A whole year has passed since Charlie headed off to his forever home with James, and it’s fair to say life with Charlie is never dull!

James and his family collected Charlie from Hull in August, after his previous owner had sadly broken his back and was no longer able to give Charlie the walks and active life he needed.

The timing felt right. James had just taken early retirement and, after losing their much-loved Teddy at the age of 15 the previous Christmas, there was a dog-shaped space in the family alongside their rescue dog, Doris.

Charlie soon made himself very much at home — although his first year has included rather more adventure than anyone might have anticipated!

He has a wonderfully enthusiastic approach to life and is, by James’s own admission, just a little accident-prone. He has been known to sprawl so comfortably across the sofa while asleep that he simply falls off it. 😂

On one adventure, an attempt to jump over a fallen tree ended with Charlie catching himself on a branch and needing stitches. Then came perhaps his most memorable escapade: discovering and eating some marijuana cake in the local park, resulting in an unexpected Saturday night stay at the emergency vets!

Thankfully, by the following day Charlie was completely recovered and straight back to his usual vibrant self.

And there is so much more to Charlie than his mishaps.

He has enjoyed caravanning holidays with the family and even a camping trip to Mull with James. He absolutely loves being outdoors, loves meeting people and, according to James, people tend to fall in love with Charlie almost immediately too.

His training has come on brilliantly. His recall is now very good and he generally walks nicely without pulling on the lead. Car journeys can still be rather exciting — something James wonders may be connected to Charlie’s earlier life as a police search dog.

He has some rather lovely manners at home too. Charlie can offer both paws and give high fives, and at mealtimes he waits for Doris to start eating before demolishing his own dinner in seconds!

A year after joining the family, Charlie is clearly exactly where he belongs: loved, included in every adventure and enjoying life to the full.

Happy first Gotcha Day, Charlie. Here’s to many more years of caravanning, camping, sofa-sprawling and adventures — although perhaps slightly fewer emergency vet visits! 🐾

Could you be part of another Sprocker’s happy ending?

We are always looking for loving, experienced homes for the dogs in our care. Whether you could offer a forever home or provide a safe place as a foster carer, you could make an incredible difference to a Sprocker who needs us.

If you think you could help, please complete one of our Adoption or Fostering Application Forms and tell us a little about the home you can offer.

And if you can’t foster or adopt, you can still help. Sharing our dogs, supporting our fundraising or making a donation all help us give more Sprockers the chance of their own happy ending.