Charlie lived his life pretty much like be wanted to. If he felt romantic, he would scour the neighborhood in search of female companionship. My sister had a female dog and wanted Charlie to mate with her dog. When the time was right, I grabbed Charlie, put him in the car and off we went to my sister' s. Once there, We closed the garage door and stood back to watch the romantic scene unfold. Never have I heard such growling and howling!Back and forth they went under the cars, darting here and there, it sounded like they were killing each other. This is not working I thought. Indignant that Charlie would spurn her dog, my sister said, "Your dog is obviously gay."
"No, not at all. " I replied, "Charlie is just a little choosy. We just need to put a small paper sack over your dog' s head, that' s all. "
Charlie and I went home, both a little huffy. So much for that. Never again would I put Charlie up for such ridicule. Then, weeks later, my sister called. Her dog had one lone pup, and he looked exactly like Charlie!
As Charlie got older he slowed down considerably. He was more content to just swish his tail when he saw a bird perched nearby, rather than go for the hunt. He didn' t play the game with my daughter and me anymore. I could look into his eyes and tell, something was just not right. After a thorough examination from the vet, I was informed that Charlie had kidney failure. His advice was to put Charlie out of his misery. There is no cure he said.
Breaking the news to may daughter was not easy. She was a teenager and to put Charlie to sleep was unthinkable. Everyday she would take Charlie to the vet and he would be hydrated. This went on for almost a month, but Charlie didn' t get better. I made a bed for Charlie in the utility room, his litter box sat unused. Charlie was too weak to get out of his bed. The only time he was out of it was when he went to the vet.
My husband and I knew that we should put Charlie out of his misery, but my daughter cried and put up such a fuss that we always backed off. Never again will I let an animal suffer that long. Charlie needed to go. We needed to let go.
Even my husband who professed not to like Charlie was determined to properly bury him. He had begun to build a coffin for Charlie. Then out of the blue Charlie came out of the utility room. It was the first time he had walked in over two weeks. He slowly came up to me and I picked him up and held him in my lap. For the first time he let me stroke his head without trying to get away. We sat like this for what seemed like a very long time, and then Charlie decided it was time to leave. Slowly he walked to the back door and as I let him out, he paused on the deck as he watched my husband building the coffin. He descended the steps, then turned and looked back at me one more time, and then he was gone.
