Charlie Update - ADOPTED! / THANK YOU

We are happy to tell you with great excitement, that today we have brought Charlie to his new home 2 hours up north.. Charlie has been finally adopted. I shared my home and heart with this lovely gentlemen for 8 months, and will miss having his big head greeting me or resting on my lap. I will miss his gigantic kisses, and big hugs. I will miss him rolling around in my lap for belly rubs with failing limbs, that sometimes got me in the face by accident. I will miss him sitting in my lap, or trying to, even if he did not really fit. I will miss the look on his face when he knows he did something wrong, or how he was always excited to see me even if i was not at my 'best'... i will miss him. But he has now found his forever home, a family entirely for himself.

The family he has been adopted into is exceptional, and has decades of experience with this breed. He is an only child of the family, and will be down right spoiled dirty-rotten. He has plenty of acres to run fee in (with no cars of course), a lake to spend his summer next to, and most importantly a family to call his own. We are told not to expect him back, he is there to stay.

We have enjoyed our time with him, and concurred many feats towards promoting a good name for pit-bulls with him. Many people may not know that he was actually a favorite at the old age home my grandmother resides in. He broke boundaries, and opened up minds. He welcomed adults or infants, puppies or dogs, with the kindest nature and biggest kisses. He is a mascot for the breed, and has made a huge impact on the way many people viewed pit-bulls before they met him. We hope, and know he will continue to do so for the rest of his life.

He has become one of Eleven Eleven’s mascots, and always will be.

I first met Charlie September 4th, 2009, when he was brought in to be euthanized by his previous owner at just over a year old. I was 2 hours into a 12 hour shift, and had until the end of the day to rescue him or he would meet his fate. He was huge, and weighed as much as I did, but he was such a good dog, that’s all I could describe him as, a good dog. Because he was, and is, and I promised him I would do everything in my power to save him. Which I did, and in-between two 30-minute beaks that day I found a place for him to go that night. At the end of the shift, we took him to his new temporary home. He later had to change fosters, to Joanne. He was so out of control, massive, and had no training that his fosters felt he could never be placed. So I got him a personal trainer, that worked with them one on one through his issues. He then went to classes every week with the foster. Thankfully to the wonderful, dedicated foster home and mommy, Joanne (who is also my mother), we turned this out-of-control teenager into a well-mannered gentlemen. But despite his perfect temperament, and immaculate training, due to breed prejudice, Charlie was overlooked and no one was even interested in adopting him. We had him for 8 months, and were ready to keep him another year if needed until he found his home.

Then in March, I got the phone call. Charlie had gotten away, and had been hit by a car. I did not even hesitate, he was rushed to the emergency clinic within 20 minutes at 1am and was already going into shock. X-Rays revealed a shattered femur. At first glance the vet said to just amputate. But I am stubborn, and I promised Charlie like I promise all of the rescues that I would do everything in my power for him. Which I did, he was seen by a specialist who was not sure if he could save the leg either. I still pushed forward; within 10 hours of the accident Charlie went into reconstructive surgery to piece the leg back together (literally). 4, 000$, five hours, 12 screws and a 14 inch plate later, his leg was back in one piece. It was the hardest surgery the doctor has ever done successfully, and it indeed was successful. He has now regained almost full use of the leg.

Without support and help like yours Eleven Eleven would be helpless, Charlie would be helpless. From the bottom of our hearts, and deeper we sincerely thank you for all of your support. Charlie being saved is a direct result of each and every one of your support, you have helped make a tremendous difference in this very special dogs life.

We have reached close to half of what is needed to recover his surgery funds, and will continue to pay off his debt (for a while). Slowly, but surely. If we had to do it again, we would in a heart beat. He was worth every penny needed to save his life, however many times we have had to save his life.

We also have a special thank you to say to his foster home Joanne who made this perfect dog what he is today, and The Under Dog Club for the wonderful support they have shown us.

Again, THANK YOU from Charlie and the Eleven Eleven Animal Rescue team