A note to new readers: while we often delve deeply into financial topics (such as Behind the Scenes of a Happy Frugal Marriage and Well Hot Damn, Frugality Works! Our 2014 Savings Rate Revealed), 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.

Greetings Internet.

Epic Frugal Hound in her winter coat

Frugal Hound here. I write to you from the frozen tundra of the Northeast, where I’m vigilantly trying to identify every scent on every pile of snow. Nevermind that I freeze my little paws in the process (and refuse to wear my doggie snow booties–how embarrassing).

At any rate, neither ice nor snow could prevent me from bringing you a fresh installment of my esteemed interview series, Frugal Hound Sniffs. Today, I’m pleased to introduce you to Dog DebtFreeJD, hailing from DebtFreeJD.com.

I hope you’ll join me in exuberantly sniffing Dog DebtFreeJD!

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

I have many names (Fluff, Fluffles, Flufflish being among the most popular)* but on the Internet I am known as Dog DebtFreeJD. I am a 1.5 year-old Samoyed pup. My people – Mr. and Mrs. DebtFreeJD – are currently paying off Mrs. DebtFreeJD’s law school loans. Mrs. DebtFreeJD blogs about it at DebtFreeJD.com. I contribute by snoozing underneath her chair while she’s writing.

DebtFreeJD_Fluff

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

My people spend a lot of time brushing me. This is supposed to replace going to the groomer$$$. I think it is a hilarious and fun game where the goal is to either (a) bite the comb so it cannot be used on me or (b) be chased around the house by the Brush-Wielding-Humans. When tired enough, I will allow myself to be brushed, especially if my tummy is being rubbed.

DebtFreeJD_Baby Fluff3) Favorite treat?

Unfettered destruction. (Please see Question #5).

4) Favorite toy?

Socks. All of them.

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

It’s so hard to choose. Among the possibilities: three chairs, two mattresses, and a rug. An easier question would be: “What’s the most hilarious thing I’ve destroyed?” Answer: a blue pen. I looked like I’d eaten a smurf, plus I left blue paw prints all over the apartment.**

DebtFreeJD_Blue

6) Most embarrassing moment?

I am never embarrassed. I’m too fluffy for that.

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

My people were told Samoyeds are afraid of water. If so, I must be a mutant lab-mix Samoyed, because I love rivers, lakes, puddles, and mud. Because I can get washed off in the river, I am rarely bathed in a tub.

However, I recently was made delightfully odiferous by meeting a friendly skunk at night. I wanted to share how wonderfully I smelled, so I jumped into bed with Mrs. DebtFreeJD. I was forced to shower after that.

DebtFreeJD_CloseUp

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

Mr. and Mrs. DebtFreeJD are paying off $120,000+ in law school loans. I contribute by reminding them that life’s not about gold plated bones, imported antelope meat, or even being the fluffiest. The most important thing in life is The Pack Being Together. And The Pack Being Together is free.

9) What’s your best skill?

Fluffiness, flufftitude, and just generally fluff.

*I actually have a very dignified real name (withheld here to protect my anonymity) but my people seem to prefer variations on the theme of “fluffy” most of the time.

**Happily, I seem to be out of the Eating Undigestible Things Phase. The Rubber Glove and Half A Tennis Ball Incidents both caused some vet bill$$$.

DebtFreeJD_Snooze

The End.

Thank you, Dog DebtFreeJD! I believe you and I are polar opposites as far as fur is concerned. While you are extraordinarily fluffy, I have scant fur coverage. Don’t tell anyone, but, my belly is almost entirely hairless. Oh the shame.

Mrs. Frugalwoods here: Many thanks to Mrs. DebtFreeJD from DebtFreeJD.com for assisting Dog DebtFreeJD in crafting her superb interview. Mrs. DebtFreeJD graduated from law school a few years back. In May 2014, she realized that although she’d been careful to make all her payments — and then some — she still owed more than $125,000 in loans. She set the goal of paying them off in the time it took to build the Empire State Building (about a year and forty-five days). So far, she’s making progress . . . and Dog DebtFreeJD is still being kept in the style to which she has become accustomed. 

Are you a pet?

Do you have something to share with the internet? If so, answer my Frugal Hound Sniffs: Exclusive Interview Questions and have your parents email them to my mommy: mrsfrugalwoods@gmail.com (I can’t believe they won’t give me my own email account) and you’ll be featured in an upcoming issue! While I know we are more than just our appearances, please do send photos too.

