I’ve written about each of my dogs, Rose the most, then Izzy and Lenore. Now Frieda gets her own book, and a children’s book as well. The process of training and acclimating her has been difficult, perhaps the most challenging thing I have done with dogs. Frieda has a wild history, and was not open to much instruction, either by experience or temperament. All of my dogs have come, directly or indirectly, from good breeders, and are open to working with people, calm and appropriate around other creatures.

Frieda is something else, and I am excited about tracking down her past. I have some good clues, and I love the way she is adapting and acclimating to life with Maria and me. I used to call her “The Dog Who Kept Men Away.” We altered that a bit. At the shelter, they told me she never played. Now she plays all the time.