…noticing early on that he always seemed to be such a happy dog—more so than any of our other dogs, to be honest. I felt he just radiated a cheerfulness most of the time, with a joyful doggy smile.  He had a big personality (pupsonality?) and was almost always in a good mood, playful and always up for a game.

…his fondness for his rubber ring-shaped dog toys. (None of our other dogs had ever cared for the original red ring toy we started with, but he focused in on it early. We thought it was funny and appropriate that a dog named “Mister Frodo” would be “the ring bearer”.  Nerdy Lord of the Rings humor!)  He discovered that he could flip his ring toy up onto his face—a maneuver we quickly labeled “Ring Face”. It was one of his favorite tricks, and he would sometimes walk around doing “Ring Face” until someone noticed and praised him for it (specifically saying, “Ring Face!”).  He eventually was the proud owner of a range of ring-shaped toys in various sizes, but his favorite was the original size that perfectly framed his face.

…his “treat” button.  We have some of those battery-operated buttons that play a recorded message when pressed by a paw.  We made one with the message, “Treat!” He definitely learned what it meant and would sometimes press it again and again to ask for mini bones—and jump so high in anticipation of the treat, while you fished it out of the jar. (Luna would always come running, too, when she heard the button, eager to take advantage of the bonus treats, courtesy of Mr. Frodo!)

…the way he went absolutely nuts whenever someone would remove the bag from the kitchen garbage can.  I’m not sure how that started, but he would come running from anywhere in the house when he heard someone making even a tiny bit more noise than usual with the trash can.  I learned to tell him to get his ring first so he would have something to divert his excess energy into as he zoomed back and forth, trying to squeeze between you and the garbage can. (Silly boy!)  

…his fondness for his “air conditioner spot”, where the cool air comes swooshing out under the closed bedroom door.  He would often move there as soon as he heard the AC kick on, to find the best spot to enjoy the artificial breeze.  

…his reaction to the “Morning Glory” Samsung ringtone.  When Frodo was just a tiny puppy, we kept his overnight crate in our bedroom.  (He howled a long time that first night, poor baby, but we made exaggerated snoring noises to convince him that everyone was asleep.) Donald’s morning alarm back then was the “Morning Glory” ringtone from Samsung.  Frodo started crying in the mornings when he heard that—I guess out of excitement because it meant we would wake up and take him out of the crate. (?) Anyway, even years later, if we played that song, he would howl—and I even used it to call him back to the house when he was out in the yard, a time or two.  He’d hear it and would come running back, full speed!

…his love of Pup-Peroni treats, which we’d give him and Luna a bit of after we finished our lunch. He would be on high alert for someone to mention the magic word (or even just part of it, whispered or mouthed at him… “roni? peroni?”)—or for Donald’s little melody that came to be code for “Pup-Peroni time!”

…how much he loved playing with Luna.  He would stare at her and follow her around as best he could, back when he was a puppy in his little fenced-in indoor puppy pen.  He soon learned to give Trixie (our eldest Eskie at the time, who had less patience with the young whippersnapper) a more respectful amount of space, but he clearly thought Luna was the coolest and loved it when she was in the mood to play. 

…the way he would bark animatedly (in her defense?) if you scolded Luna or even pretended to say her name scoldingly.  It became a game, and if Donald just started saying her name in a certain tone, that was enough!

…his “marching orders”.  Like a lot of Eskies, he loved getting scritches on his back, at the base of his tail (probably something to do with the American Eskimo Dog’s curled tail).  When you’d hit just the right spot, he would exaggeratedly lift up his hind feet one at a time—one-two, one-two—in a crazy marching-in-place motion.  (Maybe you had to be there, but it was a hilarious—and pretty frequent—occurrence! That dog loved getting his marching orders.) 

…his begging to be petted.  Sometimes you’d just be walking around the house or minding your own business, when you’d notice he was lying on his back, moving his front legs in a begging motion.  Sometimes if you found a really itchy spot in his neck ruff, he’d use his front legs to hold your hand in place so you’d “have to” keep scratching there.  It was surprising how much force he could exert when he tried. He was very strong for just a medium-sized dog!  

…his mixed-up trick (“speak” vs. “jump”).  Frodo didn’t get as much trick training as Trixie or Luna had.  I guess it’s just harder to train a puppy when you already have two adult dogs who try to get involved. Plus he was pretty hyper as a puppy, so it was difficult to get him to focus on training!  Anyway, although he was very bright and clever, he never really learned that the thumbs-up motion was supposed to mean “speak” and instead decided that it meant “jump”. Worked well enough for him!  (He did know “sit”, “down”, and even “roll over”, though he wanted to be sure there was plenty of space for rolling. It’s only prudent.)

