Fritz’s Long-Awaited Second Chance

Last month in Missouri, a puppy mill was shut down. For the first time in his approximately nine years, a little Shih Tzu named Fritz was able to leave and begin to find out, as his foster mom Maura Nelson puts it, what it means to be a pet and not a product.  

Because Fritz grew up in the confines of a puppy mill, he is now learning what most dogs learn at a much younger age. His foster mom is working on housebreaking with him and also teaching him to play with toys.

Fritz has a condition called dry eye and needs daily eye drops, which cost about $40 per month. He also needs a home where he can be carried up and down stairs, and where he can be protected from falling down stairs with a baby gate or other barrier, as he had not encountered stairs before and cannot navigate them on his own. 

For now, Fritz is more comfortable with other dogs than people, but Nelson said he’s always excited when she comes home from work and is making great strides in learning to trust people.

If you are interested in giving Fritz a family, you can fill out an adoption application on the Secondhand Hounds website. Since it was founded in 2009, this Edina-based and volunteer-run rescue organization has placed more than 1,700 pets in loving homes. 

At a Glance