This will, I hope...

...be my last word on Fritz. Though probably not.

Years ago, before they established the Gulch, Landlady and her husband T used to do a lot of desert four-wheeling. On one occasion, 'way back in the boonies, they came upon a litter of four tiny German Shepherd pups that someone unspeakable had dumped there. The puppies were in terrible shape; all of them near death from dehydration and hunger. L&T bundled them into the Jeep and rushed them back to a vet in the city. One died immediately, but the others survived. When they were healthy enough, L&T found homes for them all. That apparently worked out well for two of them, but they needed to take one back when the home didn't work out. That one, as you've probably guessed, turned out to be Fritz.

M repeated that story yesterday morning while we were burying him. D&L came with their backhoe to dig the grave, and then W and I brought Fritz from the barn in the Jeep, which I believe is the same Jeep in which he was rescued not enough years ago. Fritz always had a deep love for that thing: Sometimes visitors would come by and ask, "Why is that dog sitting in your Jeep?" The answer was always "Just in case." He always hated to think he might miss getting a ride.

And somebody speculated - a question I'd never thought to ask - if the reason he loved the yellow Jeep so much was because he remembered it rescuing him from death. I don't know if that's so; hell, I don't even know for sure if it's the same Jeep. But it's a great thought. Anyway, there's no question Fritz loved riding in the Jeep, so even though M's pickup was a more logical choice I insisted on hoisting him in for one last ride.

Gad, I'm gonna miss that big, dumb goof. Ghost, Little Bear, Beauty and I went for a long walk this morning, the young dogs usually flanking and walking point, usually not even in sight. Magnus and Fritz had always stayed close to me, but they're both gone now. Sometimes it felt like I was walking alone.