Charlie

No one really knows what it is like to lose a pet until they experience it personally. Although they are only animals, they are apart of the family. When you lose a pet it feels like you are losing a brother, sister, or best friend. In October of 2010, I had to go through the loss of one of my best friends. The puppy I got for my birthday when I was only eight years old. He was so young when he died, that I never saw it coming. When thinking back to when he lived, I never thought about the day he would die. Now that it happened, I just think about what I could of done to make his life better or to help him when he was hurting. I know now to never take advantage of anyone or anything, because you never know what could happen to them.
The day we decided to go get our first puppy was one of the happiest days I can remember from when I was younger. My mom and I decided that we wanted a dog even though my dad did not quite agree. We went to a pet store without my brother or dad, and found a puppy that we really liked. We then brought him home to surprise my brother and dad. On the way home I decided that I was going to name him Charlie. We brought Charlie home and as we were about to go inside my dad came into the garage and saw him. He didn't really know how to react, but he didn't seem too mad. It didn't take long for my family to fall in love with Charlie and he grew up living a good, spoiled life.
Even as a puppy Charlie was always eating whatever he could get his mouth on. Socks were his favorite and he would just eat them whole. We were always afraid that he would choke on one of the many socks he got a hold of. It never seemed to affect him for many years until a Halloween in 2010. Charlie had just come from outside, and we noticed that he wasn't really breathing right. We figured he swallowed a sock and he just needed time and would be fine. On a normal night, Charlie would sleep on the floor by my bed all night. This night was different and he wouldn't go to sleep. He sat by the closet and was breathing really loud and whinnying. Then I did something that I really regret. He was breathing so loud out of his nose that I couldn't sleep so I made him leave my room and shut the door. I thought he was going to be fine and didn't know what was actually wrong with him. My dad later told me that Charlie had not slept at all that night and sat with my dad for most of the night.
The next day my dad told me he was going to take Charlie to the vet after work that day to see what was wrong. Another thing I regret is not going to the vet because I didn't know what kind of news it would be. My dad brought him home after the appointment, and said that the vet said that Charlie just had something stuck in his throat and that he had a appointment the next day to get it out. I was relieved and thought everything was going to be okay. Once again that night Charlie didn’t sleep at all and I didn't let him into my room. That morning, I went to school thinking Charlie would go to the vet that day and be fine when I got home. Unfortunately that's not what happened.
While I was at school, I started thinking that something could go wrong. I decided to text my dad and I asked him what time Charlie would be home. He texted back saying that he would be there when I got home. Even after reading this from my dad, something still didn't feel right. I rushed home after school and saw that both my parents cars were there which normally no one is home when I get home. My first thought was that something happened to him, but I told myself they were just happy to have Charlie home and wanted to see him. I rushed inside and everything was different. My mom and dad were sitting on the couch and my mom instantly starting crying. My dad then said that they had to talk to me but I didn't want to hear it. I ran up to my room and closed the door without talking to anyone. I knew what had happened and didn't want to admit it to myself. It was then that I looked to where Charlie’s bed used to be by my bed. It was gone. Every trace of him was gone. This is when it hit me and I knew he would be gone forever.
That night I only talked to my family enough to learn that Charlie had a tumor in his nose that was blocking his air way and this is why he wasn't sleeping or breathing right. The vet said the tumor was untreatable because it was too big and it must of shifted in his nose because we had never noticed anything before. They called my dad to tell him and said the best thing to do was to put him down. My dad then went to my mom’s work to tell her. My friends looked at me and treated me different. I was so upset that everything reminded me of him. I knew then that Charlie was one of my best friends and I would always remember him. At night all I could think about were the times that I could of spent more time with him or been nicer to him. I never thought I would lose him when he was so young and never even got to say goodbye. I know now to never take anything for granted because you never know what could happen.