So now that you're in my World, welcome to my story.

I said earlier that my name is Tutti Frutti, but you might be surprised to find out how many other pet names I have! Hey, maybe that's why pets usually have more than one name! We gave the name to "pet names" didn't we? Mine are Tutti, Tuttico, Tuttinho, baixinho, doggie do, Tu and Frutti do. I don't know how dogs can remember all their different pet names but somehow we do!

My world started to exist on November 5, 1988 when I was born in Brazil. Since 1999, I have relocated my world to the United States. So wow did I get here? I'll tell you.

I was sent to a pet store when I was two months old in order to be sold - a somewhat cruel reality for many of us. Even so, that was how Mari found me and took me home. She was a 16 year old girl who had lost her dad on the same day I was born! And some people still think those things are coincidence!

Mari and I became friends really fast. I loved to make her smile, as she seemed sad all the time back then. How can you not smile with a puppy around? We do the silliest things. I used to love to just be with her and I even learned to love Elvis Presley's music! Elvis has been Mari's favorite singer since she was a child, you know.

When Mari was studying at home I would make her stop once in a while because I thought she studied too much sometimes. All I had to do was push my tennis ball under the sofa near where she was studying. I would bark at the sofa and she would stop to help me and then she couldn't resist spending a little time with me.

We used to go for long walks in the mornings and at the end of the day. Sometimes I also went along with Mari on her exercising walks, but I couldn't make it the entire way. To help me, Mari used to carry me a good part of the way back. As you can see, I was always helping her, even with exercises. It's a much better workout if you have to carry a 30 pound Poodle while walking!

Our house in Brazil was big enough to play; I had a yard just for myself. I loved to play with the birds and I really loved to run. My favorite place in the house was the front steps where we used to sit and watch cars and people go by. We spent a lot of time there since I was little. Sometimes, I would bark at the cars going by or someone on a bicycle, but my favorite targets were the cats. I always tried to chase them, but it never quite worked. I don't have anything against cats but the only cat I got to know better scratched me on the nose. His name was Tigrinho, an abandoned black cat that was brought to our house. In any case, my nose bled pretty much, so I stayed away from cats since then.

I know that at Mari's house there have always been dogs, which I think is neat. I think all kids should grow up having a pet. Mari's older brothers (Jr., Nando and Ado) also loved dogs but I was the first dog that was Mari's only and, let's just say that the dogs arriving after me were not exactly my fans. One time they got a Siberian Husky that was abandoned and they were all saying that the poor thing was scared. Poor thing? Poor me. It so happened that the Siberian Husky (Bambi) didn't like me much and even tried to kill me on several occasions. One night he threw me in the pool. I couldn't get out of the pool, so I just kept swimming and swimming. I thank God for being a good swimmer by nature. Finally the neighbor heard all the noise I was making and called Mari. They all came running. I had been in the water for a very long time and Mari thought I might be dead, but I don't give up so easily. Not even when Bambi hurt my neck a couple of times after that. By that time I realized he definitely didn't like me so much. Mari did her best to change the situation but some things can never be changed.

I think most dogs liked me, though, and I even found myself a girlfriend. I know she was the only one, but it wasn't because I wasn't lovable. She was the most beautiful black poodle I have ever seen. Pituxa was her name and together we had six puppies. I got to keep Pitoco, my cute little gray son. I told you puppies do silly things, well one day the three of us were playing near the pool and Pitoco ran toward Mari, missed her completely, and fell right into the pool! Mari jumped in to save him. It was scary but at the same time funny when she took all of the never ending water out of his tiny ears. He was fine after that.

When Pitoco got to be and adult, he got a new home with a loving family just like mine. I miss him, but I know he's doing really well and taking good care of his in Brazil!

The years went by and another new dog came into the house. This time it was a black German Sheppard puppy named Sasha that belonged to Nando. She was okay, although I was surprised at how big she was as a puppy. I was praying she wouldn't throw me in the pool like Bambi did. One day she got very sick with a disease and unfortunately ended up dying. Everybody was sad including me. I also started getting weaker and weaker; I got the same disease from her and it was scary for awhile. Mari and I were worried that we would never see each other again. As always, when I was sick she would be with me all the time and I knew I had to fight to survive. I made it okay, but when it comes to surviving, we didn't know what waited for us.

Because I was a good dog and everybody in the neighborhood knew me, I was allowed to go out by myself in the morning to the garden square in front of the house. I always came back in time to say goodbye to Mari. I knew what time she would be leaving for the university, so I would go to the front door and scratch it before she left. Mari would open it and I would be with her while she was finishing breakfast. Then she would say goodbye and I would see her when she came back later in the day.

