Freddy likes his regular routine.

Freddy hangs out with his boys.

Freddy, the wiener dog, is happy the winter break has ended and his human brothers are back in school. Freddy has a very specific schedule to follow on school days. Freddy likes that. He especially likes that he's King of the Vehicle for car-lines.

Freddy is a good citizen. He gives a neighborhood boy a ride to school too. The picture is Freddy's greeting that boy while listening to Mark chat. It's a little unusual for Freddy....

Freddy's new foster sister.

Maggie settles in.

Freddy, the wiener dog, helps Mommy transport rescue dogs. Since Freddy enjoys adventures and car rides, he has found transporting very interesting. Sometimes he transports something small [Chihuahua] or something very large [Great Dane puppy]. Most of the time they're in the middle [pit bull or terrier]. Freddy has a different reaction to different rescue dogs. [See previous blogs].

On Friday, Freddy helped transport an American Bulldog/Boxer mix and a terrier/mix to Tampa. Their ultimate destination was Naples. As previously mentioned, Mommy fell in love with the American Bulldog/Boxer. She was big, beautiful, sweet, confused, and lonely. Mommy cried when she gave her to the next transport driver. As usual, Freddy's glad to see them go.

On Saturday, Freddy had another doggie transport to the West Coast of Florida. Mommy checked on that beautiful American Bulldog/Boxer mix from the day before. The doggie didn't like the "cat house" she was placed in. She needed a doggie foster home. While Mommy can't take a big dog for a long period of time, she was happy to give the beautiful girl a good home to rest in. Freddy wasn't to keen on this idea.

Maggie finally relaxes and sleeps.

On the return trip with the American Bulldog/Boxer mix [now named Maggie], Freddy wanted to bark at her but Mommy said no...This sad doggie had been through enough. So, Freddy spent the rest of his time making sure the doggie couldn't sniff him. He freaked whenever the bigger dog looked at him. "Mom, she's doing it again." Freddy was deliriously happy to arrive back home and into the arms of his Daddy.

Mommy learned a few more things about Maggie on this trip -- Maggie had been dumped on the side of the road [which is why once she was in the car, she didn't want to get back out again]. And, Maggie had been in the euthanasia room when the rescue called to get her. Whew! So, this big, beautiful sweetie nearly lost her life because her "owner" didn't want her anymore. Mommy is confused by this...Maggie is a very sweet and gentle dog. She's been great with Daisy and the little dogs. She was also good with the many cats in the "cat house." And, she obviously had more than one litter of puppies. Hmmmmm.

Napping on the way home.

 Maggie didn't have any trouble getting out of the car on the return trip for a bathroom break because the little dogs got out too. Maggie did a little Bambi hop, twirled, and skipped along side the other doggies. Maggie was excited with her pack walk. Freddy just wanted to make sure that he didn't end up underneath the feet of the dancing, prancing Maggie. He was more than happy to get back into the car, have a snack, and nap. After all, napping is what hound dogs do best.

Maggie gently plays with crazy puppy.

 When Freddy and Mommy arrived home, Daisy welcomed Maggie. Maggie took her time learning the house and saying hi to the boys, but Daisy couldn't wait to get Maggie outside. Mommy let them outside for a potty break. Once they were outside, the mayhem began. Daisy immediately tried to get Maggie to play ["Daisy! Leave Maggie alone while she potties."] As Maggie explored the big backyard, Daisy kept showing Maggie her favorite spots and even tried to get Maggie to dig in one of Daisy's holes. It was very cute. "See? This is the way you dig...like this." Finally, Maggie was ready to play. The big girls played, wrestled and chased each other for an hour. Maggie was very gentle with Crazy Daisy, who would bite Maggie's rearend, or lay on the ground and do her "gator chomp" at Maggie's face/neck to get her to play. 4-year-old Maggie would look at 9-month-old Daisy like "Really?" and then the wrestling would continue. The big girls played until Maggie was completely worn out and Daisy was almost, sort of, tired. Mommy had to halt the mayhem anyway because the big girls were starting to bark at the sounds of racoons in the woods. [Maggie uses one big, deep bark at the time and then intently listens to the sounds in the woods.]

Maggie rests. Daisy wants to play.

 At bedtime, Eric desperately wanted Maggie to share his bed. She started off there and then moved to Mark's bed, but finally ended up sleeping with Steven. [Animals and babies love Steven]. Freddy wouldn't tolerate sleeping in the same room as the big girls so he left to sleep with Daddy. When Mommy checked on them for the 4:00 a.m. pee, Daisy was sleeping with Mark and Maggie was still in Steven's bed. [Poor Eric].

Mommy can't wait for the kids to get up and see how Day 1 progresses. Daddy thinks Mommy is crazy for bringing a foster into the house. Mommy thinks that they need another Mini-Dachshund...another girl to increase Freddy's harem. For now, she needs to figure out how much you feed an American Bulldog/Boxer mix, probably as much as she wants!

Freddy rescues an American Bulldog/Box mix, a terrier/mutt, and a Great Dane.

Great Dane/mix puppy

Freddy, the wiener dog, loves riding in the car with Mommy. However, he doesn't really like Mommy's picking up "stray" dogs and putting them in the car. Freddy doesn't bark much when he's on these trips. He is very curious about the doggies that Mommy brings into the car, "What is it?" Freddy seems to know the doggies don't feel well; they're scared, nervous, etc., so he doesn't bark at them. Freddy's favorite part is when Mommy gives the doggies to somebody else. Actually, Freddy's favorite part is getting a plain hamburger from McDonald's after they drop the doggies off.

