Charlie was born in the High Arctic in a world of snow, ice and polar bears. He had no name, was fed frozen seal meat twice a week and chewed ice for water and lived out on the sea ice. He was owned by an Inuit polar bear hunter. This large, black, Canadian Eskimo Husky is a lovable, gentle dog who lived the life of a typical arctic husky, except for one thing......he was trained to alert humans to polar bears!
      When Helen Thayer, the first woman to walk solo to the magnetic North Pole, decided to walk alone to the Pole at age 50 she knew she would meet polar bears.
      Helen bought Charlie from the Inuit to warn her of the many polar bears she would meet face to face throughout her journey.
      Charlie traveled at Helen's side for 364 miles all the way to the Pole. He warned her many times of approaching bears and saved her life from one that attacked. He quickly learned to love the first human to call him by name.
      At journey's end Charlie returned with Helen to her home in Snohomish, Washington. Helen helped him adapt to a brand new world of grass, trees, flowers and rain. He was quickly introduced to the other three dogs, the family cat and 5 goats. Here he enjoyed life to a ripe old age.
      Charlie is the co-star of Helen's best selling book titled "Polar Dream" which Helen wrote about their adventures to the magnetic North Pole. He was loved by everyone who met him.
      Charlie was also the star of the 1994 wolf study in which Charlie, Bill and Helen walked 600 miles across the Canadian Arctic above the Arctic Circle to live beside a den of wild wolves in a unique study of the life of a wolf family in the true wild. Helen is writing a book about their experiences.
      Charlie was indeed a very special dog.