An American woman discovers her dog’s doppelganger at a shelter and makes the big decision to adopt him and bring him home. Danielle Geffel was deeply shocked the day she met the eyes of Charlie, an abandoned former shelter dog. Shocked and incredulous by the impressive resemblance of her four-legged with her little dog Barkley, Petit basset griffon vendéen, a small hound adopted 11 years ago after being recovered on the street by a policeman.
“He didn’t have a microchip, he wasn’t neutered and he didn’t know any commands, plus he was very dirty – Daniele Geffen tells The Dodo today – and yet… yet he was the happiest dog I’ve ever met before”. From his arrival home , Barkley immediately brought enormous happiness to his owners “To anyone who wants to adopt a four-legged, regardless of breed – he adds – I say to be patient with him and he will certainly be rewarded with interest”. And Danielle has made a sort of virtual diary of her daily life with Barkley, shared on social networks through photos, impressions and videos. There are over 10,000 followers on TikTok alone.
But let’s go back to the woman’s shocking encounter with the shelter dog. Danielle had just learned that there was a dog, at the Maryland Spca, that needed urgent rescue through adoption. As a generous woman as she has always been, she jumped in the car and flew to the shelter. Here, as mentioned, love at first sight for the guest dog, the perfect double of her Barkley. She didn’t think twice. “You might look like her brother, he looks so much like him-she said to herself-and my dream has always been to have another Barkley”.
So she immediately inquired about the origin, learning that the little dog, called Charlie, had been entrusted to the shelter following the divorce of its owners. Not only had he been emotionally drained and scarred by the loss of the only family he had ever known but, unfortunately for him, he also suffered from health problems. Charlie spent most of his time locked up in a cage: at least 16 hours a day. His body was covered in scabs and his ears were infected. Luckily, thanks to Danielle, his ordeal was bound to come to an end.
A few hours after the fateful encounter, Charlie was already at Danielle’s house. “He still needs a lot of work and great care and attention, but he has so much love to give that we are very happy to be able to do all this for him”, points out the woman. She continues to be struck by the enormous similarity, physical and character of his two dogs. “In addition to having exactly the same weight, both have an identical coat, white and yellow, the same front legs and the same way of smiling and wagging their tails”, he points out.
Only two small differences: Charlie is a few inches taller and his ears are smaller than Barkley’s. “But from behind it is almost impossible to distinguish them – he adds – at the beginning we were a little worried that Charlie could be too rough and energetic towards Barkley, who suffers from arthritis: luckily we were wrong”.
The new couple is already very close: they run and play together in the courtyard, sharing toys and even cuddling each other. With them there is also Frankie, handsome and nice Corgi. Charlie, estimated to be between 2 and 3 years old, is a Wirehaired terrier mix.