What is that?!  Bigfoot?

Freddy had three dogs to rescue in one day - an American Bulldog/Boxer mix, a terrier/mix, and a Great Dane/mix puppy. Freddy goes crazy when Daddy gets out of the truck until Daddy gets back in the truck, in his seat, and Freddy is curled up next to Daddy. Then it was, "Holy Cow! That thing is huge! Don't eat me." [It was gotten really ugly if it had been a boy. Thank heaven for little girls.] The pictures don't show how big the 10-month-old Great Dane/mix puppy really was. She was truly huge. She couldn't wait to get outside. Daddy had to hold the leash because Mommy didn't have the strength to keep from being dragged behind...the puppy was strong. She was also very gentle with Mark, who was scared of her size, at first. The puppy was friendly with no aggression at all. She rode in the back with Mommy's Mickey blanket. Freddy was glad that enormous dog rode in the back and not up front in Freddy's space. Again, that would have been ugly.

Big, beautiful and sweet.

The American Bulldog/Boxer mix and the terrier/mix were a joint rescue and rode in the car at the same time. The Am. Bulldog/Boxer was named Melody. She was 4 years old, big, beautiful, and gentle as a lamb. Unfortunately, Mommy and Melody fell in love with each other. Mommy petted Melody the whole way to the rendezvous, who was an hour away. Freddy was unhappy when Mommy got out of the car to give Melody a bathroom break. Mommy is supposed to walk Freddy, and Freddy only. He still didn't bark. Melody, at first, would lean against Mommy with scared eyes, begging Mommy not to leave her on the side of the road [like the last "owner"]. Melody did this several times. Then, Melody started to get really worried, so she would stand up on her hind legs, put her big paws on Mommy's shoulders, and lick Mommy's face. Melody needed a lot of reassurance. Mommy walked Melody back to the car and asked Nana for the camera. When Nana opened her door and got out to hand Mommy the camera, Melody pushed her way into the car behind Nana and climbed into the front passenger's seat. She sat there for a minute or two and then climbed into the back of the car. Melody wanted to make sure that she went home with Freddy's Mommy, and not the next transport driver. Sadly, Melody had to go. Mommy got out of the way so the next driver could put Melody in her car. Melody wouldn't lift her head once she got into the crate. When Mommy came over to say good-bye, Melody gave Mommy a lot of sad licks. Mommy walked away choking back tears. Next was the terrier.

He's twice the size than he looks.

The terrier/mix dog is 8 years old. He had no name - not even from the shelter - so Mommy called him "Sweetheart." Of course, whenever she did this, Freddy would look at Mommy like "You'd better be talking to me." This poor doggie has had quite a time of it. He's blind and could barely walk. There's no broken bones, no problems with his legs... The dog obviously spent his entire life locked up or crated, and he didn't know how to use his feet, especially his hind legs and especially walking on grass. What was that soft, green stuff? The terrier was very scared and timid, so Freddy didn't bark at him. Sweetheart was quite happy to leave the shelter, but didn't mind when Mommy put him in an extra-large crate. He's used to being in a crate and understood the four walls that he couldn't see. Sweetheart seemed happy that he could actually sit completely up in the extra-large crate. However, he didn't want to leave it for his bathroom break. Mommy carried Sweetheart over to the grass. At first, he could barely stand at all on his hind legs. It took several tries for Sweetheart to get moving. Sweetheart had an extremely hard time walking, even with his front legs. Sometimes his paws would flip over. Sweetheart didn't seem to know the difference and would walk on the tops of his paws inside of his bottom pads. Sweetheart was scared of the leash and clearly didn't know what to do with it. He wouldn't move until he heard Mommy's feet crunching leaves next to him, then he'd stay close and would try to walk a little. Mommy would have to stop every few steps and get Sweetheart to stand back up on his hind legs again. Sweetheart was happy to get back into a crate, and it didn't matter to him that it was a different crate than the last one. This poor baby has a lot of therapy ahead in his life. Once the other driver leaves, then Freddy gets his potty break but he wants to get into the car and go home.

An exhausted Freddy

It was a stressful day for Mommy, and not the best for Freddy either. Although, Freddy still likes car rides and doesn't want to be left home.

Freddy wants Mommy's snack.

"What are you eating, Mom?"

Freddy, the wiener dog, is always ready for food. Mommy came into the room with a snack. Freddy was sleeping, but the smell of food woke him up. He wanted what Mommy was eating... Mommy said no, but Freddy kept trying.

"You are getting sleepy. You want to give me your snack."

Poor little Daisy Mae.

Playing with Tank..a happy day.

Poor Daisy Mae. Mommy was walking around the yard, looking at the scattered woobies. When she got within a foot of Tank's favorite one, Daisy ran to their favorite dirt pile and looked back at the woobie. Mommy has been telling Daisy for days that he's not coming, but she keeps looking for him hour after hour.

Tank's favorite.

Here is Tank's favorite woobie. [Freddy let Tank have it, sort of.] It's a big stuffed, floppy dog. Tank loves it. "Someone" has started removing the stuffing. Mommy haven't seen the culprit yet, but she has her suspicions.