One day I just didn't come back before she left. Something happened to me and I was away for almost four years. It's funny, but I really don't remember the details of those years, but I do know I had trouble understanding why I wasn't with Mari. It was a terrible time and sometimes I thought I would never see her again, but I never gave up hope. And you know what...I survived and I made it; it was very difficult, but I managed to find my way back to her. According to my vet, by the health condition I was in, I probably spent five months on the streets looking for my home.

I can't describe what I felt when I saw my favorite front steps again. I stood there for awhile waiting for someone to open the door. I was so weak that I couldn't scratch it this time, so I prayed that someone would see me. My prayers were answered.

One of Mari's uncles saw me there and told her. Immediately I heard her voice, the most beautiful sound in the world. You can ask any dog and they will agree that their master's voice is the most beautiful melody. I understood she had no hope anymore after looking for me for almost a year and finally giving up. She had hung signs all over the city and walked and drove all over the neighborhood for many weeks after I had disappeared. Unfortunately, I was nowhere to be found. I learned she used to sit there on the steps, at our favorite place, and cry at the end of every day. She went to a lot of places when they called her telling they had some lost dog around, but it was never me. She even went to see the dogs that were to be put to sleep because nobody claimed them. I was not there either.

I also learned that Mari was talking about me only days before I found the house again. She was wondering if I was dead and she hoped I wasn't suffering. She even considered buying a new dog because she missed me so much and the joy I used to bring her. But her mom (grandma Araujo) told her to wait a little while, as if she knew what it was about to happen.

When I looked into Mari's eyes again after all those years I was so relieved. There I was sitting on those steps and she was there with me. I was almost unrecognizable, though. I was very skinny and had lost much of my fur. A car had hit me and nobody helped me, so I wasn't walking right (and still don't, but it's not bad). I had a terrible scar on my back from when someone threw hot water on me (the scar is still there today, but it's much better). However, I knew when Mari looked into my eyes she would recognize me. She hugged me so much and then let me in; I couldn't believe I was finally in my home again! I had had nothing to eat for a long time and honestly, was starting to give up. All I knew was that I needed to be back with my beloved Mari who took care of me all those six years. Now I was nine and because of all that happened, I needed help more than ever.

I was so happy when Mari gave me water and food because I was really starving and very weak. Then, I went right to the sofa to get my old tennis ball, you know, but Mari told me it wasn't there anymore (she gave me a new one later on).

I went to her bedroom, under the bed where I loved to stay. I saw her brothers and some relatives from Italy that had just arrived for Christmas. Did I mention that it was near Christmas when I returned? I've heard Mari saying that I was the best Christmas gift she ever got in her life.

Mari took me to the veterinarian, Dr. Margaret, right away. I will always be grateful to the doc for saving my life. While we were sitting in the car waiting for grandma I put my face on Mari's hands and sighed. I was so tired and so happy to be with her after all that time. She cried and hugged me again and I think neither of us knew happiness like that before. We wish other people could experience that someday in their lives, it's amazing!

We were both worried about my health but Mari stood by my side day and night, giving me all the medication and care that was necessary and slowly I was myself again. It felt really good to have my health back! And you know something? Love heals. You should believe me! Life was really great again! I even met a dog that became one of my best friends, Bart the Toy Poodle. He belongs to Ado and Fernanda.

I also had a great little human friend, Mari's nephew Daniel (Jr's son). He used to play soccer with me on Sundays. I used to really have fun! Daniel was sad when I moved to the USA, but today he has an adorable Poodle named Julie. Someday he will understand why I moved.

Life teaches us so many important lessons and the most important one that we all learned was that I would never be allowed to go out the house anymore by myself, or without a leash. That's what every dog owner should do to prevent stories like mine from happening and to also prevent dogs from hurting others. That is what happened to me next. And you thought I would get a break?!

Because the owner of an Akita didn't have her dog on a leash, I could have died. Mari and I were walking near our house when we both saw that huge white dog running toward us. We didn't have time to do anything and soon the dog was all over me. I could hear Mari and the other woman screaming. I was trying my best to fight, but the Akita was so big. Mari was able to pull me away, but then the dog jumped on her. I saw her falling on the ground and the dog just staring at her, ready to bite. I was very scared Mari would be hurt, but the dog's owner was able to gain control just in time; so thankfully, we both made it. What made me mad was that the owner didn't even apologize, but just left us there and entered her house with the dog. However, later she agreed to pay for whatever care I would need and Ado made sure she did.

So, it was back to more treatments and even though I wasn't hurt so badly, my health got worse one more time. I got pneumonia and it was a hard time for us again. It seemed to me I was always fighting for my life, but that's what I have to do because I do love being around. I got better soon.

Even with all those difficult times, I consider myself a blessed dog and I know that God was always watching over me. I even found out that somehow I got home at the right time.

