Patriot story: Charles and Sophie

Charles is a retired Air Force veteran living in rural Tennessee. In March 2015 he honorably adopted Sophie (then named Sandy, and subsequently renamed Patsy before a final renaming to Sophie), a then five year-old Chihuahua mix, through our partnership with Blount County Humane Society. **NOTE: we have enough photos for this story; none additional are needed**

• Assignment goal is to synthesize the information provided by the member patriot into a compelling story
• It is not necessary to tell the veteran's story in the order that s/he provided the information unless that is the best way to tell the story
• It is not necessary to use all the quotes provided
• You may make minor adjustments to the quotes only to correct for grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.
• Punctuation always resides inside the quote marks, e.g., "like this," and not "like this",
• Close the story with a compelling call to action or question based upon the story's narrative and place in italics at the end, e.g., What are you more willing and able to do now that you have a pet in your life?

Pet's Name
	Sophie
A little about me
	Retired three kids three grandkids.Trying to keep my 86 Corvette running. Worked part time as a delivery driver/counter person for NAPA auto parts until my back surgery.;
My military experiences
	Joined the Tn Air Guard right out of high school in 1969 and went to work as a full time technician in 1973. Deployed to Germany Spain Guam Saudi France and Turkey. I retired in 2006 as E-9 aircraft maintenance supervisor.
My most memorable experience from my time in service
	I had always heard that if you like your job you never work a day in your life and I can honestly say that working on and around military aircraft was a dream come true for me for all thirty six years.
Why I chose to adopt a pet
	I have always loved dogs and especially rescues. I lost my best friend Munchie in Jan of this year to what the vet said was a spinal stroke after twelve great years. I have loved all my pets but Munchie and I had a very special bond and I felt that in his honor another rescue was in order not to mention a bad case of lonely.
Why I chose to adopt through Pets for Patriots
	A good friend worked as a volunteer for the local animal rescue and told me I should look into it when I was ready.
How my honorably adopted pet has changed my life
	Sophie is my constant companion. She loves laying beside me in my recliner getting a belly rub while watching T.V. She is laying in my lap under the tray table right now as I am writing this trying her best to get between me and the computer.
What I love most about my new pet friend
	I love having her sitting on the console while I work on the vette and curling up in bed at night and petting her while watching T.V. There is nothing more relaxing. I will never forget how Sophie adopted me. I went to the shelter on a Wednesday and saw her while there but she was so scared she would not even come out of her cage even for a treat. When I returned on Saturday a volunteer was holding her in the foyer and when she saw me sit down she came over and climbed in my lap so I think she adopted me.
What I would tell other veterans or service members who might be thinking about adopting through Pets for Patriots
	There is nothing better than looking into your pets eyes and seeing the unconditional love they have for you and a rescued pet seems to be even more loving. They need us as much as we need them. I just can't describe what joy a loving pet can bring.

From post-adoption follow ups: Sophie and I are doing wonderful. She has a new red collar with silver paw prints and a new tag that reads "Who adopted whom" it couldn't be more appropriate. We are doing fantastic. She is now named Sophie as Patsy just didn't seem to fit. She is my constant companion and likes nothing better than laying beside me in my recliner getting a belly rub while we are watching TV. My wife says that if I leave to go to the store she paces and whines or lays and looks out the window. I have never had a more dedicated friend, Thank you so much for helping us get together. Charlie M From the shelter staff upon the dog's adoption: This little 5 yrs old finally came out of her kennel to sit on a chair at the front desk. When disabled AF Chief came in and sat across ghe room with a Volunteer Sandy jumped off her chair ran over jumped up on the Volunteer and made her way over to the Chief's lap. She picked her adopter! Update Charlie and his Grand daughter changed her name to Patsy. Patsy discovered she loves riding with her new Dad on his motorized wheel chair. She gets along with her other fur siblings well! But most of all, she loves cuddling and is glued to her new Dad. I think this is our most perfect match to date!