Meet My Maltese - Freddie the Dancing Bear

My goodness Freddie has a tale to tell. He came to my house the night Hurricane Rita began her assault on Houston along with another little shelter dog named Jake. It was high drama, let me tell you, but I get ahead of myself.

One day my daughter saw a white piece of fluff racing across the road. We'd been seeing this little dog around the streets for quite a while but couldn't figure out where he belonged. Later that day she saw Animal Control on the street and spoke to them. Sure enough, they'd picked up the white dog and were taking him in. Animal Control said she could find him online later if she wanted to check him out.

My daughter told me about the dog and we decided to find out more. We went to the Harris County Animal Shelter the next morning. Freddie turned out to be this poor, skinny, bag of bones little dog who was a real mess. We put a hold on him so that if no one claimed him I could get him.

Maltese dogs are cute, playful, and lively

Today Freddie is part of a motley pack that includes Waco the Wonder Dog (Great Pyrenees), Riley the Rockhound (Cocker Spaniel), Teddy the Alpha and Eldest (Shih Tsu), Charlie (the Pug), and HoneyBun the Baby (Mi-Ki). Of them all, Freddie's the liveliest, the most playful, and definitely the most energetic. He could put that pink bunny to shame, folks.

Freddie is all about F-U-N.

A flea-ridden, malnourished rescue dog waits out Hurricane Rita

When I went to pick up Freddie at the shelter, I also saw a little Corgi dog named Jake. He was adorable. They told me he was at the end of his stay as he'd been returned two times.They never had any problems with him and didn't understand why he as the come-back kid. Poor Jacke was scheduled to be put down if he didn't get adopted. I took both dogs home.

Freddie was an absolute mess. His coat looked grey and when I bathed him a ton of flea stuff poured off him. He was so skinny and such a bag of bones that his hips were two triangles sticking up in the air and there wasn't an ounce of fat between his skin and his bones. The vet said he had to have been out on his own for months and months to reach that level of emaciation. And poor little Jake seemed to have some kind of fever and wasn't doing well, so they gave me some medicine and sent us on our way.

The next day Hurricane Rita was barreling toward Houston. Things were a hectic. I was scheduled to do an online radio interview that evening and also had to figure out how to get my elderly parents out of their house and into a hotel somewhere out of the path of the hurricane. We were making plans, gassing up cars, loading up supplies, and I was trying to find a safe boarding place for the dogs. Jake was getting worse by the minute. I found a place at a local vets and they would work on Jake and move him to their boarding facility later.

Thirty minutes before the interview the vet called. Jake had died. I was devastated because he was a sweetheart. But Freddie, Teddy, Beau and Riley were okay. The hurricane whirled, the city evacatuated--or tried to--and I somehow managed to get my parents, their two cats and myself out of town. We returned a week later. Poor Freddie, he'd barely had any time at all to settle in before the storm hit.

A toy dog with a great disposition and playful attitude

Freddie has the best disposition. Nothing seems to really faze him. He quickly adapted to life with me and the boys. Pretty soon Freddie was gaining weight, racing around the house, and playing up a storm. Freddie is a joy to watch whether he's standing on his hind legs doing his Dancing Bear routine for treats or sleeping soundly with the look of a doggie angel.

Freddie plays rough with all the dogs. It's not unusual for him to jump and leap all over Waco, the Great Pyrenees, who's easily more than 100 pounds but that doesn't faze Freddie. He'll play tug with the best of them. It's a good thing he's with five other dogs. He goes from one to another tiring them all out and at the end of the day he's the last dog standing--or should I say twirling..

Santa's doggie elf is ready and waiting every year

Of all the dogs, Freddie is the one who loves to dress up. I think at some point in his life he must have lived with someone who dressed him because he readily ducks his head into the shirt and easily raises his paws to slip on any shirt. He actually seems to enjoy them. I don't know for sure but I sometimes wonder if it's because he was so malnourished and lacked any fat for so long. It may be that he gets cold more easily than the rest of the dogs.

Freddie has a number of shirts and a few hats and little coats or jackets. Mostly he wears the shirts but during Christmas we go all out. Freddie doesn't want to miss Santa. Like a good little boy, he puts out cookie bones and milk for the fat man in the red coat. Last year he got a tie. Doesn't he look spiffy?

Freddie will give squirrels a run for their money. He loves to start the morning barking at them as they fly through the trees. So having a stuffed squirrel toss is the next best thing for a wonderful tug of war.

This conditioner and the related shampoo make all the dogs smell wonderful and feel so soft. Freddie loves the after-bath time but is not fond of the whole getting-a-bath process. He'd rather do anything other than stick his head under water or have water poured all over him. But he's a happy boy afterward.