Charlie knew that his hour had come, he said his good-byes, and then did what all of God' s creatures do. He went to his resting place. His little coffin was turned into a planter and over the years has been the home for many bright geraniums, but its true purpose is to remind us of Charlie.
我不想写有关查理的故事，因为我知道我会哭。他离开我们已经很长时间了，但是他依然在我的心里。读过其他一些有关狗的优美的故事，于是我决定把查理的故事写下来，他也需要被人们记住。
我该从哪里开始讲述有关查理的故事呢？从他那小哈巴狗的鼻尖到他那来回摇摆的尾巴梢看来，他并没有什么独特之处，只是一只狗而已。漂亮是我对他唯一的描述，尽管他是一只流浪狗，却有着皇室般的仪态。他有着银灰色的长毛，脖子下面还点缀着一团白色的斑纹，犹如一颗璀璨的星星。因此， 我几乎能够想象得出来，他的一个祖先具有“波斯公主”的血统。
查理非常爱我们，不过他大部分时间是在宽容我们。我和女儿想抱他、依偎他时，查理就一直忍耐着， 直到我们放开他，他才跑走。另一方面是因为我的丈夫查尔斯，很明显，他对查理没有一点儿兴趣，而且还经常发表评论说狗没有任何价值。我通常会想他对查理的愤恨，是否因为查理以他的名字命名却没有征求他的意见呢。
我曾经听说，在一个家庭中，狗只会选择依恋一个人，而令大家吃惊的是，查理选择的是查尔斯。每天晚上，查理在吃完饭之后，都会花大约一个小时的时间来舔舐自己，然后跳到我丈夫的腿上，打起了小盹。他们也不理睬，只是彼此忍耐着。
如果女儿或是我试着将他抱起来，他就会快速逃走，径直跑到我丈夫那里——最不欢ó他的地方。查理还是一个杂技演员，当查理轻轻地趴在躺椅的后背，然后，从我丈夫的头上跳过，落在他的腿上时，有好几次，我的丈夫差点儿吓得心力衰竭。而查理每次这样做的时候，我的丈夫都没有准备好应该如何对付头顶上的袭击。
而只有一项游戏是查理愿意跟我和女儿一起玩的，而这还要哄着他才能玩呢。我们站在查理的面前，来回摆动我们的睡衣。查理的尾巴也会跟着来回摇摆。然后，他就会摆出一副准备攻击的姿势前后摆动着。最后，我们尖叫着在房间里穿来穿去，而查理则在我们后面疯狂地紧追不舍。
我认为查理特别不喜欢女性。我雇了一个女清洁工，一个星期来打扫一次卫生。查理很明确地表现出对她的憎恶。一天早上，在我还没有换好工作服的时候， 她就来了。她走到楼上去拿床单。查理躲在一间卧室的门后等着她。这场偷袭来得非常迅速，结果是传来一阵令人毛骨悚然的尖叫声。从那天起，在清洁工来之前，我一定会事先确保查理没有在房间里。即便如此，查理也没有放过她。他知道清洁工一定会到外面倒垃圾。查理很耐心地等着，然后再一次偷袭了她。现在，那个清洁工都不愿意去外面倒垃圾了。
查理以他自己喜欢的方式生活。如果他想过得浪漫些，就会到附近寻找异性同伴。我的姐姐有一只母狗，她想要查理和她家的狗交配。当时机成熟的时候，我抓着查理，将他放在车里带到姐姐家。到了之后，我们将库房的门锁上，然后站在后面观看那浪漫的一幕。我从未听到过这样的咆哮声！他们在车底走来走去、上蹿下跳，听起来好像在厮杀。我想，这次是肯定成功不了的。查理竟然拒绝她的狗，这让姐姐很愤，她说道：“很显然，你的狗是个同性恋。”
“不，不是那样的，”我回应道，“查理只是有些挑剔而已。我们只是需要将一个纸袋子套在你家狗的头上，那样就好了。”
我和查理回到了家，彼此都有些生气。到此为止吧，我再也不会让查理处于如此可笑的境地了。几个星期之后，姐姐给我打来电话，说她家的狗生了一只小狗，而且看起来真的很像查理！
查理渐渐地衰老了，动作也相对缓慢了很多。他看到一只小鸟栖息在附近，就只是满意地摇着尾巴，并不冲上去捕猎。他也不再与我和女儿做游戏了。我可以从他的眼里看出有些事情不对劲了。在兽医所里给他做了全身检查，医生告诉我，查理患了肾功能衰竭。他建议让查理从痛苦中解脱出来，因为现在他已经无药可救了。
将这个消息告诉我的女儿并不是一件容易的事情。她还是一个十几岁的孩子，让查理安乐死，对她来说是一件不可思议的事。她每天都会带着查理去医院输液。这样过了将近一个月，查理没有什么好转。我在储藏室给查理做了一张小床，他来的那个稍高一点儿的床也不再用了，因为查理太虚弱了，下不了床。他只有在去医院的时候才下床。
我和丈夫都知道，我们应该结束查理的痛苦，但是女儿会哭，这使得我们一再放弃这个念头。可是，我再也不能让一只动物长时间地遭受这样的痛苦了。查理需要离开，我们必须让他离开了。
甚至是我的那位声称不喜欢查理的丈夫也下定决心要好好地安葬查理，并开始给查理做棺材了。后来查理走出了储藏室，这是两个多星期以来他第一次出来。他慢慢地走向我，我将他抱起来，放在我的腿上，这是他第一次让我抚摸他而没有试图逃走。我们就这样坐着，好像过了很长时间。然后，查理决定离开了。他慢慢地走向门后，当我让他出去的时候，他走到平台停顿了一会儿，看着我的丈夫给他做的棺材。他走下台阶，又转过身，再看了我一眼，然后就走了。
查理知道离开的时候到了，他向我们道别，然后做了上帝创造出来的所有生灵都会做的事，他走到他的安睡之地，安息了。他的棺材成了一个花坛，多年来一直是那些漂亮的天竺葵的家园，不过这样做的真正目的是希望我们能够想起它。
爱能持续到永远
Love Can Last Forever
德布·普劳斯·富尔顿 / Deb Plouse Fulton
