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As is so often the case when a family knows their dog is going to the rainbow bridge, the Navid family set out to make their beloved dog Charlie’s final day one to remember.
Kevin Navid laughed, remembering the day they brought Charlie home.
“She threw up on my wife twice, and we thought that was pretty funny,” Kevin told WFAA reporters.
But just as the Navids took care of Charlie, she took care of them, too. Charlie was by Penny Navid’s side years later, licking her bald head as she battled a breast cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy.
“She knew something was going on, and she took care of my wife,” Kevin said.
This week, the Navids received the devastating news that Charlie had a brain tumor. And they made the tough decision to send her gently to the Rainbow Bridge. But they were determined to make her last day one of her best.
Though she was never was a K-9 like so many of her German shepherd brethren, Kevin always thought she’d make a great officer. He even tried to train her when she was young, using YouTube videos.
On Charlie’s last day, the family took her to get all kinds of fun food for her to enjoy: a burger, ice cream, a rib-eye steak. And then, they took her to the park, where they saw a police officer. They couldn’t pass up an opportunity to take a picture.
He was happy to comply and shared the photo on Facebook, dubbing Charlie the department’s newest K-9 officer, fulfilling a lifelong dream for the Navid family.
“When I saw those photos I just thought there is my Charlie. She’s a K-9 officer all these years later,” Kevin said.
The officer in the photo was Jim Bryan. He says he was just doing his job and was happy to take a photo.
“I believe things happen for a reason,” Bryan said.
But the family said running into him during Charlie’s final hours meant more than anyone will ever know. After a full meal, and a walk in the park with her family, Charlie was honored as an officer, then went on to rest in peace.
