Fritz

You Will Not Believe This!

Do you all remember last spring when my old laptop computer died just as the warranty on it had expired? I was told that nothing could be done. The computer was dead. However I was told that the hard drive was fine, it was a memory chip problem. I thought that in time I would have the hard drive put into an external box to use for back up.

But when I got my new laptop, I just forgot the old one until the other day when Hubby’s laptop became infected with viruses. I was still pretty angry at how I had been treated at the old computer repair shop, so I had taken Hubby’s computer to a place in the next town owned by a husband and wife. I call them my computer wizards!

They not only repaired Hubby’s virus laden machine, but when I brought in my old laptop to have the hard drive turned into an external hard drive, they looked it over and found the problem!

Here is the long and short of it: the laptop had TWO memory chips, but the old shop apparently had never even discovered the second one!

So my computer wizards replaced the chip, cleaned the hard drive and reloaded all my information! My old laptop is new again!

Hubby was skiing while I was doing the computer stuff, but he picked me up at their shop, and we went to the big city and had lunch. It was so nice to sit quietly and share a meal with Hubby. Afterward, we went over to LL Bean (my second favorite shop), as I had a bunch of coupons. Hubby found a pair of jeans, and I found a lambs wool pea coat that fits me perfectly! It was also marked down from $200.00 to $39.87. Now I had great coupons and a special promotion, so our grand total for all items was $7.29!

Yes, I am the Queen of discount shopping!

Then I realized that I had lost my much loved blue scarf. I remembered taking it off in the restaurant we had lunch in, so we went back and there it was! Now I would like to make a scarf to go with my new coat.

Had I known what l was about to face at home, I would have jumped out of the car! But in my ignorance, I came home with a smile on my face, feeling happy to have gone out for the first time since my eye operation.

We opened the door to the house and were overcome with the horrific smell of poop. Now one thing you should know about me is that I do not do poop well. In fact I am still shocked that I raised two children and changed diapers without totally losing it!

We found a small amount in the office and cleaned that up, thinking that it was all there was. However, my nose told me otherwise. I tracked it down to our formal living room, and it was there that we found that Fritz, our White German Shepherd, had decorated my beautiful leather sofa in grand fashion! Oh my goodness, I have never seen such a mess! I know I will have nightmares about this for years to come!

I had Hubby get me my Big Green Clean Machine, and I started to clean up. It took me over 1 hour to clean it up. Of course, the scent lingers, so I have two candles burning to help dissipate the smell.

I decontaminated myself in the shower, and Hubby made dinner. Somehow I had lost my desire for food, something that almost never happens.

Fritz is looking quite guilty and yet sorry for what he has done. I’m considering allowing him to remain as a member as our family.

The dachshunds think we should pack his things and put him out on the road.

A Little Fritzi Tale

You all know how much I love Fritz. Although I admit to the fact that I don’t always write about him, because the dackels seem to be the attention getters in this house. Occasionally Fritz will do something notable, something that I simply have to write about. Because I cannot believe that he did what he did.

Let me go back so I can explain.

Yesterday I decided to completely change the bed, washing the blanket and mattress pads, etc. It took me most of the day, but by the time we were ready for bed, it was ready for us. I climbed into the clean sheets and blankets and just smelled their freshness! I love that feeling and actually look forward to my weekly sheet change for this reason.

Hubby and I were up early this morning, as he went out to ski again today with some of our friends. After he had gone, I made my Weight Watcher breakfast, sipped my coffee and then decided it was time to shower and dress and make the bed.

I went into our bedroom and found Fritz lying on Hubby’s side of the bed chewing on his stuffed monkey and the sheets, and mattress pad were soaked with his doggy slobber! He looked at me with those innocent eyes, while another bead of slobber escaped his mouth!

All I can say is, at least he didn’t get the blanket!

So I shooed him down. Took a deep breath and then changed the mattress pad and sheets once again. Once the bed was done I closed the door to my bedroom and locked him out, and the sheet washing began!