…the way he would steal a dirty sock from the laundry hamper and trade it for a treat.  Sometimes Luna would hear that he had stolen a sock before we realized and start barking to alert us.  She would benefit, too, of course, because whenever Frodo got his bribe, she’d get her share.  (Her bounty? Her finder’s fee?)

…his battles with the vacuum cleaner.  These had become less fierce in recent months (especially after we replaced the old vacuum cleaner), but he’d sometimes still get excited to hear the vacuum being rolled out for use. It was the hose attachment I used to pick up the Eskie tumbleweeds that would gather around the house that particularly riled him up—all just a big, fun game.

…how when he was a puppy he was scared of the hard-surface floors at first.  He was so used to the type of floor he had in his pen and the rug in the bedroom that he was a bit suspicious of the flooring in the rest of the house, when we first started allowing him to explore the whole place on his own. 

…the way he would just come and either jump up or plop down in your lap sometimes, on the couch or the bed.  He’d often come and plop down with his back/butt facing you, because that’s how he wanted to be petted.  He was a dog who knew his own mind!  

…his “cooking spot”.  Luna has her “cooking spot” in a little bend of the kitchen cabinets, where she tends to go when we’re doing food prep.  It’s prime real estate for anyone dropping bits of food and is right in the center of activity.  Frodo’s favorite cooking spots were on the rugs in adjacent areas—either right by the main back door to the house or in the dining room (which we use as a music/game room).  The latter was more out of the way, but he could still keep an eye on things from the comfort of the rug.

…the frogs at the back porch.  He was still in his puppy stage, and when he needed a toilet break, we would carry him out to a smaller fenced area inside the larger fenced yard.  (Didn’t want him wandering all over the place on just a potty break, especially in the dark.  Sometimes he’d take forever to decide to finally toilet and stand in one spot so we could easily lift him back up, but that’s another story!) We’d left a small plastic kiddie pool on the back patio—something we’d originally intended for the dogs to play in, but they never really took to it—and it had attracted a very noisy group of frogs.  Poor baby Frodo was scared of those frog sounds!  He was also a little bit scared of the cows in the field way back at the edge of the property—but those things are gigantic, so who could blame him?!  As a grown-up dog, he was generally only vaguely interested in the wildlife that found its way into his backyard domain.  He didn’t seem to have a strong prey drive and never showed any interest in chasing rabbits, squirrels, or skinks.  (He did once kind of run along after one of the cats that would hang out in our yard sometimes, but that was all in fun/curiosity. He wasn’t sprinting after it or trying to catch it.)

…speaking of the yard, how much he enjoyed being outside in nice weather.  During the cooler times of the year (really, anytime not steamy summer), he liked to take frequent trips outside.  He enjoyed sitting or lying on “the pad”, which is higher elevation than the rest of the back yard.  He’d find a shady spot, lie there, and just observe his domain. On hot, steamy days, he’d sometimes ask to go outside, only to change his mind and immediately turn around on the welcome mat to come back inside.  A clear “never mind”! Same thing with the rain. He’d often sit by the door when it started raining—the door with windows that he could easily see through to tell that it was pouring rain, even if there hadn’t been the clear sound of it on the roof.  “You want to go outside?  Really? Now? You do know it’s raining, right?  …Well, okay.”  Open the door, let him take a peek or maybe even step outside, only for him to do an instant about-face. A dog’s version of, “Oh, it’s raining!  Never mind.”  And then there was the way he’d sometimes ask to go outside, but require you to open the door twice.  First time, he’d just look or poke his nose out (making sure the coast was clear?).  Close it and immediately open it again.  Yep, now he would go out!  Such a silly boy!

…how well he could catch frisbees!  He never cared much for fetching balls, but he loved frisbees and was very good at catching them out of the air.  Donald would have two going at a time.  Throw one, and Frodo would chase and catch it mid-air, then run back toward Donald and drop the frisbee near him as Donald threw the second frisbee the other direction.  Over and over again.  

…the way he would sometimes sit by my side for such a long time, just enjoying being petted.  (He was my viewing companion for many hours of Dateline, back in the day.)

And so many more memories.  (I might come back and add more, as they occur to me. I don’t want to forget, and typing them out is helping, I think.)

We were so lucky to get to have Frodo as our dog, even if he wasn’t here for as long as we wanted.  (Is it ever long enough?) He made our lives better just by being there.  It will take time to get used to a house that feels so much emptier without him—his antics and his love.  He was a sweet, good boy.  We’ll miss him.