We’re not shy about our love for dogs here at ITS. They’re in our office, on our blog, and across our social media accounts. One dog in particular pops up often—his silhouette is on our famous ITS T-shirts—but he hasn’t had a formal introduction yet. His name is Charlie, and he’s one of ITS’s very own. We want to tell his story, which happens to be a story shared by several of our ITS dogs.
One freezing November day, Pat and Lisa Ward (our president and COO, respectively) were at their cabin in West Virginia. They discovered that a neighbor’s dog had given birth to puppies. The puppies were stacked on top of each other huddled for warmth, and Pat and Lisa knew they weren’t leaving without one.
It turns out it wasn’t just one—they eventually took and placed six of the puppies (two remained). Pat and Lisa adopted Charlie, and they found fur-ever homes for each of his littermates, some of whom went to ITS team members. Over the years, Pat and Lisa have helped 35 puppies, all related, find their owners both within our ITS community and beyond. Many of those puppies (now grown-up dogs) still work at ITS today, including Dagger, Raven, Theo, Max, and Zoey. Our office’s daily Puppy Playtime is one big family reunion.
Charlie wasn’t the first ITS dog—and he certainly wasn’t the last—but his friendly face made him the perfect choice for our mascot. At 145 pounds, he’s the largest dog in the office, but he’s also the quintessential gentle giant. A lab-rottweiler mix, he’s charming with adults and nurturing with kids. He’s a natural leader who’s earned the nickname “King Charlie.”
His official ITS portrait was the inspiration for the graphic that appears on our company swag. Now when you see it, we welcome you to call him Charlie.
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