It is a good thing that I love that dog!

(LOL!)

Puppy Pictures & A Movie

Today we had the pups out again. The day was a beauty. Sunny, but cool, so after a while they started to get cold and we had to retreat back into the house, but they got a good run around, and so did we! (lol) I snapped a few pictures and got a short video as well, because I know I’ve been slacking off recently and it is not fair for all of you to have to suffer because I get camera lazy!

Here is Curt rolling down the hill.

He came to a stop and righted himself!

Here is Calvin running.

And Schnapps.

And here is the movie with Fritz. He just loves those little guys and I think he will be lonely for them after they leave.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fritz The Puppy Nanny

Those of you who have been with me since the first litter of puppies Greta had three years ago, might recall that our good old Uncle Fritz was terrified of the wee pups. When we held one up to him to glance at he would quickly look away.

After the brood left and just Arnie and Anneliese remained Fritz would try to hide on the sofa out of reach and the eye of those horrid creatures. This last until one day when Anneliese made Uncle Fritz fall in love with her. I’m not sure exactly how she did it, but one day he was terrified and the next they were climbing all over him.

Here’s Arnie and Anneliese with Uncle Fritz way back in April, 2007

Anneliese’s litter didn’t seem to bother Fritz, but he kept his distance and didn’t offer to be around them at all. I could understand the worry, so I never forced him to spend time with them.

Flash forward to Greta’s current litter. Fritz was interested right from day one. He would come by the puppy room and check out the newborns, and now will walk on by to make sure that the little ones are behaving.

Today Greta didn’t want to hang out with the pups. Personally I think she has finally gotten tired of nursing them. So Hubby and I were outside with the puppies and the Puppy Nanny, Fritz! Yes, Fritz had the best time running all around the back yard with puppies following in his wake! He even played some serious dog play with them, and they just loved it.

I raced around snapping pictures and although some are a little blurry, I did try to capture the moment.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I hope you enjoy the montage and have a great weekend!

Happy 6th Birthday, Fritz

Six years ago our little boy Fritz was born out in Portland, Oregon.

Hubby flew out when Fritz was eight weeks old and brought him home in the super soft, dackel travel bag.

They arrived late and Shubi and I were waiting for them. Oh my goodness what an adorable little fluff-ball he was!

Slowly he settled into our family and I found myself totally captured by his sweet nature and adorable face! Especially his eyes!

Over the years he has grown. He is a big boy, 75 pounds, and still he thinks he is a dackel boy! You see Shubi raised him this way. Even though he is the oldest, he treats the dackels with a great deal of love and respect. He is their brother and protector.

He has the sweetest nature of any of the White German Shepherds that we have had. We are so lucky to have him.

So Happy Birthday, dearest Fritz. We love you!

Baerbel

My little baby, Baerbel is all alone. She had seemed to be doing well with it, but yesterday I noticed that she became a bit frightened of strangers. I was a little confused and then it dawned on me. When strangers come to visit, a puppy leaves. She is a smart girl. She thinks of this as her home and she doesn’t want to go. I will have to speak with her new owner and explain his need to be gentle and patient with her. If he is, he will have the very best friend he could ever want. She will bond to him and his family and become devoted to them. How do I know this?

When we bought Fritz, Hubby flew out to Oregon to buy him from a private breeder. He got to their house and Fritz was not at all friendly. He worried that perhaps Fritz wasn’t the right dog for us. He visited the house again later in the evening and brought sausages for Fritz as a treat. There was a glimmer of trust and the next morning he picked Fritz up for the long ride back across the country. I remember when he arrived here, he was a little white ball of fluff, so scared of everything.

This is Fritz with me and Shubi the night he arrived. The beginning of a beautiful relationship.

But we took our time and loved him unconditionally and today, nearly six years later, Fritz is devoted to us and to the dackels.

This picture was taken by my friend, Alice of Fritz with Arnie.

