Another good spot to nap

In preparation for our upcoming cross-country flight for the holidays, I pulled out all of our dog carriers from storage. The pugs got inordinately excited. Weirdly, they seem to LOVE being stuffed into a bag for hours on end, thrown under a seat to be multiply kicked while trying to nap, all the while struggling to hold their bladders.

We have (1) large Sherpa (technically the dimensions are a wee bit larger than that listed on the airlines' websites, but I've never had a problem), (2) a medium wannabe Sherpa that's been irreparably flattened, and (3) a small sporty Samsonite I used to transport Deedee when she was a puppy.

mama i am quashed in this thing

Clearly Deedee's puppy carrier is no longer an option. We will have to save that for our next puppy WHAT DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD HUSBAND STOP READING NOW

I decided that the medium bag also needed to be replaced, because it's been so crushed that it no longer stands upright and any pug within would have to lie completely flat in order not to get a concussion. So I'm frantically shopping online for 2 replacement carriers (of course I wait until the last possible moment to discover that we need another one), and I look over and see this:

small unacceptable carrier in foreground, medium crushed one in the middle, large keeper in the back

Yes, that is what I think it is. A pug has made a nest in her fave, medium, crushed, about-to-be-replaced bag.

she looks pretty darn comfy

mama do not replace this i luv it

may i have some of that?

As part of the ongoing effort to keep the pugs' teeth clean, we've taken to giving them these chews. They were recommended by their puggy dentist, so I'm sure they're totally worth it.

Well, the pugs love these things. They're like the toasted marshmallow on the proverbial s'more for these animals. Of course the pugs eat them at wildly different paces -- Cleo like a shark, Deedee like she's never seen food before, and Sasha like the toothless geriatric pug she is, will gum and lick hers to death.

the beginning of Sasha's attack

she's getting into it now

now she's really showing it who's boss

Given that it takes Sasha approximately 1 billion times longer to eat her chew than the other 2, there ends up being quite a bit of watchful waiting. Behold the lurking 2 younger, hungrier pugs.

Deedee really REALLY wants another chew. perhaps Sasha's.

Deedee has always been a pest

While going through some old CDs, I found some pics of the pugs that our friend had taken. Deedee was not even 4 months, and Cleo was 6 years old. Already you can see the beginning of their bonding process.

i sneeff u to see if u r a suitable candidate

do not try and prevent the sneeff

i must inhale more deeply of ur armpit

y r u foiling me. i bite ur arm.

o yeah? just because u have my eyeball, does not mean u have me

lemme go! fine u win miss Big Flipper Paw

mama i am good i was doing nothing

A Monday Pug Mystery

Post-Thanksgiving, the kitchen was the cleanest room in the house. This is not only because I try to avoid having to deal with crusty roasting pans days after the event, but also because Christmas decorations are strewn all over the rest of the house. So as I'm walking through my as-clean-as-it's-going-to-get kitchen, I look down and see this:

eh?

Oh, did you not get a close enough look? Inspect for yourself the teethmarks:

you can almost see the pug drool dripping off of this.

Clearly, the next question is -- whichpug dunnit? This is not merely out of curiosity, mind you. This is also to mark the pug for heightened surveillance in the event there are to be GI woes, post-Forbidden Item noshing.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it was not Sasha.

As I'm pretty sure that a pug must be conscious in order to be naughty.

Was it Cleo? She's looking suspiciously innocent.

Nope. She was otherwise occupied.

mama. i am hurt u would suspect me.

Well, that just leaves one pug, then. Anyone who had already guessed Deedee does NOT win a prize as it is usually obvious which pug gets herself into the most trouble in this house.

it was such a tasty nibble.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are grateful for so many things. Our health, our happiness... a warm sunny spot in which to nap... and a sister with whom to enjoy it.

Are we going somewhere?

I took out one of the pugs' travel carriers in order to clean out the closet. The pugs immediately swarmed the bag, sniffing and inspecting. I left them to it, as I continued to rearrange the closet. When I turned around, I saw Deedee:

mama. i want to go wherever it is that we r going. and i want a treat.

