Top Dog

"Hey, look at me.

I'm the top dog.  I'm higher than Mom."

It's a beautiful day at our house.

"And I'm one happy poochie, can you tell?

Mom looks pretty happy too."

Frito's spirit and his voice are alive and well it seems.

Sometimes they just come out.

"OK, now flip my ear back please."

See what I mean?

Thinking about some frogs ...

... and how yummy they would taste ;-)

Actually, Frito never "ate" the frogs.

But he did try to catch them.  

And when he did, they were gonners.  (Thankfully, not that often.)

You could say it was Darwin at work, and the smartest ones got away.

Sorry little froggy spirits -- Frito was just following his instincts.

Explorin' with Mom

Here is Frito in our back woods, doing some exploring with Mom.

He's found a very tasty birch stick, and will be doing some serious gnawing soon.

Frito could be such a dog sometimes.

At least when he wasn't a people. ;-)

Good viewing from the sofa

This was one of Frito's favorite spots to sit.

High up on the leather sofa back.

He could turn around and look right out the window to see what the wildlife was up to.

He's seen lots of deer and wild turkeys, among other critters.

Frito's Anniversary!

Well today is Frito's anniversary.  (And this picture is from 2006.)

The day Alli brought him home to his new family.

So much love given and received.

What more can any man, woman, or pooch ask for.

Happy Anniversary Frito -- we will always love you.  

Thanks for being such a good dog to Alli, Greg, Mom, and Alpha.

The little runt

Here they are -- the dynamic duo.

Frito really loved her girl.

The girl that rescued him and showed him heaven on earth.

Frito had such a good life thanks to Alli picking out "the little runt."

What a lucky poochy.

Reflections of a frogger

Frito tries another approach at hunting frogs.

I'm sorry to say he was more successful this way.

But thankfully, he was only rarely successful.

He would sneak up on them on shore, and wait for them to jump into the water.

And believe it or not, sometimes he could snab them in mid-air in his mouth.

We felt bad for those frogs.

In fact, we would distract Frito sometimes to let the frogs make a clean getaway.

Such a frogger.  He was not a vegan doggie.

Too long

Frito is thinking the grass is getting a wee-bit long.

This was on one of the trails near our neighborhood apple orchard.

Probably got loaded up with ticks.

But hey, it was a nice morning walk, so who's complaining.

Shadow walk

I'd recognize those silhouettes anywhere.

Especially the terrier on the left.

Out for a walk with the 'rents on a bright sunny day.

Frito always loved his walks.

Not our furniture

This fabric does not look familiar.

I think it may have been in a cabin we rented on a trip to Nova Scotia.

Frito thought it was just dandy to check out the sofa.

And why not -- we never taught him otherwise.

But really, who wouldn't want this cutie pie sitting next to them?

Froggin'

OK, Frito is scoping out the situation.

Does he see any frogs swimming in the pond?

Yes, indeedy.  Time to try a sneak attack.

Yeah, Frito was never very sneaky.

The frogs always let Frito get some exercise, and then dove under water.

But I don't think Frito minded.

After a good swim, nothing like a good roll on the grass to get all messy.

Ahhhh, summertime around the garden pond.

Dancin'

Oh, the things poor Frito had to do for his supper.

Yep, we made him dance sometimes ;-)

But that was OK, because he really enjoyed dancing, and was good at it.

If only there had been a Dancing with the Doggie Stars back then.

Cozy in a kayak

Frito was such a mariner.  He liked any kind of watercraft.

Even a somewhat unstable kayak, with just an itty, bitty cockpit.

Frito was such a buddy, and loved to be out on Tucker Pond.

Assuming the position

Now Frito is all recovered from his cruciate ligament surgery.

And he is beginning a tradition.

Laying against Mom's leg on the recliner sofa.

Frito was certainly a trend setter ;-)

Feeling better

According to the 2006 date on this photo, Frito would still have his cast on.

You just can't see it under his blanket.

But he is feeling better, and as usual, is unbelievably cute!

Recovery time

So I can't remember if this was the first or second cruciate ligament surgery.

I think probably the second time (since this is still winter of 2006).

Frito was running through the snow and stepped into a swail that he couldn't see under the snow.

But he was such a good trooper, and fully recovered from both surgeries.

And look how adorable and cute he was with his little blue cast.  Awwwwww.

Shaggy

Looks like someone is getting a little shaggy.

It's still winter of 2006, so there's no reason to get a haircut.

Frito had so many "looks" depending on the length of his fur.

But no matter what, he was always adorable.

Winter snow blowers

Jumping ahead another year to 2006.

Alpha's all set to snow blow the driveway.

And Frito (who is now 5 years old) is ready to blow through all the snow as well.

He sure could fly!

Bundled up

Alli, why are we all bundled up?

Oh, now I see!

Frito really loved the snow as a young pup (this was early 2005, so he was still 4 years old).

He would just bound through the snow, and end up with snow balls clinging to his furry legs.

But he didn't mind.

Who's your teddy bear?

What a fuzzy teddy bear.  (I'm talking about Frito ;-)

It's winter time, so we're letting his fur get a little bit longer (now it's 2005).

Tell me that isn't the cutest guy you ever saw.   (Yes, I'm still talking about Frito ;-)

Loungin' with Alli

Frito sure loved his girl.

Here he is resting his head on Alli's feet up at the cottage.

