This is the story of Charlie, the chocolate Labrador, who inspired founders to create YuMOVE Joint Care.
John Davies one of the co-founders of Lintbells (who make YuMOVE products) was, along with his family, the owner of Charlie. Growing up John's parents had working collies and when he had a family of his own his, dogs were a natural part of his family too. This led to Tasha and then Charlie!
How Charlie came to be
“Charlie’s mum once ate a whole Christmas cake.”
Tasha, also a chocolate Lab was the first dog John introduced into his own family. She was Charlie’s mum, very gentle and a fantastic family dog. But like many Labs, she was a bit on the greedy side and one of her favourite things to do was to steal food in whatever way possible. Perhaps the best, and worst, example of this was when she ate a whole Christmas cake. As you can imagine this didn't go down to well and made her pretty ill, with an immediate trip to the vets!
Listen to the YuMOVE story
A mischievous puppy (like most!)
Tasha had a litter of six puppies, Charlie being the runt, making him even more endearing and the family decided to keep him. Despite being the smallest, he was very mischievous...some might say a little trouble maker. Even though he was small in size he was the first of the pups to jump out of the pen and escape.
He would do his best to sneak into the living room and jump straight onto the sofa. Of course, he wasn’t allowed in there but after many failed attempts the family gave up and he claimed one of the sofas as his own. Charlie was sprawled out in utter comfort on ‘his’ sofa, whilst the rest of the family would be crammed on the other sofas.
Running up hills is over-rated (we think so too!)
As you have heard Charlie was certainly a character, he loved to be around the family but he wasn’t a big fan of over-exertion.
Every morning, John would go out for a run with Charlie and Pippa, the family’s little Welsh Springer. John, Pippa and Charlie would head off down a Roman road near where they lived.
But when they came to a particular "dreaded" hill, Charlie immediately seemed to be over the morning run. He’d wait at the bottom of the roman road, in a shady spot, while John and Pippa ran up and down the hill. Charlie would then get up and rejoin them for the home stretch.
A back injury slows Charlie down
Charlie’s dislike of running wasn't just down to laziness, which is often what people seem to think when dogs become less interested in their daily walks. When he was nine, Charlie experienced a slipped disc in his back and that’s when things really changed for him. He was operated on at The Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital at Cambridge University, and it was a very slow recovery.
After his operation, Charlie was a lot less mobile. He couldn’t jump up on his favourite sofa, he’d struggle to get up from his bed and it was hard for him to walk across the slippery wooden floors at home.
This was of course distressing for the family and they knew he was in pain, but he couldn’t tell them what was hurting. Charlie's slightly lovable but sad face, now he looked even sadder.
The search for help
Every pet joint supplement on the market was tried with Charlie, nothing worked. He and John Howie had already started Lintbells and created YuMOVE Skin & Coat Care (previously YuDERM) but Charlie's experience helped inspire them to began their search for something that would help him move more easily.
Together, they looked at the different ingredients that were proven to support joint care. They discovered that Green-Lipped Mussels from New Zealand were something of a miracle ingredient, packed with Omega 3 which is known to soothe stiff joints.
They created a new formulation containing top-strength, high-quality Green-Lipped Mussel, Glucosamine and Hyaluronic Acid to help cushion the joints.
Charlie the guinea pig/dog
Charlie had previously been a guinea pig for YuMOVE Skin & Coat Care (of course, he wasn’t at any risk because it’s all made with natural ingredients) and now he showed the way in trying out this new formula, which would eventually become YuMOVE Joint Care.
The family first noticed a difference in Charlie after he’d been taking YuMOVE Joint Care (previously YuMOVE) for about six weeks. He was clearly very pleased with himself when he again suddenly jumped up on his favourite sofa. Everyone was extremely surprised, he hadn’t tried to get up on the sofa for ages!
After taking YuMOVE Joint Care, his mobility improved and he was able to go out for much longer walks again. (But he still used to wait at the bottom of that hill. His joints may have felt more comfortable, but he hadn’t had a change of personality!)
Helping 1,000,0000 dogs all over the world
Charlie was a much-loved member of the Davies family for 15 amazing years. He was already a special dog, but it’s extra special that he has the legacy of inspiring YuMOVE Joint Care. In a way, it’s surreal to think that a joint supplement developed for a family dog is now helping hundreds of thousands of dogs worldwide.
Does your dog have stiff joints?
If your dog is showing signs of stiffness like Charlie, check out the YuMOVE Joint Care range. It’s packed with ingredients that support long-term joint health and promote mobility, including the world’s top strength, cold-extracted ActivEase ® Green Lipped Mussel and Glucosamine for dogs.
Please note, as Charlie wasn't around during the smartphone era the above photos aren't actually of the beloved lab but we certainly think they accurately depict his personality! We hope you do too!
Do you have similar story to ours about Charlie? And do you have a cheeky, mischievous and slightly lazy lab? Share you stories and pictures with us on Facebook and Instagram.