For our veterans

Belated, but better late than never?

Here's to all that are laboring for our country's peace. hope there's ample peace waiting for all of you at home.

Love pugs

I don't know if (1) Deedee was snoozing and Cleo came over to snuggle her rump end, or (2) Cleo was happily sleeping and then Deedee shoved her butt under Cleo's chin.

The end result is the same. Two snuggly pugs.

Annual visit to the vet

Oh, wait. These pugs visit the vet far more often than once a year. No matter. The 3 girls were due for their 'annual' checkup.

u said there would be treats

This checkup is comprised of:

- heartworm tests -- all negative, thank you (altho WHY 3 incredibly spoiled and sheltered animals would have heartworm is beyond me)

- DHLPP titers -- no annual vaccines for us. NO, we LIKE to spend as MUCH $ as possible checking antibody levels in order to avoid over-vaccination. But it also turns out that geriatric pugs don't need DHLPP more than every 3 years. Good news for Miss Sasha.

thank goodness, mama. i was alarmed.

-blood tests for gerry-pug Sasha -- her kidney and liver appear to functioning perfectly

why do i need more needles than the other 2?

Our astute vet discovered another lump on Cleo's left forearm. It was aspirated. And.... it's another STINKIN' SUNOFFA mast cell tumor. Luckily it appears to be very low-grade, but I don't think I need to explain how disheartening it is that Miss Cleo has another tumor so shortly after her surgery. Our vet thinks it can be treated with a steroid injection, so fingers crossed, no more surgery in the immediate future.

this does not bode well for Miss Lumpy

Deedee was just delighted to be there at the vet's, showered with attention and love. As a matter of fact, if more than 5 seconds passed without getting any love her way, she would get pretty vocal about it. Nothing more humiliating than a loudly yarping pug while trying to have a professional discussion with one's vet.

i am sitting PRETTY demmit gimme a treat

Happy Birthday, Sasha!

My grand poobah is 13 years old! So, maybe we're the worst pug-parents in the universe and maybe after talking about it for months, we forgot to celebrate the actual Day Of, but we made up for it last night.

We celebrated with a dinner of her favorite things -- cabbage, turkey and sour cream. Sound gross? Not to the pug.

gimme my birthday dinner NOW

snarf snarf snarfsnarfsnarf

and.... days later.... she's still eating. did I mention that Sasha is nearly toothless? Here she is, licking her dinner to death.

i would be indignant but i am deaf and can't hear u

Happy 13, my baby girl. Here's to many, many more.

The many sleeping faces of Deedee

Before we adopted our 1st pug, Sasha, we had read something to the effect of 'Pugs sleep 18-20 hours a day'. That's ridiculous, we said. No living being can sleep that much, we said.

i am sleepy. and a little miffed that u don't believe i can sleep that much per day.

To be honest, we were probably a little more than envious. Oh to be a pug.

cast ur eyes and weep

Post-Halloween

Let's face it. A big part of Halloween is the post-holiday sales. In particular, the post-holiday candy. Given that pugs are not allowed to eat chocolate -- what kind of a cruel world do we live in -- oh wait is it the one where 3 pugs get all the love and treats and fluffy beds they want -- it's really all about the post-holiday toys.

The sales, in particular. This little devil dog was 50% off. Whoo hoo! I am a Saver!

Deedee was quite pleased.

In fact, she almost ripped it from my hands as soon as I walked through the door.

Aaaaaand, then apparently she tired of playing.

Happy Halloween!

Hear no evil

See no evil

Speak no evil

Hope it was a great Halloween!

Pugs dozing in the sun

Sometimes it feels like we have many more than 3 pugs. Particularly when they're just strewn all about the house, looking for the best sunny spot.

I found Cleo and Deedee on their favorite sofa. But, wait, they're not on top of the back cushions, where they normally are.

They were chasing the afternoon sun...

... right off of the sofa.

Where is Sasha? She is too old to be playing the catch-the-sun game.

Or not.