Carter July 4, 1997 - November 9, 2009

September 1997

Carter was the first Male we added to our family full of females. You think my Dad would have been so happy! He wasn't. My older sister Bree brought home this dog that was given to her by a friend of a friend. Well that friend of a friend got him in front of Walmart. He was so energetic. I remember her bringing him home and boy did I think she was in trouble. If I remember right my dad was not very happy. Bree was known for not asking or doing the opposite of what she was told so it probably wasn't too much of a surprise to him. He was an "outdoor" dog for quite a while. Many nights Bree would sneak him in through her window and let him sleep in her bed...eventually he became an indoor dog. I think he actually thought he was human. He thought he should have people food, should sit on the couch and he actually wasn't too fond of other dogs. After not much time he stole my Dad's heart and became HIS dog.

A fond memory from his "puppy years" was the time I was down in my room scrapbooking. Carter came running down the stairs and just stood in my room. Before I knew it he was squatting down and took a nice big poop on top of my scrapbook page. Luckily it was a scrapbook page that had a page protector on it!

Carter loved to give kisses and loved the warmth. He loved to lay by the hot hot fireplace and in the summertime loved to lay in the warm sun. If there were ever any light shining through a window or sliding glass door. He was in front of it soaking up the sun.

Carter became a big part of our family. After moving to Phoenix, when I would come visit, every once in a while we would be outside my neice Tasia would introduce the dog to her friends by saying, "This is my uncle Carter and his sister Kami." He was like a brother to me, the brother I never had.

Another funny thing about Carter was his love for my Mom's couches. If you even gave him the hint to jump up and lay by you he would do it in a heartbeat, fully knowing if Mom or Dad saw he was in trouble! When my parents would leave the house they would set up a fort so he couldn't get up on the couch especially the cloth ones because his hair would stick to it. Well sure enough they would get home and there would almost always be a nice warm spot on the couch and some hair...and sometimes a few pillows knocked off to make room for him.

He also loved to eat just about anything and he could catch anything in his mouth you threw at him, Cheerios, any kind of cereal, he even liked popcorn too. Every morning he got to drink the milk out of the cereal bowls. And sometimes we would come home to trash strewn across the upstairs. You could never leave something tempting in the garbage can. I remember a couple times a flavored bread or cookies got left up on the counter. Well you can only imagine what we came home to.

He was well known throughout the neighborhood. He sat on the lawn like a lion statue and waited for birds to land on the grass. He guarded the grass with his life. Making sure no birds stepped foot on it.

As a puppy, I along with my sisters did some funny things to him, painted his nails, dressed him up in clothes, and his ears were so long that I would pull them up on top of his head and tie a scrunchy around them.

When I moved to Phoenix I missed having a dog. Ryan was gone to work alot and I needed someone to keep me company. That's when we decided to get CJ. CJ stands for Carter Junior.

Carter was such a great dog. He was the Williams family dog. We are going to miss him soo much. We weren't sure of his birth date but we knew it was in July, so we said his birthday was on July 4th. As the years went by and as I visited back home over time I watched his brown spots get more white.

I knew that eventually this day would come, especially since we found out that he had cancer in his throat. The only thing that makes me feel better about Carter not being here with us anymore is that he isn't in any more pain. And also that he is up in heaven with Kooper. Kooper now has a dog. I told Kade that Carter was going up to heaven to live with Kooper and his response was, "Awesome!" I don't think he fully understands and I am sure when we go visit my parents next he will be looking for Carter.

I am sad that I can't find one of my favorite pictures of Carter. It is of My Dad asleep with Carter and CJ.

We will miss you Carterboy! Keep my little monkey company and give him lots of kisses!