Filling in for Rochelle Fritsch is the newest member of the Fritsch Family -- Charley the Shih-Poo.
My name is Charley. The Lady, The Man and The Girl adopted me when I was a baby. (Here's a picture of me & my buddy Jack on one of our playdates. I'm the one with the gray coat.)
I'm training The Lady, The Man and The Girl pretty well, but there are still a few things that they don’t quite get:
1. Puppy teeth toughen up slippers. My family only wears the slipper things in the house. I guess it’s because slippers aren’t tough enough to wear outside. Ever since I moved in, I’ve committed myself to toughening up those flimsy things by chewing on them so The Lady, The Man and The Girl can wear slippers outside too. But what does it get me? A firm “No Sir!” and a wave of the finger from The Lady -- and even from The Girl! But I think The Man is starting to understand. He says “Awww” and giggles when I get a hold of his slippers…finally -- some appreciation!
2. The rabbits want me to play with them. A family of rabbits lives under a bush near my special area of the yard; and they'd like to play a game of Chase with me. I just know they want to play -- why else would they sit so still whenever they see me? You see, every game of Chase needs a good chasing route, and when the rabbits are sitting still, they're just thinking up a challenging route for us. But as soon as we see each other and the route-planning starts, The Lady and The Man say "Leave the rabbits alone, Charley." And before you know it, the rabbits are gone. And so is our game of Chase.
3. Scary things happen in the room where that big white water dish is! Almost every night, the Lady goes in there, shuts the door, and then I hear rushing water, splashing around and it smells all flowery. Something awful must be happening in that room! I can never get that door to open, no matter how hard I try; so I end up asking The Lady if she needs help in the loudest voice I can. That usually gets The Man involved, and he opens the door so I can rush in to save her. Whenever this happens, The Lady sees me and lets out a big sigh (obviously a sigh of relief) and disaster is averted…..Now, if I could only train her to stay out of that room in the first place!
4. Dogs don't wear clothes. 
Enough said.
Don't misunderstand me here, The Lady, The Man and The Girl are pretty smart and they do catch on quickly. They understand that “Go in your crate” really means “Hop up on the love seat, roll over onto your back and look cute”, and that “Come out of that room, Charley” really means “Lay down on the floor, roll over onto your back and look cute.”
Either way, I get picked up for a snuggle......which is all I really want anyway.
That's all for now. Very Sincerely Yours,
Charley the Shih-Poo.
