Woof, we're Charlie and Millie

Charlie, our resident Ravenclaw, is an Australian shepherd who thrives on both physical and mental challenges. She delights in road trips, is a whiz at frisbee, absolutely loves to show off for an audience, and will do anything for top-notch snacks! Charlie has lived in Utah, Ontario, and now California. She has travelled by car and plane, and although she has loved ones in multiple places, California has stolen her heart! The literal moment we crossed the state line on our drive here from New York, she could smell the Sierras and was MEGA excited, having visited only once as a puppy. She couldn’t settle down until we got to a local dog park in the Bay Area three hours later lol.

This creative genius has boundless energy, but that energy is typically reserved for after 10-11am. She earned the nickname “Grumble Bean” for getting really grumpy with puppy Millie’s energetic nonsense way too early in the morning. As Charlie’s aging, she seems to love slow mornings more, she likes taking the time to wake up now! Unless she gets to go for a morning walk or hammock, she stays under the bed grunting at pestering Millie until she’s ready to greet the day!

Once she’s up, Charlie is always teaching herself new tricks, like her latest “double wave,” purely out of desperation for treats. She has also been learning to play beach volleyball with us and her current high score is 3 rallies back and forth!! Proudest pet parents over here and it’s only going to get better from here 🙌🏼

When Charlie isn’t camping or otherwise conquering the great outdoors, she LOVES to unwind by watching her favourite shows and movies like Avatar The Last Airbender, Korra, Moana, and Shrek. We watch Avatar and Korra so often that Bryce and I finally decided to switch things up and watch the Italian versions. At least this way we get some language study in! Of course the experience isn’t complete until Charlie peacefully dozes off with a ball in her mouth and legs fully stretched back like a little bear rug.

If anyone has suggestions for TV shows, feel free to let us know on Instagram!

Sweet and sensitive, Millie is our mischievous Hufflepuff who might dip her toes into a bit of assholery before love and fairness triumph in the end. Born and raised in California, she made our lives more complete the moment she arrived. Millie refuses to be anywhere without her family together, if we’re nearby but not physically together, she won’t stop herding us until we are! Like any border collie, she is wicked intelligent and strategic, “work smarter, not harder” is her main motto! Millie also loves stealing Charlie’s favourite toys just to get under her skin or to take back a ball Charlie stole by making her jealous. Who knew we’d end up teaching our dogs about empathy and manipulation? But here we are… borders gotta bord 😂

This sassy and goofy girl is all about comfort, whether it’s her memory foam beds, pillows or hammocking, which has now become a weekend ritual. If Millie doesn’t get her hammock time, she throws a full-on tantrum. Spoilt? Absolutely. But with her charm, who can resist?! She’ll ask to be swung and sleep there for hours, even trying to swing herself sometimes. Her experience wouldn’t be complete without a pillow, blanket, and music or Harry Potter audiobooks playing in the background. Like we said, spoilt AF.

Millie thrives outdoors with her humans, whether playing hard, diving fully under water to grab a toy, walking, vacationing, or hiking.. provided Bryce will pick her up or she can hop into the wagon when she’s ready to collapse! Her first camping trip was quite the adventure, she looked like a deer in headlights approaching the tent, then flew back into the car and refused to leave until she had no choice. By the end of the trip, she was hooked and now eagerly hops out of the car excited to explore the campsite!

Millie loves using her brain. She’s been catching frisbees like a pro since she was 3.5 months old and has a knack for solving puzzles, even naming and finding her toys. Millie looks forward to her favourite daily routines including morning fish oil and nightly dark snackums, followed by taking her role as the middle spoon between us very seriously!