"We got Charley at the Fairfax County Humane Society. We saw her online and went to visit her. Her mother was quite feral and wild and had a litter of half a dozen puppies and they all looked like they had different fathers. One looked like a hound, one looked like a schnauzer, but Charley was my favorite one. She was quite young – a couple of months old. I wanted my husband, Tom, to meet her – but he was out of town so we came back a week later and she had been adopted. She had moved to South Riding and was named Prada. I was quite heartbroken. But about a week later I checked back and she was back! The family had returned her because the woman had a small child, was pregnant and put on bed rest. She didn't need a puppy that wasn't housebroken, So, Tom met her and we took her home. I felt it was meant to be.

Charley is 3.5 years old; she will be four this winter. She was originally Pixie, then Prada. When we got her we couldn't think of a name for her so she was Puppy for a long time. She got the name Charley – even though she is a girl – because I loved the book Travels with Charley, by John Steinbeck. I travel around quite a bit; not the gypsy I used to be. Charley in that book was a black Standard Poodle. I don't think she is a poodle, but she has a fluffy, curly tail. Her mother looked like she could have had a little poodle or Portuguese water dog or something in her. I figured Charley would be traveling with me quite a bit so - travels with Charley. And that's how it is spelled in the book – C H A R L E Y. It's a fabulous book! It was written in the sixties, but still is so incredible.

A day in the life of Charley:

She has two types of days. Some days we get up pretty early and go right to the barn and Charley goes on trial rides, keeps an eye on the cats at the barn, and eats horse treats. She is a good farm dog. She keeps the cows out of the yard and the deer out of the garden.

Some days we get up and work on the computer, so she goes to the coffee shop with Tom or hangs out around the house. Charley likes to run errands at Wylie Wagg. She picks out her treats and we stock up on dinner. We take her on field trips. She loves water and swimming. We take her to the beach. She also likes to go skeet shooting. She went to her first skeet-shooting party when she was three or four months old. She was a little bit scared the very first time, but she got over it quickly and had a good time retrieving the clays. She is a party dog. In the evenings she goes to dinner around town. She likes to go to The Hunter's Head to order an organic dog dinner. She gets either a small or large dinner depending on whether or not she's had her actual dinner. Most often however, we go to The French Hound. We dine on the patio, outside the bar, at Mason's Table. She sits there and welcomes people. But then, she is welcome most places around town."