Charlie and owners Will and Melissa Schwing. Photography by Jessica Turner.

CHARLIE WAKES UP every morning ready for a hard day’s work.

“In the mornings Will grabs his briefcase or his bag and the minute he hears that, he pops up and runs over. He loves going to work every day,” says owner Melissa Schwing.   

He goes to work with his dad, Will Schwing, who works in animal health.

The couple says the 10-year-old has around five or six dog friends that go to work as well. He’s very sociable with them and loves to play, but he was not always like this.

“Most people say the first six months that we had him versus now is two totally different dogs,” says Will.

The couple adopted him when he was anywhere from 1.5 to 3 years old, and his timid nature was noticeable.

Charlie was a rescue, and they do not know much about his background. They speculate that he was used for breeding and given up when it was discovered that he had cataracts.

Originally, Will attended an adopting event to find a specific dog he liked but discovered the dog was already adopted. Then, he came across Charlie. He sent Melissa a photo, and they instantly knew he was going to be a new member of their family.

“I feel like Charlie picked us,” says Melissa.

They worked to socialize Charlie and eventually his timid nature went away. Now, he loves being with people.

Charlie might be an older dog, but he is a newcomer to the neighborhood. The Schwings recently moved to Preston Hollow and decided to enter Charlie into the Advocate Puppy Photo Contest.

To their surprise, he won.

“As new neighbors, it felt really welcoming to win,” says Will.

“It was really exciting and a way to be even more present in our new neighborhood. I think it’s a big deal for Charlie too,” says Melissa.

Read more about our Preston Hollow pets here.