Fritz Lyons, June 6, 1997- December 28, 2013

Our dear friend, Fritz, passed away on Saturday.  I have cried countless tears and miss him so much already.  But he was an awesome dog, and he taught me so many things that I would like to share with you today.

1.  Never, ever give up.  Fritz was 16 and a half years old when he passed, and nothing in his life kept him down for long.  He gradually went blind and deaf as he aged, but he didn’t just lay down and stop.  He kept walking, kept loving, kept close with everyone by touch.  His legs might have been stiffened by arthritis, but he would get up every morning, and stretch and shake two times, and then he was ready to outside and greet the day.  🙂 He never complained.

Fritz, aged 16, still playing in the tent with my husband and the kids 🙂

2.  Even if you can’t fly, jump like you can.  Fritz was an amazing jumper in his prime.  He had long legs that could spring from the floor, and next thing you know, his body would be counter-high.

Fritz, gearing up for the jump

3.  Don’t say you’re bored; find something fun to do.  Fritz always made his life fun…whether it was by loving his food, loving his walks, running away to the backyard mountain for adventures (much to our chagrin as we tried to recover him!) , scaling pieces of furniture to find and eat a bag of Hershey chocolates that had been hidden (and somehow not even getting sick afterwards), and playing many games of tug-o-war with his rope.

Fritz enjoying his walk in the clover

4.  Enjoy your food.  Fritz had a love-love relationship with food.  Unlike me, who has to watch what she eats, Fritz loved it all, and never seemed to have to worry about his waistline too much.  Cheerios, cheese slices and chicken & rice were his favorite special treats, but he was known to resort to much jumping and table pulling to get the other treats that he was yearning for.  Like the Christmas pecan pie that was waiting on the kitchen table for our dessert, but we discovered that Fritz had other ideas.  (And no, he didn’t get sick then either!)

Fritz hoping to snag a jelly bean when Amy’s not looking. 🙂

5.  Climb mountains.  Fritz was a  great hill climber/hiker/runner with our family; never showing signs of surrender or fatigue….just a happy doggie face that licked us at the top.

His “can we go out?” face

6.  Love everyone you can, as much as you can, all the time.  This is Fritz.  He was always there, loving, sitting, waiting, cuddling, listening, wanting to be with us.  It’s what I miss the most, and it’s what I will never forget.  He was a great dog, the best, the bravest, the most loving, the softest.  Play well up in heaven, Fritz, and we’ll see you when we get there.  Love, Lisa