A note to new readers: while we often delve deeply into financial topics (such as The Privilege of Pursuing Financial Independence and 11 Ways To Be A Frugal Weirdo And Love It), we also like to keep it irreverent and downright silly. Because hey, who doesn’t need an investigative interview series conducted by a dog?! And so, I hope you’ll enjoy Frugal Hound Sniffs! If you’d prefer a more, ahem, financial independence-related post, start here.

Howdy Cyber Space.

Frugal Hound surrounded by her toys. Notice the stuffing she's pulled out of the duck...

Frugal Hound here, reporting for pet-sniffing duty. Today I find myself snout-to-snout with a fellow hound dog, Eva of Sustainable Life Blog. I’m rather envious of her encounters with buffalo and antelope as the most interesting creatures I come across are squirrels and the occasional ill-tempered pigeon. Of course I’m also afraid of pigeons, so it might be for the best that I don’t waltz into beasts of epic proportion on a regular basis. At any rate, please join me in sniffing Eva!

1) Who are you? What are you? And who are your parent(s)?

I’m Eva the mutt–my parents think I’m mostly catahoula mixed with a few other things (they are too cheap to pay for the puppy DNA test). My parents are Jeff and his wife, who run Sustainable Life Blog.

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2) What frugal tips and tricks does your human use in your pet care regime?

My parents feed me people food for dinner! Every day, I get 1 or 2 chicken leg/thigh combos. They buy the chicken at the store when it’s on sale, and it works out even in terms of cost, but they think that I’m healthier for it and will be better off in the long run. Also, it doesn’t make my breath smell as bad, which I think they appreciate.

3) Favorite treat?

I snuck onto my parents’ Amazon subscribe and save account, and am constantly rotating treats to be delivered with the rest of the family staples every 4 months. Right now, my favorite treat is a duck and sweet potato snack. I think they are these ones, but I may have fat-pawed the keys. They are the best! My mom usually gives me a few in the morning and she doesn’t even make me do any tricks!

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4) Favorite toy?

My favorite toy is my plastic dinosaur, and my parents always seem to get me a new one when I chew it up. Since my parents brought home a new house mate, I like to chew on her toys now too because they squeak, but my parents dont like it very much. I can’t tell the difference.

5) What’s the most expensive thing you’ve destroyed?

I’m not really much of a destroyer, though I do like to chew the stuffing out of any and all nearby stuffed animals when I get the chance. It’s so much fun to carry them around after all the stuffing is gone. Sometimes my dad sticks an old empty water bottle in there for me to chew on, and that makes the best noises. I do destroy tennis balls on a weekly basis though…

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6) Most embarrassing moment?

The time I found a group of 4 antelope and chased after them to make friends, but I never could catch them! I ran and ran and ran some more, but after about 20 minutes of running as hard as I possibly could, I still couldn’t catch them. They looked like such interesting creatures and I really wanted to say hello. I’m a pretty friendly dog and I like to think I’m a fast runner, but not fast enough that day.

7) How often do you get a bath and would you say it’s too often?

SustainableLife_5I get a bath about once a month and it is way too often. Even though I don’t like it, I try and be as good during the bath as I can, because then my mom lets her guard down and I can run through the house and rub my newly clean self on all the couches. Then I go outside and roll in all the leaves and grass and dirt that I can find. I don’t like being clean!

8) What is your family’s financial plan or goals and how do you contribute?

Well, before my parents got me, they think that I worked on a ranch herding cattle or bison. After they picked me out from the shelter, we talked about how I could help the family, and what would be a good fit for me. I decided I wanted to become a lawyer so they sent me to puppy law school, which I finished in 2011.

I’ve been working for myself as a lawyer ever since, and have really enjoyed it. I’ve successfully defended Mayor Bloomberg’s dog in a fraud case, as well as many other cases brought by dogs against their owners for things like entrapment (leaving unguarded food on the counter), fraud (for pretending to throw the ball and not throwing the ball), breach of contract (for making dogs shake and not giving them a treat) and more.

My firm is highly profitable, though I’m usually paid in dog snacks, so my parents are always getting on my case to hire someone to collect the bills.

9) What is your best skill?

SustainableLife_3I think my best skill is sleeping. I can do it all day, and then when everyone else is sleeping at night, I think it’s time to play so I want to go outside, then come back inside, then go outside again. If I’m stuck inside, I jump on the bed and pant in mom & dad’s faces with my smelly breath.

The End

Thank you, Eva! I’m quite impressed with your law practice. As a journalist myself, I’m glad to see other hounds pulling their weight in the work force. How we’re paid is irrelevant! I, for one, value treats much more highly than money any day.

Mrs. Frugalwoods here: Many thanks to Jeff from Sustainable Life Blog for assisting Eva with her hound-i-rrific interview. Jeff finished grad school with just over $55k in debt, and worked hard to pay it off in 5 years. After ditching his 150 mile commute (seriously) for a 10 minute walk, he sat down with his wife and had a big talk about what they wanted from life. They decided to set a rigorous budget and work for FI by 2025, right after he turns 40 (if not sooner). 

P.S. Follow Frugalwoods on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram for even more hilarious photos of Frugal Hound and friends!

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22 Comments

  1. Doggy Law Practice with ‘entrapment’ cases –
    Thanks for the morning laugh :). And Miss Eva, you have a wonderful way of writing 🙂

    1. Eva says thank you. She has enjoyed this feature, and appreciates the good words. She does not think that puppy entrapment is funny though.

    1. Typically people dont expect her to be a lawyer – She looks more like a river raft guide to a lot of people but she’s a junkyard dog in the courtroom.

    1. I wouldnt be shocked if I was part lab either. My parents think I came from a ranch near town, but dont know because I got picked up as a stray .

    1. Yes, it is Jayleen, thank you. After I passed the BAR(k) exam, business has been booming. I’ve even had to hire on some help – my sister eleanor is a mediator at the firm.

  2. My dog Maeby is envious of your chicken meals, Eva. Also, good on your parents for not shelling out for the doggy DNA test. I’ve heard it doesn’t tell you anything more precise than you would get simply by looking at a dog’s physical characteristics. I hope to read more about your doggy law escapades!

    1. A lot of my doggy friends are jealous of my luxurious food, but my parents say that it’s not as expensive as doggy dry food. I have thought about starting a law blog for my practice, but I dont know if I could ever match the famous law blog of one of my mentor lawyers, Bob Loblaw. He’s got a great law blog and I dont know if I could keep up with it and lob law bombs like he does.

    1. I did not have to take out loans. In Wyoming where I live, if you’re a first generation college student, you can get a scholarship to college that will pay a significant amount of your expense for as many degrees as you want to earn. Also in wyoming, you dont HAVE to go to law school to sit for the bar exam, you can “read the law” (apprentice) under another lawyer.

  3. Oh, Eva, how smart you are to open a doggy law practice and how excellent you’ve chosen an in demand career! I bet there are tons of canines who could use your services.

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