This was the summer  of 2004, so Frito was 4 and Alli would have been 17 (never do math in public ;-) 

And here they are taking out some friends in Big Bertha.  

Frito really loved the boat, especially if Alli was there with him.

Snoozin' on the command chair

Ah yes, the "command chair".

This is the chair my Mom had in Florida, and she used to sit in it and (politely) tell people what to do ;-)

Frito loved this chair, and if anyone was reclining in it, he would immediately jump up to sleep with them.

Apparently, even if no one was reclining in it ;-)

Picking wild blueberries with Mom

Another one of Frito's favorite activities when he was up at the cottage was hiking up Mt. Kearsarge.

Here he is halfway up the mountain helping Mom scope out the wild blueberries.

Fresh air, moderate exercise, and healthy snacks -- what else can one ask for?

Can we play now?

Here is Frito asking "what's next?"

Like all kids (he's just 4 here), if he's not sleeping, he wants to be playing (or eating ;-)

Look at his luscious fur and beautiful puppy eyes.

What a cutie pie!

Lounge puppy

Here is Frito lounging at the cottage (in 2004, when he was 4 years old).

It was one of his favorite spots to relax.

Now he's wondering when the masseuse is going to show up.

He needed to keep that fluffy fur all soft and curly, and a vigourous rubbing never hurt.

But the real secret was what Tucker Pond water did for his hair.

It's like magic ;-)

Wanna play tug-o-war?

This was also in 2004.  Frito loved to play tug-o-war with his knot rope that we kept up at the cottage.

He was viscious, and we often worried about hurting his teeth.

But we never did, as far as we know.

Frito just about always won the tug-o-war.

He was such an animal ;-)

Crazy for acorns

This was back in 2004, before surgery on both of his hind legs for torn cruciate ligaments, one of which came from this little sport.

We used to roll big juicy acorns down the road or driveway, and Frito would go tearing after them.

Frito was fast, and quick, and able to shift directions quickly no matter how the acorn bounced.

This quick direction change is was did his leg in.

But boy how he loved his acorns. He used to catch them in his mouth and crack them open. And then wait for us to throw him another one. You can see one of his acorns next to him.

Frito was an awesome athlete.

How much is that doggie in the window

So I wonder how much this 2004 doggie-in-the-window would now cost?

It would be worth every penny, whatever it was.

Speaking of the boat

So here's Frito riding in the boat.  He always loved to do that.

Carol's giving him a hug in the back of the boat.  The is from 2003.

Here the wind has blown his hair around, and it looks like he's got a pompadour.

My mariner buddy.

Happy B-day Alpha

Well it looks like Frito is not the only young pup around.

These photos are from July 2003, so 9 years ago.  That would make Frito 3 years old.

And as for Alpha and Mom -- well, I'm not telling.

These photos were taken at Tucker Pond.

Frito just loved the time he was able to spend up there, swimming, riding in the boat, and taking walks around the pond.

What a cutie pie

Awww, look at the cutie pie.

Such a young looking pup (this was from 2007, so Frito was 7 years old).

I can hear him now ... "So are we going for a walk?  Huh? Are we?  Come on, let's go!

Remembering Frito Crisp (2000-2012)

Well, there's no way around it -- this is a sad day.  

Frito had to be put to sleep yesterday.  It was peaceful, it was quick, and Frito was comfortable and we were both with him.  And we are certain we did the right thing for Frito.

In the past few days, Frito had declined very dramatically, and had been recently diagnosed with dementia, in addition to all of his other conditions.  He was also in distress for the last couple of days, and unable to get comfortable for any length of time.  We suspect he had internal bleeding, among other things.

But as sad as this news is, we also wish to celebrate his life, and remember all of the love that he gave to his family (and that he received from his family), as well as his many acquaintances along the way.

Frito added great joy to many lives, and we wish to remember him as the cute and funny and active dog that he was, and not just the recent challenges and illnesses that he faced.

So with your permission, and because I still have quite a few photos of Frito on my computer (a couple back to 2003), I thought we would continue posting some of these oldies but goodies and help us remember all of the great times we had together.

So here's to Don Frito el Bandito Crisp -- the best dog in the world, and perhaps the most loved, and certainly most photographed pooch around.

Frito, we miss you, and we love you, and we will always remember you!

Dog Breath

Alpha says I have "dog breath".

What does he expect?  Cat breath?  Well 'duh!

Alpha also say's it doesn't smell very good.

In fact I think the words he used is "OMG Frito, your breath reeks".

I though he said my breath rocks.  I can get behind that.

But is it really so much of a price to pay when you can get such great shots of my nose and tongue?

I'd say it's a good deal for you all.

And a pretty good deal for Alpha too.

After all, he got to have me lay on his chest while he was sunning in the yard.

So stop your whining Alpha.

Snoozin' on the cool grass

It was pretty warm on this day.

But Alpha found me a nice spot in the shade, and as you can see, I took great advantage of it.

I had my little outdoor mat to sleep on, but I chose instead the nice cool grass.

You humans may have a different idea, but I think this must be Heaven (doesn't that look peaceful?)

Let's go macro

That means focusing close and capturing lots of detail.

Even a little wildflower for me to admire.

Very, very close.  With perhaps just a bit too much detail.

But hey, it's my noble nose and you are very lucky.

Lookin' Good!

Hey, look at us.  

Out for a walk and struttin' our stuff.

I'd say we are ... Lookin' Good!