A new book teaches children about adoption through the experience of a 10-year-old dog who lived in a California hotel before finding his forever home in 2016.
Pomeranian Charlie, now 18, was at a hotel in Palm Springs, California when his owner Lara Eurdolian King met him on vacation, she told Good morning America in the interview. The dog lived in the hotel lobby through a pet adoption program that allowed one dog at a time to live in the hotel until they found a forever home and the new dog moved in, the host and entrepreneur explained.
King took a liking to Charlie and began walking him every day to get to know him – his situation saddened her as older dogs are harder to save. She ended up falling in love with him.
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“To be honest, it just broke my heart to see him live there … he was the longest-tenured dog in the program,” King said. “He didn’t look as fluffy and healthy as he does today at 18, but I knew we could fix that or at least give him a very comfortable and loving life.”
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Charlie the Pomeranian.
Roy Rochlin/Getty
Eight years later, Charlie’s fur looks a lot like his life, and he’s taken on a new role as the muse for King’s new book, Charlie at Pom Springs Hotel.
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The book tells Charlie’s real-life story of how he was a de facto hotel tour guide who befriended other animals on the property (such as turtles, swans, ducks and bunnies) but longed for a forever home.
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King said that in the book, Charlie is “happy” but feels he misses his family.
“Spoiler alert, he gets his wish,” King said GMAadding that the purpose of the book is to teach all types of families, including children who have been adopted and parents who want to teach their children about the concept, that adoption is a “happy way” to find a forever family.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education