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Gremlin appears to be a Miniature Pinscher with natural ears and tail. She even has freakish rear dewclaws. All of these things would have been chopped off by a "responsible breeder". Gremlin looks somewhat like a smaller version of my other dog, Gripper, but she has a much different personality. Gremlin is about five years old, weighs about ten pounds, and is about 12 inches tall. In 2007, she was found on the roof of a van in a supermarket parking lot and taken to a shelter. She was about a year old, fat and missing most of her fur when she was found. She also had a serious respiratory problem. After about a month of fostering by an agility friend of mine, Grem's fur had grown back. She had been nursed back to health and lost some weight. Her foster mom emailed me a photo and story and asked if I was interested in her. I wasn't really looking for another dog but she was really my type (small, long legs, smooth coat, etc.). So I went to meet her. She got along fine with my other dogs and that was that. Grem's foster mom had named her Olive but that was too girlie for me. I'm not fond of human, gender-specific names for dogs. Based on her mischievous personality and size, the name Gremlin seemed more appropriate.
Gremlin loves rough-housing with Nik and running with big dogs in the park. She loves people and children and is sweet and lively in every situation. I did a good amount of agility training with her but decided not to compete with her. I just don't have the time since the dogs and I travel so much. This video from 2010 shows us at a practice session in Staten Island, NY.
Grem's a quick learner and I have taught her many tricks. She snores when she sleeps and will eat anything including mud and grass. She is also obsessed with hunting birds and rodents. I have to be careful with her off-leash outdoors since she can take off and run for miles with no concern for my whereabouts. I have never seen a dog with such confidence. I thought I was adopting a lap dog but she is anything but that.
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| she loves the view |
soaking up the radiator heat |
waking up at a Red Roof Inn |
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| with her boyfriend, Sputnik |
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cuddling with Grip
(who'd have thought it possible!) |
asleep in my lap |
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| demonstrating her begging trick |
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swimming
Grand Coulee, WA |
post-swim
Libertyville, IL |
lure coursing
Colts Neck, NJ |
modeling her
remote spray collar |
with a roadside pal
Winlock, WA |
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Congressional Cemetery
Washington, DC |
beach junk, retrieving, and chasing gulls
Salem, MA |
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enjoying a street performer
San Francisco |
looking for trouble
Washington, DC |
somewhere in FL |
checking out Los Angeles |
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| Los Fresnos, TX |
with a skull she found
Nashville, TN |
falling for the fake horses...
Wynnewood, OK |
... and the fake cow
Linwood, MI |
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fishie photo-op
Kabetogama, MN |
enjoying summer & corn
Jackson, MI |
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| Sandy Hook, NJ [photos thanks Roseann Burrets-Baars] |
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Why buy or breed when you can