Oh, Charlie! You’re Growing Up!

Charlie turns 2 years old on February 2nd.  We adopted him on September 18, 2023.  He was just 8 months old.  The vet told us it would take about 3 months before Charlie would trust we are his dog parents.  Today, Charlie’s favorite place to nap is on my lap when sitting in the recliner with my feet elevated.  He will also nap laying down on my legs with my feet as his pillow.  There are many times I wake up in the morning to realize a small 15 pound dog is laying right on top of my head on my pillow.

He is Dennis’s dog when it comes to taking a walk.  Whenever he sees us pull out his vest with the leash attached, he is all excited to get that thing on.  He knows he is either going for a walk or taking a ride in the car.  He loves to do both.

Charlie is a Morkie, which is a “designer dog” which is a combination of a Maltese and a Yorkshire Terriorist!  (By the way, I wanted to make sure I spelled the last word in the previous sentence correctly.  I asked Siri how to spell it, and she said she did not know!  She always spells for me, but this word was not in her vocabulary to spell.  So, I asked what someone is called if they belong to a terror group.  She answered and spelled out “terriorist.”  Even Apple’s spellcheck refuses to acknowledge this word and did not give a corrected spelling for it—the spellcheck shows the words as if spelled wrong, but has no offering for a correct spelling).  Anyway, Charlie is part Maltese and part Yorkshire Terrier.  And, yes, I on purpose call him a terriorist because he can be a handful.  He favors the looks of the Maltese.  His ears flop down rather than stand up.  He has more of a terrier snout, whereas the Maltese have a flatter snout. 

During this past 18 months, I have been following several Morkie Facebook groups.  Several things I have learned about Morkies:

Morkies are picky eaters.  It took us weeks on end to find something Charlie was willing to eat.  Then over time, he gets bored with it and decides he won’t eat it any longer.  Then its back to square one!

Morkies are weather adverse.  If it is too hot or too cold outside, a Morkie will find a way to make the indoors his bathroom.  Really?  He even has a doggie door.

Morkies love constant attention until they don’t want constant attention.  Guess who runs the household?  

Morkies think they are big giant guard dogs.  Charlie goes ballistic when the doorbell rings, even if it is a doorbell on television!  He goes ballistic if he sees the shadow at our front door even before they ring the doorbell.  He gets a little crazy if he hears another dog bark (even if I am playing a video of him barking)!  When someone is at the door, he barks like crazy and runs from the front door to me and back as I am walking to the door, just like he is telling me not to go there.  There is danger on the other side of the door.  Usually once the door is open, he gets super friendly and excited to see a person smiling at him—except for the one delivery person who moved way back from the door.  She looked surprised when I opened the door and this little dog was in my arms.

Morkies need to be groomed often, or they becomes just a big fuzzy ball of fur!

Morkies like to chew anything that does not belong to them.  This can be a sock, or anything dropped on the floor, and especially anything made of paper—a sheet of paper, a napkin, and paper towel—and it will be shredded in an instant.  He will also chew rocks.  Most homes in Arizona a landscaped with rocks rather than mulch.  He has an ample supply in our yard.

With all those crazy things about Morkies, why would one own a Morkie?  

1. They are so stinkin’ cute!
2. No one told me about these behaviors when we adopted him, but again, he was so stinkin’ cute, I’m not sure I would have listened.
3. He loves to be loved, and how can you not fall in love with a dog like that.
4. They are so stinkin’ cute.  Did I already say that?

Charlie has been to the animal emergency room twice, both times because he ate something he shouldn’t have.  The first time, he ingested marijuana.  Since neither Dennis nor I use it in any form, we still have no clue where he got it.  The second time, he injested something too big to handle, although edible, and his irritated colon bled.  That was scary.  After blood tests and x-rays, the emergency doctor said that whatever it was, it was not blocking his colon completely and that he should eventually pass it, which happened a couple days later.  Good thing we have pet insurance!

Traveling across the country this summer for two months was not an issue for Charlie.  He loved resting on my lap or on the pull out table in front of the passenger seat in the RV.  He loves looking out the window whenever we are on a drive.

 He met a number of dogs visiting family, but his favorite of all was Heidi, a sweet miniature Schnauzer.  He played with her constantly while we visited a few day in Georgia.

Charlie doesn’t like anything on my lap other than him.  If I have my laptop, it is a guarantee he will be hopping up on my lap to try to replace the computer.  He will come in my sewing room and bark at me or bring me a toy to play fetch.  

He also is not a fan of clothes.  Although he will tolerate wearing shirts, he doesn’t not like wearing the boots that I bought for him in case we have super hot pavement or if we go somewhere in the winter.  He also doesn’t like the hat I bought him.  He is super cute in it, but somehow I feel like I am getting stink-eye from him when he is wearing it.  

Lately I have been having fun on Facebook with Charlie’s photos.  I am very unskilled in Photoshop, but I can do well enough to fake it.  Charlie has been photoshopped into so many different scenarios. He’s been put in famous paintings, attended Trump’s 2025 Inauguration, been carried on field at a Kansas City Chiefs game.  I am looking for some new ideas of where I can add Charlie’s photo.  He might have to go to some national parks, or be with some famous celebrities, or in places around the world.  Maybe I should make him his own Facebook group.  Any suggestions from you would be helpful—please leave your ides in the comment section.

Charlie Walker, is my dog of many names (that I have given him)—Charlie Marley, Charlie Man, Charlie Bucket, and Mr. Fuzzybutt.  The last one is only when I don’t know where he is and I ask Dennis where the dog is but don’t want to use his name because he will wake up or come to me.  I just want to know where Mr. Fuzzybutt is!

Charlie loves being part of the action. He wants to play cards, or Dominoes, or watch a good football game.

Charlie is also the final inspector of any of my sewing and quilting projects.

Charlie keeps us laughing with his antics.  He also stayed very close to Dennis when Dennis was so sick this past summer. 

Happy 2nd birthday to Charlie!  He keeps me on my toes.  He makes me keep my things where they belong and all the chairs pushed under the table.  He will find anything I make accessible.  He makes me a better house cleaner!

Charlie has a heart of gold, and the mischievousness of a toddler.  What a joy to have man’s best friend in our home.  I guess I can’t call him woman’s best friend, because they (whoever they are) say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Ha! I also think it’s a dog!