Julija Kolpakowa and Daniel Drzewiecki’s dog Charlie had always been a curious yet cute dog. Sitting in their living room watching a video they secretly recorded earlier in the day, the couple lets out a gasp as the events of the video unfolded right before their eyes. With the sun creeping through the blinds, the couple look at each other, before turning to Charlie who was sat with his tail wagging and his tongue hanging out his mouth.
“How did this happen?” The couple thought.
Originally from Lithuania, Julija and Daniel moved to Ennis, Ireland a few years ago. Armed with two suitcases and a bucketful of determination, the couple settled in well in their new town. They were avid members of their community and often spent their Friday nights down at the local pub.
But as they lived their lives in their small, but cozy semi-detached house, they knew something was missing from the family.
“Let’s just do it!” Daniel said to his wife. They were currently standing overlooking a room full of dogs at a farm just 10 minutes away from their home. Julija was hesitant at first, but then she laid her eyes on a gorgeous beagle who was wagging its tail at the couple. “Ok!” She replied, with a smile plastered on her face.
Driving back to their home with their new dog in the back, the couple turned to their new family member. “Let’s call him Charlie,” Daniel said, before smiling at Julija.
As soon as Charlie set his paw into his new home, his owners knew they needed to train him. He was an excited puppy, to say the least, and often spent his days running up and down the living room. The responsible owners were determined to train him to complete numerous household tasks and they managed to do this. From fetching a remote control or beer to shutting cabinets, Charlie was a clever little dog, who lit up a room wherever he was.
But little did Charlie know, he’d soon have some competition.
As Julija, David, and Charlie all sat on the sofa, snuggled up in a fluffy throw, Julija thought to herself, “this is the life!” It had been a few months since the couple brought Charlie home and they were astounded with his progress! He was probably one of the cleverest and sweetest dogs they had ever met.
But then one day something happened. Something that would turn their household upside down.
Rushing through the front door, Julija screams out to Daniel. “Quick, quick! Come down here!” Running down the stairs, his heart beating like a drum, Daniel bursts into the living room to find his partner standing with her back to him. “You never guess what,” she whispers.
“What’s happened,” Daniel asks. Julija turns around to face her partner and lets out a sigh before revealing the truth.
It turned out that Julija was, in fact, pregnant! The couple were overjoyed with the news and spent the night celebrating by going out for a meal at their local Italian resultant. The couple was ecstatic, they had been wanting a child for a while now, so they were relieved and excited that it would finally be happening. As they arrived back at their home from their celebratory meal, Charlie came racing toward them, his tail wagging, excited to see his owners.
But then, suddenly, the couple looked at each other and pause.
The couple was anxious and worried about how the family dynamic would change once their baby had arrived. Would Charlie take to his new brother or sister? Or would he become jealous? Hundreds of questions ran through the couple’s mind.
Daniel knew he had to something. It was for the sake of his family after all.
Daniel decided to train Charlie to help look after the baby in order to stop him from feeling left out. Charlie wasn’t exactly a jealous dog, but he did like the attention the majority of the time and loved making people smile and laugh at his silly tricks.
And so, after 9 long months, it was time for Charlie’s new skills to be put to the test.
It was a cold and dark winter evening when the couple’s daughter, Laura arrived. After 13 hours of labor, Julija was excited to be going back home with the newest addition to their family.
Daniel wasted no time introducing Laura to Charlie and within a matter of months, the couple saw something that they never expected.
Arriving back at their home, with their newborn baby, Charlie frantically wags his tail at his new sister. Daniel places his daughter on a mat and both him and Julija sit back and watch as Charlie slowly but surely makes his way over to the baby.
Little did they know what Charlie would get up to.
By the time Laura was a mere few months old, Charlie had pretty much become a part-time nanny for the blue-eyed baby. He was helping out with pretty much all parental tasks, from changing her diapers and fetching her blanket.
Looking back in amazement, the couple revealed in happiness at how well they were getting on. But they still had one question they needed answering.
Julija and Daniel still hadn’t left Laura alone with Charlie. Either Julija had been in the kitchen or Daniel was sitting watching TV while his daughter and dog played together. So because of this, they wondered if Charlie was only helping out because he wanted to please them, or because had genuine love and affection for his “sister”.
The couple knew what exactly what to do.
Deciding to test Charlie’s dedication, the couple purchased a camera and set it up to see how Charlie would behave when left alone with Laura. Stepping back from their parental responsibilities, the couple waited upstairs while the camera downstairs filmed their daughter and dog.
Sitting anxiously at the end of their bed, Julija and Daniel knew they would soon have answers.
A day later, the couple was sat watching the footage while Laura was having a nap, and Charlie was eating his lunch. Pressing play on the video, the couple sat back and took a deep breath. The footage showed Charlie playing a keyboard to entertain his sister and even rocking her to sleep!
Julija and Daniel were amazed! Charlie really was a model student of everything his dad taught him! Little did the couple know that there would be more people amazed by their cute canine