You see, by the time I came home Mari was falling in love with a guy from the United States. When they got engaged and she decided to move there, I knew she would take me with her, so I was very happy for the three of us. I really liked Robert since the fist time I met him so I was looking forward to being with him too. Mari and I moved in 1999 and somehow I survived the very long nine-hour flight. The rest is history; they got married on October 24, 1999, and even I was there at the church. Well, outside, but I was still able to see them after the ceremony. I can tell they really love each other and you know animals are rarely wrong about those things!

The United States is very different from Brazil, and even though I miss all the people and Poodles there, my place is wherever Mari and Robert are. As a Poodle, I am loyal as can be and I couldn't be happier now that I am always with them. And yes, I love snow even though I had never seen it before in my life.

I've learned a lot of things in my life and I think the most important is that sadness comes and goes and so does happiness but if you live every day to its fullest, being really present in each moment, every one of them is a treasure. There's no use dwelling on neither the past nor the future, because the past is gone and the future is not real yet. The only moment that exists is the present.

So you're wondering if anything out of the extraordinary has happened lately? Guess? Yes, things always happen to me. Dogs without a leash have nearly attacked me, several times, in fact. I think dogs deserve to walk around free (never unsupervised though), but not where there are other dogs. I find that in the USA, the problem is even more serious because usually the houses don't have fences like they do in Brazil. So dogs don't have protected places to run and play.

So what else happened? Well, in February 2001 I had surgery in my eyes to have my cataracts removed. I couldn't see anything with my left eye anymore and only a little with my right one. Timing was very important because if we waited a little longer, not even the surgery would help. The recovery was really hard and tricky because I wasn't allowed to do much of anything and it took days for the swelling in my eyes to go away. I had to rest most of the time and wear an annoying "lamp shade" collar to prevent me from scratching at my face. Plus, the amount of medication I had to take was unbelievable.

From February to late March 2001, I had several re-checks at the doc. Everything with my eyes was great and I was finally able to stop wearing the collar. My medication was reduced but I still could not jump, play or go up and down the steps. They let me do all that again by Spring, however.

Things took a turn for the worse when, by the second week of April, I got very sick. My eyes were okay, but I didn't have energy to do anything and after all kinds of tests my vet found out that I had Ehrlichiosis. I didn't know what it was either, so let me describe it to you: basically, it's a tick-borne disease that is related to Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and shares similar symptoms, but without the rash. Left untreated, Ehrlichiosis is always fatal. After several weeks of a very strong antibiotic, I recovered and finally got back to my old self. It was quite an ordeal, however. If you would like to learn more about Ehrlichiosis to help protect your pet, please go to this really informative website: Ehrlichiosis - A Silent and Deadly Killer.

At the end of 2001, I went back for my last eye check-up and everything was perfect. I still have to get an eye drop every night to prevent glaucoma, but other than that, I'm seeing wonderfully!

The year 2002 went very well! I even made friends around my place. Biscuit (Monica's dog) and I became great friends and we went for walks together a lot. I met a little dog named Tasha and also Cisco (a cute Bichon Frise) who lived around here as well. Even though I was still very cautious around big dogs I was ok with little ones!

In 2003, my life changed A LOT. How, you might be wondering. Well, Mari and Robert had a baby girl, Ellen, in the Spring of 2003. When they brought her home from the hospital, I didn't know what to think. I was nervous and, I hate to admit it, jealous, particularily because now I had to share Mari's attention. But when they let me see and sniff Ellen her for the first time, I new she was special. But I have to say, the CRYING! Who knew something so small could make so much noise.

Of course, over time, Ellen got older and the crying got less and less and I must admit, I really began to like her. She even started to give me lots of attention ("gently", of course, as Robert and Mari always tell her) and we became great friends.

Another big change in 2003 was that Robert and Mari bought a house, with much more room than our apartment and a HUGE backyard for me and Ellen to play in...hooray! In fact, one of the changes they made to the house in their first year of owning it was to fence in that whole, big backyard, so that I could run without a leash. I may be old, but I still like to run!

Speaking of old, as I write this update to my life, I'm now 15 years old...quite old for a dog. I really feel it somedays, but in general, I get by just fine. I hope to live a while yet. I know I won't live forever (at least in this skin!), but it would be nice to live long enough for Ellen to remember me. I think it's a great goal, and I know I can do it...because I'm loved and life is good!

Well, I hope you've enjoyed learning about me. Thank you for stopping by and have fun surfing the rest of my site!

"Mutts" comic strip is the intellectual property of artist Patrick McDonnell and is distributed by King Features Syndicate. Please see my References page for more information on "Mutts" and Patrick McDonnell.

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