what to do with the owl that sleeps in the barn rafters, though. Every time I walk behind him, he turns his head all the way around. Owls are amazing like that.

Then, it’s time for my nap on the couch. I take at least three or four every day to help me recharge from all the hard work. I like it best when my owner is there, because he’s warm and pets my head when I put it on his chest. That’s why Sunday is my favorite day of the week, because usually he sits there with me for a long time and watches people on TV fetching balls. It’s hard to imagine humans like balls as much as I do, but apparently some do.

Speaking of balls, my motto is that everything is a ball until it is proven otherwise. It has turned out that a lot of things aren’t balls—but you can’t really be sure until you test them all, right? “He’s trying to eat the vacuum now,” my owner just said to someone on the phone. Not a ball. Check.

You know what else isn’t a ball? Shoes. But I also like them a lot. I have been told repeatedly it is very bad to eat them, so now I just open the closet door to watch them. I think it would be neat to see them walking outside on their own. Maybe they will tomorrow. 

So, you’re probably wondering how I got to be so good at being a farm dog. Well, I’m a rescue dog, which means I’m very grateful to be here, and I want to be work hard to prove it. I also get a lot of treats, which I like. My owner says that every time someone buys treats for their dogs, the farm donates money to other organizations that help find homes for rescue dogs like me. If I were a person, I would buy lots of treats. That’s just a nice thing to do for dogs everywhere.

Thank you for helping to support our farm—and me, of course. And if the alpaca try to tell you they do all the work around here, well, now you know the truth.

Your purchase of any pet product helps dogs like Charlie find their forever home. Miraflora donates 5% of proceeds from all pet products to local animal rescue nonprofits and donates calming CBD Dog Chews and CBD Tincture to local animal shelters.