Name: Charlie (1 y/o) & Chance (5 mths old)
Family Members: Stephen & Ali, Isis & Kiki (cat siblings)
How long have Charlie & Chance been in the family? Charlie has been in the family 10 months & Chance 3 months
Professions: Ali - Event Manager at AmericasMart; Stephen - Project Engineer at Holder Construction
Location: Decatur, GA.
Nicknames: Charlie: Charles (when he's in trouble), Charlie Charlie Pumpkin Charlie, Charlie Brown
Chance: Bubby, Little Man
5 words/phrases that best describe Charlie & Chance:
Charlie:
- Gentle
- Attention Hog
- Zoomies fanatic
- Sweet
- Power Chewer
Chance:
- Vicious Pit Bull (sarcasm)
- Feisty
- Content
- Smart
- Cuddle Bug
What makes Charlie & Chance unique? Charlie is really the most friendly dog I have ever met. He loves everyone (dogs and humans) that he meets. Chance is very sneaky and feisty.
Charlie
Chance
Brothers!
Rescue Stories: We found Charlie at Terrapin Brewery. We drove to Athens for a Friday night concert and decided to visit breweries the next day. It was #NationalDogDay so they were doing adoptions at the Brewery. We knew instantly that he was the one. We went back inside and took time to think about it to make sure we were making a smart decision; but it really wasn't difficult. He was ours. His mom had been found and was so emaciated that Animal Control didn't know she was pregnant for the first 2 days. Charlie was born at Animal Control and the shelter took him, his mom and his siblings the next day. We brought him home when he was right at 8 weeks. The next day, he started throwing up and was clearly not feeling good. I stayed up all night with him. He slept on my chest on the couch, when he could sleep and I was up with him every hour for him to potty. We took him straight to the vet the next morning and it was Parvo. We let the shelter know immediately and they were able to test, treat and save 2 of his siblings. We were back in Atlanta and the gentleman from the shelter drove almost 2 hours to pick him up, paid the vet bill, and then they took care of him for the next 2 weeks while he recovered. Getting him back was like the videos you see of soldiers coming home to their pets. He couldn't stop crying. He knew that we were his Mommy and Daddy. Now when he isn't feeling good, we know immediately because he comes to lay on my chest.
Chance was a puppy of the streets. He, his mom and a sibling were found but his mom and sibling escaped. The owner of the daycare we take Charlie to decided to foster Chance. They took him in, got him his shots, dewormer (he had hook worms) and tried to find him a family. What better place to find a family than a daycare with people who love their babies. They slowly introduced Chance to daycare parents and their dogs (the families who were interested in adopting him only). They told all the families who wanted him that they were going to let him choose. Needless to say, he immediately chose Charlie as his sibling. They clicked immediately and started kissing each other's faces. They were instant brothers. We had the weekend to think about it. 2 puppies is a lot of work. When I came back the next week, it was ultimately an easy decision to take him home. Watching him and Charlie play, we couldn't keep them apart.
Charlie heading back to his forever home, post Parvo!
Chance going home!
What is your favorite pastime as a family? We love to take our babies everywhere with us. We only go to restaurants that have dog friendly patios, we go to Petco, Home Depot, really anywhere they are allowed. We even go to dog parks. I know this is usually a big no no for pitties but we believe that people will never learn if they don't see how good our dogs are. Because Chance is a puppy, people always approach and I tell them he's a pit bull. They always seem surprised and a little nervous but his personality and his puppy eyes draw them right back in and everyone loves him.
What is life like since you rescued Charlie & Chance? Stressful, crazy, expensive, but worth every minute of stress and every dime. Charlie has checked all the boxes (parvo, fleas, chicken allergy, giardia, etc.) but we wouldn't trade him for the world. It's been absolute chaos with 2 puppies under 1 year, but we love it. They have really tried our patience sometimes with the amount of things they eat, how much they've gotten sick, etc. but we love him and his brother so much. Bringing them into our family was one of the best decisions we've made. No one can resist Chance's eyes! They are the light of our life and everything we do revolves around both of them!
Photographers Note: It was so much fun photographing these two pups. I mean, yes a lot of my shots were just blurs because these two were on the move and seriously into their frisbee play time. Since I book these sessions back to back and have a back log of a month plus out, I don't often get a chance to read through all the stories before I do the photo shoots. With these guys, I completely missed the part that Chance was still a little puppy. Imagine my surprise and joy of course! The bow tie on him was so big, it was cracking me up. I will say for a 4 month old puppy, he was so well behaved and trained, they both were. Honestly you would never guess Charlie wasn't even a year old either at the time of the shoot. They were able to take off their leashes for the bow tie shot and they just both sat their beautifully. Such a wonderful family and can't wait to see how they both continue to change as they grow up!