TulsaPets Magazine May 2022

34 TulsaPets • May/June 2022 Welcome to Charlie’s World Ziegler Shop Dog Brightens Arts Area by Jennie Lloyd | Photo by Cindy Alvarez T o step into Ziegler Art & Frame at 6 North Lewis is to fall headfirst into a labyrinthine emporium bursting with all things art. You can get lost in the maze of rooms filled to the brim with art supplies, gifts, paintings, flowers, candles, frames … and Charlie the shop dog. She is a petite 10-year-old Sharpei-Corgi mix who will likely trot over to welcome you to her wonderful art world. You are more likely to meet Charlie in the mornings, when she’s more feisty. She might shake her paw for you. That does not mean hello, although she is the store’s official greeter. No, she ’s trained to shake hands for treats — she would like a little snack, please. Trent Morrow, Charlie’s human and the third-generation owner of Ziegler, says, “Shake, I think, is about the first thing I taught her when I got her as a puppy. She always knows she gets treats if she shakes. She often just goes up to strangers and starts lifting her paw like, ‘Here! I’m shaking! Give me something.’ They don’t know what’s going on, they just think, ‘Aww, look at her paw, she’s so cute.’ ” Charlie rests on a white rug near Morrow but perks her ears up at the word treat . “I’ll give you some in a minute,” Morrow says with a laugh. Keeping People Happy Charlie is gentle and curious, mild-man- nered and polite. Her wide, sweet face wrinkles charmingly at the brow, and her brown eyes are infused with sunlight. She has the characteristic Sharpei eggplant-pur- ple tongue and a stout Corgi body. Even after a decade, Charlie still “has the forever-puppy face,” Morrow says. Her deep onyx fur has no trace of gray. She is a quick runner and is adamant about daily walks, no exceptions. “She has her bursts of excitement, but they are shorter bursts than they used to be,” Morrow says. Charlie’s composure makes her a top- shelf shop dog. “She just kind of under- stands what it takes to keep people happy and be nice to people. She has a real sense for people. She is definitely the highlight of certain people’s trips down here. I have customers who almost only come in here to see her,” Morrow says. Ziegler’s employees have grown to count on her too. “She keeps everybody happy, keeps us all in a better mood,” Morrow says. When Charlie isn’t able to come in to the store for whatever reason, “People start getting downcast and saying, ‘We miss our Charlie,’ ” Morrow says. Charlie has become another iconic part of the Ziegler tradition of arts and framing excellence dating back decades. Morrow is owner of the flagship Kendall-Whittier neighborhood store. He grew up working with his dad and two uncles. “We love working here, Charlie and I both,” he says. A Burgeoning District Next summer will mark a half century since Ziegler opened at Admiral Boulevard and Lewis Avenue. But long before Ken- dall-Whittier became a burgeoning arts district, Ziegler “was in a part of town that nobody wanted to be in,” Morrow says of his childhood growing up in the shop. So for the past seven years, he has worked hard with the rest of the Kendall-Whit- tier Main Street board to effectively turn the neighborhood around. “We had some pretty sketchy places in, and we’ve kind of moved all of that out and brought desirable businesses in, and it’s turned into a real arts neighborhood,” he says. PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE