Charlie Jaech

Charles Waker Jaech of Seattle, Washington passed away on December 22, 2024, at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 23 days.

A Weimaraner, Charlie was born on February 27, 2014, in Yosemite Lakes, California, and five weeks later was adopted into the Jaech family.

For almost three years, Charlie and his first human, Scout, lived in Texas without the other two humans, but he didn't forget them. When Jeff and Rebecca came to visit, Charlie was so excited that he launched himself at them with his untrimmed paws and ended up leaving a scar right above his favorite human's (Rebecca’s) heart.

Charlie had the exact same hobbies as Scout. They were, in this order: eating (anything), going for walks, and napping. He preferred rambles in off-leash parks, and his favorite places to walk were Walnut Creek Park in Austin, Texas; Fort Funston in San Francisco, California; and Woodward Park in Fresno, California.

He loved playing with water—especially hose water. But, a poor swimmer, he hated showers and had to be coerced into going swimming in the pool.

Charlie taught himself to play fetch as a puppy, and he liked to destroy stuffed toys. He stole blankets, even ones that were still in the process of being made (one human is a quilter) and knew how to tuck himself in to his own bed.

As a puppy and young dog, he loved to hunt bugs, and when he lived in Texas, he hunted frogs any time it rained. He’d catch them in his mouth and then immediately freeze to try to hide it, because he knew he wasn't supposed to eat them.

He loved rolling in anything outside, including sand and grass, and especially mud and wood chips.

Despite being raised without a schedule, Charlie loved routine and did not like any deviation whatsoever. He moved around the house on an internal clock, sitting with specific family members at specific times. Incredibly skilled at communicating his wants, Charlie insisted on eating dinner promptly at 4 p.m. Toward the end of his life, he began requesting specific treats by nudging the bag of the one he wanted.

Charlie was a beautiful dog, with expressive eyebrows, and he knew it. He posed for pictures, and once when he caught a squirrel, he refused to put it down until his picture was taken with it.

He was curious and friendly and pure. He had the softest ears in the world.

Charlie was more of a people person than a dog person, and he loved every human he met. He liked going to the airport to pick up family members. He disliked being left home and, if alone, would destroy something and feel no guilt or shame about it.

Though he hated German Shepards, he loved horses and deer, and play-bowed every time he saw deer.

In late 2019, Charlie got very sick. He was eventually diagnosed with Valley Fever. He received care and treatment at UC Davis, but he reached a point where nobody expected him to survive. His humans did their best to make him comfortable at home, but he surprised everyone and recovered. Medically complex until his passing, he lived the rest of his life with Valley Fever. Even years after his treatment had ended, the vets who worked with him in Davis would catch sight of him coming in for a checkup and say, “Is that our Char-bear!?”

Charlie was preceded in death by his brother Henry, a Vizsla, and his grandfather Pop, who was the only person allowed to ignore his diet and feed him beef jerky straight from the bag. Both passed in 2022.

Charlie is survived by his three humans: Scout, Rebecca, and Jeff Jaech of Seattle, Washington; his favorite person, Paul the Pooper Scooper of Fresno, California; and the veterinarian who saved his life, Emmelyn Hsieh of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.