In March of 2025, Charlie found himself in a very unfortunate and vulnerable place - a central Texas kill shelter. A good samaritan found him on his property around his chicken coop and he brought him to the shelter. He had been neutered so at some point he likely had a human that was caring for him, but he was in rough shape physically. He was underweight and had a tumor in his ear that the shelter had been treating with prednisone.

One Saturday morning in April, Jody sent a text to her friend Carol with a photo of Charlie asking if she might be interested in fostering him. Jody was going to the shelter to meet him that day. Carol was open to it but wanted to make sure Charlie would be a good fit for her pit bull, Daisy. Jody went to meet him and found him to be easy going and friendly so they agreed to give fostering a shot. Charlie walked into Carol’s house, made himself comfortable, and decided he would be staying for a while! He is the most delightful little guy, hilariously funny, very sweet and SO CHILL - so much so that Jody named him Zen Master Charlie. He gets along great with Daisy and is loved by his humans.

Charlie got checked out by the vet and his bloodwork looked really good and they estimated him to be 12 to 14 years old. About a month after his initial vet checkup, Carol noticed he had a cough that was really only noticeable when he drank water. He had another visit to the vet to do a chest X-ray and they found a mass in his lungs which is suspected to be cancer (the mass has grown in size on subsequent chest X-rays). Charlie is currently under palliative care and receiving plenty of love and attention, nutritious food, treats, and long walks in the Texas Hill Country. He is loved unconditionally by his foster family who are extremely grateful to Jody and Ant’s Happy Endings for bringing this very special being into their lives. He is a treasure.

We don’t know how much time we have with Charlie, but we do know this - he may have had some hard times in his life, gone without food or someone to care for him and love him, but those days are over. The final stretch will be the best days of his life and he will live on forever in our hearts. The impact this little guy has had on those who have been blessed to know him has been profound.