As I watched Baerbel today, I realized how like Fritz she is. She is quiet, and friendly and happy. I grabbed the old camera and went out snapping pictures of her today. She weighs 9 pounds and is easy to watch. Mostly because she comes when you call, and she will follow you wherever you walk.

Watching Hubby walk across the yard.

Playing with Fritz.

Running across the yard.

I will miss her so much when she is gone. What a great dog she is, but it is time for her to go to her new home, and become part of a new family. That’s just the hard part of my job.

Summer…Are You Here?

Because I am a terrible doggy Mama, I want to start this post entry with a picture of my big white boy, Fritz. He is such a peach and probably the easiest of our dogs. Mostly because he is the oldest, at nearly 6 years old. (His birthday is July 27th) How could I have forgotten his picture yesterday?

Fritz is a big boy compared to my dackels. He weighs 77 pounds, and is all muscle. He runs like a deer across the fields and is Hubby’s constant companion.

He also loves his dackels and is their fierce protector. He is probably closest to Arnie. You know, boys tend to stick together.

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I find I am spending a lot of time now with the puppies. I am taking pictures, hugging them more and showing them to whoever will look at them. The days have ticked by so quickly and the first two leave me in the next day or so.

Here I am with Bogey today. We had a small cook-out and after we got done eating I put him in my lap and rubbed his belly and got showered with kisses!

Jacqui came over and she played with the pups too. Here she is with Baron. What a sweet dog he is!

Actually they are all very sweet. Not a bad temperament in the bunch. They are all loving, sweet and motivated. Here is Ali in one of the few moments that she was able to gather all the toys and then fall asleep amongst them!

Meanwhile, Baerbel climbed into the bed and happily fell asleep.

Soon they all joined her and they took a long, lazy, afternoon nap.

I have fresh boxes of kleenex all ready for when the first pups go. My heart will break a little I just know, but I am truly happy with their forever homes.

Fritz’s Favorite Song

When Fritz first arrived here back in 2003 at the tender age of 8 weeks old, he was this tiny ball of white fluff.

Like all puppies he had favorite toys and loved to sleep in our laps,

but the most endearing thing about him was his attachment to this commercial. Each time the commercial came on, puppy Fritz would stop what he was doing and stare at the commercial, listening to every note of music! This was Fritz’s song!

After a year or so, Honda moved on to other commercials and I wasn’t able to find the music that Fritz loved so much. No other jewelry box type music would do, Fritz just lost his interest in music completely. Sad, really.

Fast forward to about a month ago when I was wasting time one evening and I found the commercial on Youtube! I turned up the speakers and let it play.

Fritz came running and started making sounds almost like he was trying to sing the song. What really impressed me though was that he remembered his song all these years later, and when I play it now he comes running just like he did as a puppy so he can listen to his song!

The Pink Shepherd

Okay, you asked for it, here it is. My handsome “pink” shepherd!

Read the post below for details as to why he is pink!

Today it was all about Fritz. We had his yearly visit to the Veterinarian’s for his shots and examination. He did very well, weighing in at 77.7 pounds with a good heart rate and hearty tail wag!

I was a bit concerned about one of his eyes that seemed to be running a little. Just a small infection, so we got drops for that. I also picked up a fresh tube of beef flavored doggy toothpaste for him.

Yeah, just what we need. A dog with beef breath! LOL!

Fritz was so excited to go out in the Jeep, with the window rolled down, just enough for him to poke his nose out of. After the Vet’s appointment we drove to the Post Office and then home. We drove into the yard and I saw Hubby up on the hill checking the trees. I thought Fritz would run right up there with him. So what does he do when I let him out of the Jeep?

He ran full speed up the driveway away from the house! I called him and he didn’t even stop or look back. I walked up the steps and asked Hubby what or earth was wrong with Fritz. He shrugged and said he didn’t know, but for some unknown reason Fritz does this every time he goes out in the car and then comes back home.

Talk about stretching your legs after a car trip!