Meet Mr. Charles Mize and Ms. Tu, Homeward Bound’s Pet Family of the Month for April 2015! Charles grew up in Oxford and settled with his bride Susan in the College Hill area back when College Hill was way out yonder from Oxford. They shared their rural home with multiple pets over the years, including a Sheltie, a cat, and a blind Cocker Spaniel and a Laso named Bailey. Charles also raised Pugs at one time and owned a Pug that he and a professional dog handler showed to Champion status. But one little Lhasa Apso, ‘rescued’ from a flea market, captured a special place in their hearts. The puppy appeared to be terribly afraid of men and the Mizes suspected she had been abused. They just couldn’t leave the market without her. Susan named her Bailey after Bailey’s Woods on the William Faulkner place. Bailey, and her favorite green frog toy, was with the Mize family for almost fifteen years.
Charles’ sweethearts Susan and Bailey are both gone now, but their spirits live on in ‘Bailey Tu’, his current Lhasa Apso in residence, and life partner. Charles and Susan rescued her from a dark trailer outside of Memphis in 2001. Susan named her after their original Bailey, using a short and cute version of ‘Bailey Number Two’ by simply calling her ‘Tu’.
As a young dog, Tu was a hunter. She would run anything on the Mize property: deer, a cat, any kind of critter. She showed an early determination to have her way and made it clear that she preferred to be in the same room with her folks by making a mess of a utility room off the kitchen and the dutch door that separated her from them.
Today, Charles and Tu enjoy life in the Emeritus community, where Tu spends most of the day with Charles in the living room where she can look out the window and see all the comings and goings at the front door. The pair is quite well known around Emeritus, although Charles claims most people know him only as ‘Tu’s Daddy’. It’s true, when Homeward Bound Nannies take Tu for walks – especially when she’s sporting one of her coats – they are stopped by many of the staff and residents who enjoy visiting with Tu and being on the receiving end of her charming snaggle-tooth grin. Despite all the attention from others, Tu only has eyes for Charles. She prefers home with a snack or three and the comfort of the living room recliner where there’s just enough room for the two of them.