I've always been a cat person - oh, dogs are okay, just not my favorite four-legged friend. That is, until Charle came into our lives. We had promised our son a beagle Christmas 2007, but had to disappoint him due to some family issues. This past Thanksgiving, though, he wore down our resolve, and after many phone calls and searches through the classified ads, we found one. It was about an hour's drive from our house, but we made the journey. Charlie was in a pen, which was dirty, along with 3 other puppies, all females. It broke my heart to leave the other 3 puppies, but my son had his heart set on a male, so Charlie became part of our family. We stopped at a pet store on the way home to get him a leash, collar, shampoo, and food, and headed home. After a good bath and a good meal, he made himself at home, winning my heart with his puppy kisses and playful manner. He even won a Cutest Pet Photo Contest at my office, with the proceeds from the voting going to one of our local animal shelters. He's no longer a puppy - he'll be celebrating his first birthday August 5th, and he's more like a kid with 4 feet! The best thing about Charlie is, no matter how bad a day I've had, no matter how bad the traffic is, he's always there to meet me at the door, tail wagging, ready for a game of fetch the bone, and, if I'm lucky, a few of those puppy kisses!

Margaret French
Chesapeake, VA