Thank you for posing the question. The black-and-white photo I have in my article shows Charley in the same light as your “findagrave” photograph. The woman who wrote in the comments section about meeting Charley describes him as “charcoal.” This would fit with the black-and-white photographs. But I agree with you that the second photograph on http://www.findagrave.com posted by Donald Greyfield makes him appear a red or brown tone. My guess is that he probably was charcoal in color but the light in that photograph makes the coloring different. I really don’t know!
Thanks for writing.

Wow! That’s an amazing story. I think your though process is very good. Even good-sized poodles can probably make it to 12 or 13. At any rate, you did a REALLY good deed for the pet sitter, and any owner would be glad to get their dog back. Today most dogs have chips, thank goodness.

Thus, began my story.

The dog was huge; a standard poodle with what I thought was a charcoal colored coat. I later learned that it was mostly just an aged coat. I knew immediately that this was someone’s special dog because, even without any ID, he did have a fine, black leather collar studded with chunks of turquoise. Real turquoise. To keep the friendly boy off our busy streets, I took him home.

Now, my home was a dog-loving home (cats need not apply) so bringing this happy boy home was nothing new. After introductions, I immediately got down to business making a call to our local newspaper to place a Lost and Found ad. Meanwhile, my parents kept all in order as the newcomer and our three Irish Setters went about sniffing each other…thoroughly. Later, while giving the dirty poodle a bath, my mother discovered a large, angry-looking swelling on his shoulder. Without hesitation, a call was made to our vet and the dog was in his office within the hour.

Dr. Henry Boerenko had been our vet for years and found nothing unusual about my family rescuing foundlings. He thoroughly examined the dog and then probed the swollen mass. Dr. B said this was an older dog and that it appeared that he had been in a fight. There were several smaller puncture wounds, but the mass on the shoulder was a serious wound that had developed into an abscess. It would require surgery with a drainage tube put in for frequent post-operative flushings. The surgery was scheduled for the following morning with the understanding that our now costly dog would remain hospitalized overnight.

The morning came and our new poodle happily trotted to the car and was delivered to Dr. Boerenko. The day went by without excitement, but I was nervous, nonetheless. Finally, we received the call that all had gone well and that we could pick up our mystery boy the following morning.

Later that afternoon, our newspaper was delivered and I immediately checked to see if the Lost and Found ad had made it to print. Yes, it had and a of couple hours later, the phone rang. The voice on the other end sounded anxious but, after identifying the turquoise studded collar (which I deliberately had omitted from the ad), a sigh of relief was heard. I proceeded to tell him of his dog’s injuries and that he was recovering from surgery. My caller was relieved that we had seen to the dog’s medical needs, but he corrected me that it was not his dog. The real owner was John Steinbeck and he was just babysitting for the famed author. Oh, and the dog’s name was Charley.

Charley, as in TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY!

We never saw our celebrity again. Charley was picked up the next morning and, hopefully, went on to be reunited with his owner/best friend. I never verified that Charley was THE CHARLEY, but I like to think that he was. If, indeed, all this was true, the dog I found would have been somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 to 15 years of age. I know, that’s asking a lot.