Kisses,

Frugal Hound

P.S. Follow us on Twitter @FrugalWoods for even more ridiculous photos of Frugal Hound and friends.

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50 Comments

  1. Aww, too cute! We also have many non-names that Kitty PoP ends up being called – fluffy bunny, fuzz-cicle, and various assorted curse words for when he is a tiny devil!

  2. Aw, I love Samoyeds! The picture with the blue paws and face is hilarious.

    We have so many names for our assorted beasts it’s a wonder any of them answer to their real names.

    1. Thanks so much! Samoyeds are the best. Fluff does not answer to her real name unless there is peanut butter involved. She also doesn’t answer to any of her other names, but curiously does come to a whistle.

    1. Glad you enjoy them! Fear not, Frugal Hound is an intrepid reporter and has plenty more interviews lined up 🙂

  3. Oh my, as the owner of a nearly hairless dog, I was really impressed by all the fluff. How do you manage in hot weather? When our white Jack Russell terrier, Sadie, was alive, she once ate a yellow highlighter. It was like she’d eaten a day glo person from the 80’s!

    1. Samoyeds have a thick undercoat that they lose during the summer, so they do OK in hot weather (within reason: Death Valley would be tough, but our New England summers are acceptable). Your comment made me want to go find and lock up all our highlighters.

  4. So glad you have moved past the “eating undigestible things” phase… That’s a tough one!! I’m sure Frugal Hound would appreciate some of your fluffiness right now to insulate from the bitter cold.

    1. Mr. DebtFreeJD and I are glad too. Sometimes, we feel she has just gotten better at digesting things, however. I’ll spare you the details of what has come out . . . ahem . . . the other end.

  5. OMG- *so* much adorable fluff!!!
    (I am trying to hold out on getting another dog for a bit longer- but that cute face makes it hard!)

      1. PS. Not to give Maeby ideas, but she destroyed it by chewing a hole through the center and ripping out the stuffing. That was so much fun that she did it again with a second mattress.

    1. I leave it to Mrs. Frugalwoods to answer questions about doggy boots. It was clear from the get-go that Fluff would tolerate no such article upon her person (doghood?) so we have never tried to purchase any.

  6. This post was wonderfully fun and insightful on so many levels…or so my cat Kiki tells me! Her favorite question/response was “5) What’s the most expensive thing you’ve every destroyed?” I LOL’ed as well and loved the visual that accompanied the question.

    Thanks for a thoroughly giggly post and take care.

    All the best.

    Lyle

    1. Awww… an Aussie/Husky sounds adorable! Buddy is welcome to fill out an interview and send it on in 🙂

  7. I love these posts. Silly yet adorable, and therefore necessary. Mr. FI and I may have to do one of these. Thanks to Frugal Hound for her interviewing skill!

    1. Frugal Hound is most appreciative of your kind words :). You should definitely have your hound do an interview!

      1. 🙂 We met a woman who did that with (shed) Husky fur! However, she told us it took two years to collect enough for one mitten. I think covering all of Frugal Hound would be a big project.

  8. Fluff is a seriously adorable pup! I love this series so much (because, duh, animals!) and I’m super happy to be introduced to this blog. I am also trying to pay off my debt from law school. I’m headed over there right now!

  9. Take it from an older and wiser samoyed, being fluffy won’t get you far in the working world. I’ve been on a sled team since I was 9 months old. The Alaskan Huskies and Eurohounds don’t care how fluffy you are. They’ll drag you if you can’t keep up. Don’t misunderstand, I love my job. We’re one of the most versatile working breeds. Check out OWS, Organization for the Working Samoyed. They have lots of fun jobs we can do. And we get to be fluffy while doing them.

    My last samoyed died of natural causes 5 years ago. He had over 10,000 miles in harness and could pull 1,500 pounds without trying too hard. I retired from sledding in 2008. My house and yard is still home to 5 geriatric huskies. When they go I will probably get another samoyed, hopefully from working bloodlines.

    1. That’s wonderful that you have 5 geriatric hounds under your care. I’m always so saddened by people who give up their elderly dogs because they’re not cute anymore. I love hearing stories of folks who care for dogs throughout their lives! Thank you for sharing the info on working Samoyeds too!

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