Saturday Snapshot: Charlie Water Carter

No bookish movie news in this post - this is Charlie, our beagle. Russell just took these shots and I couldn't resist posting them for the Saturday Snapshot meme.
We got Charlie from a beagle shelter when Russell was 8 and Charlie was just seven months old. He came with the name Charlie so Russell gave him his middle name, Water. Russell's a young man of twenty now and can't for the life of him remember what he was thinking, and Charlie, well he's mellowed into a lovely old man. Mostly.
Charlie came from a broken home; his owners had divorced and neither party took custody of Charlie, instead they gave the puppy up for adoption.
We think that's why he's had separation anxiety his whole life; before we learned to calm him with a citronella collar he would totally freak out when we left him alone.
Once I came home to find he'd dug his way into the drywall by the front door, trying to escape or trying to find us. It was a fair amount of damage but the worst part was the gash he'd given his leg. To keep him safe and contained, we tried a large dog crate which we put on the living room floor. We returned to find he hadn't escaped, and he hadn't hurt himself. BUT he had managed to slide the plastic liner out the bottom of the cage revealing the carpet. He dug through the carpet (wall to wall) and the padding beneath it until he hit the foundation. If it had been a bit more porous he might have made it to China!
We tried all the tricks including doggy downers but neither MLH or me wanted to leave him sluggish every time we left the house. Finally, one of the dog trainers we'd talked with suggested the citronella collar and that does the trick. He doesn't bark, and on the surface at least he stays calm, calm enough anyway not to hurt himself or the house.
That's our Charlie and frankly he's a major pain but we love him. Look at that face - wouldn't you?