Charlie The Chinese Bear
/One of my best girlfriends started a San Diego, CA based 501(c)(3) non-profit called Bunny’s Buddies. I am sure you see me constantly posting about her rescue. This organization transports slaughterhouse surviving dogs over to the USA and places them into loving FURever homes. All of these dogs are seen by local veterinarians to be treated, vaccinated, and spayed or neutered. As soon as they are cleared to fly they work diligently on finding volunteers that are able to fly to Asia to bring these babies home.
OUR MISSION
Hearing that over 30,000,000 animals are being subjected to torment and abuse leaves us with a heavy and hopeless heart, however, our goal is to stay as optimistic as we can with only one mission in mind- to save as many animals from this horrific outcome as we can. We work closely with some amazing organizations in China to not only rescue and repair these damaged souls but then, to actually get them into loving new homes.
There are so many ways for you to become involved! You can adopt, foster, donate, or become a flight volunteer, all of which are equally important in helping this rescue thrive!
One day I was sitting on the couch texting with Amanda when she sent me this photo:
I mean, it literally just took this one photo. I dropped everything I was doing and said, “THAT IS MY DOG.” From that point on it was just a waiting game. I immediately made him an Instagram account, and started online shopping to prepare for his arrival. One month waiting for Charlie seemed to be a lifetime. I could not wait to get him home so that I could show him what life could really be like for him. Was I worried that he wouldn’t like me? Yes. Was I worried that he would bite, bark, chew, attack other dogs, hate children? YEP. I worried about this stuff day in and day out. I think I actually drove Amanda insane with the amount of questions that I had about him. And if I was anyone else, she probably wouldn’t have let me adopt him. Of course the DAY before this little fluff ball arrived at LAX I got a text saying, “sooooo, Charlie is a little moody.” Oh shit.
All we knew about Charlie was that he was found waiting outside of a grocery store where he was abandoned by his previous owners. Most dogs that are sold to the butchers in Asia were somebody's pet. He waited outside for 3 days and nobody came back for him. Sad for him but lucky for me.
Charlies Arrival, June 31, 2018l:
The day had finally come. I was driving up to LAX to pick up our newest family member. I was so nervous that I was nauseous. I cant go more than 2 hours without eating so we stopped at Sage Vegan Bistro! I am not Vegan but Amanda IS. And I was famished so I don’t complain. I am already getting side tracked by the thought of eating but since we are on the topic I might as well tell you what we ate. We were clearly eating our feelings and on an all carb diet that day so we had the baked pretzels, mac n’ cheese, and the sun dried tomato pizza. Yes, I recommend them all. Topped it all off with a few margs and I was ready for my puppy. Okay, back to Charlie.
We finally arrived at LAX a few hours later and then had to wait another hourish for the pups to go through customs. AT LAST- we see them coming. Immediately I run up to the crate to say hi to Charlie. And he barked my face off. Every single dog that came out of their crate was friendly and so so happy to meet their new owners. But oh, NOT Charlie. He wouldn’t come out of his crate and wanted NOTHING to do with me. At some point he ended up escaping from his crate and went sprinting around LAX near the departure area where all of the cars are. I was sobbing as we chased him around trying to catch him. My hero, Amanda’s husband, Kyle, literally swooped him up. Charlie BIT HIM. Drew blood and all. Had he not done this who knows what would have happened to Charlie. Thanks again, Kyle.
We got Charlie back in his crate and somehow managed to get some calming treats in his system, got the crate in the car, and bailed. Charlie slept the entire 2 hour car ride home. What did I do you ask? I cried. The entire 2 hour car ride home. I just kept thinking - Oh f%ck! I made a mistake.
You guys, Charlie weighs 14.2 lbs. And the night that I brought him home, I have never been so scared of something so small and fluffy. At one point my boyfriend took his leash off and I said, “oh hell nah, you’re putting that back on him when we have to take him out to go to the bathroom!” Which he ended up doing, wearing oven mitts. A 6’4 230 lb grown ass man wearing OVEN MITTS TO PUT A LEASH ON CHARLIE.
8 hours later, Charlie blessed me with his acceptance and we have been inseparable ever since. He doesn't like playing with other dogs, he is scared of most people (especially brunettes), he is the most picky eater on this planet, and refuses to let a professional groomer touch him. But, he loves kids, he loves his new home, and he loves going on walks. He is our shadow. We can leave the front door open and he will just sit there all day long. He came potty trained. And he NEVER barks. He was not food motivated so training him to sit, lay down, and stay was difficult. But he finally speaks English now :)
He is basically the best dog in the world - for us. It was an emotional roller coaster. And it is still work. I am protective of him and I am constantly worried that he will be some sort of liability around strangers. Everyone looks at Charlie and sees the cutest little fluff ball that they have ever seen. But I also want to use this post as a warning! You never know what you’re going to end up with when you decide to rescue an abused animal. For the most part, every dog that has been rescued through Bunny’s Buddies has been amazing. But you cannot have a breaking point. You cant commit to an animal and then just get rid of them because they no longer fit your lifestyle.
Please think hard before adopting/buying animals. They are a part of your family. They aren’t replaceable. If you have any hesitations at all just don’t do it.
I love this little fluffy muppet baby with all of my heart and he has been the best blessing that I could imagine. We are all forever thankful for Bunny's Buddies!
