This is a story about the beginning of an unusual relationship between a dog and his owner, Tony, who had previously lost their ten year old schnauzer suddenly on an operating table. The grieving period lasted several months, and then the journey began. Gail went on the computer and looked for sites that carried homeless dogs. She came across the picture of an eight month old schnauzer that weighed only six pounds, a pathetic looking puppy, which was abused by his owner. She called to Tony to take a look, and wanted to go see this dog. Shrugging his shoulders, Tony agreed to take the ride from Chicago to Indianapolis to see the puppy. The three hour journey took five hours because of a snow storm, but they finally connected with the two nurses that ran the shelter, meeting at a gas station. Tony brought the three hundred dollars, as instructed, in case they wanted the dog. They met the puppy through the car window, and fell in love with her. She was a lovable miniature Schnauzer, and Gail named her Fritzie. At home, Fritzie got acquainted with Rudy, a previously stray cat. Rudy was a lost Russian Blue four-paw declaw, who was given his name because he was brought home on 9-11. They immediately connected in a playful way, most of the time. Tony and Fritzie went for many walks together, and one morning he heard sounds coming from Fritzie. At first Tony didn't know what was happening, but responding to the noises, he noticed that Fritzie's ears were moving like she understood what Tony was thinking. Her sounds then became words, and it took off from there, with storytelling on both their sides. This was the beginning that led to many 'Conversations with Fritzie'.
About the Author: Tony Serritella grew up in the 50's on the streets of the Chinatown neighborhood of Chicago, where he and his friends remained friends forever. He graduated from grade school and high school and it was enough for him and his friends. They never concerned themselves with the future and never realized or thought it would ever come. They had the Peter Pan mentality. All were street hustlers of some kind: washing cars, delivering papers, driving a neighborhood cleaner's truck, hustling football parlay cards or working for the City. At the age of nine, Tony worked for his uncle on a newsstand in the Chicago downtown loop area for six dollars a week. His fondness for dogs came when his uncle brought home a stray and gave it to him as his tenth birthday present. Tony gave the dog a name, calling him Brownie, for obvious reasons. From that day forward, he bonded with dogs and never was without one. When he first heard a song by Karen Carpenter, the refrain "Bless the beasts and the children, for in this life they have no voice" haunted him. Many years later he decided to give the beast a voice and wrote his second book, 'Conversations with Fritzie'.