Oh. My. Gosh.

Wowsie! I have had a very trying past week or so, so I first of all apologize to everyone for disappearing off the face of the earth!

Here's what happened.

Sunday July 27th: Mom and Dad took me to the Renaissance Festival in Larkspur for a jam-packed day of fun and food! I will put up pictures and a full description when Mom gets back. Speaking of which...

Tuesday July 29th: Mom left for Michigan to stay with her family at their cottage on Upper Silver Lake. And she is going to be gone for two weeks! She comes back Sunday August 10. I am very very sad. When she left, I sat at the door and whined under my breath for a good 30 minutes. Also, on the first day after she left, I tore up a pair of Dad's shoes while he was at work. I NEVER DO THAT! I was just so upset, I had to gnaw something. So now, I have to stay in the crate during the day. Which means I can't get to the computer. Which means nothing happens for a while on my blog.

There have been a couple of side effects of Mom leaving. First off, she took the camera with her, so there will be no more pictures until she gets back. Sorry everyone! Secondly, I have to keep Dad company a lot when he gets back from work because... well, that's my job. Besides, he's really bummed that Mom is gone. He told me that they've been married just long enough to get used to each other being there, and yet not long enough to get sick of each other. So, he's really kinda been out of it the past week. Finally, I've missed her too, so I've picked up some bad habits. In addition to chewing up Dad's shoes, I started to go to the bathroom in the house more and also have started to climb up on the dining room table and grab stuff that's up there. That's not all bad, though: I got an asiago cheese bagel out of it two days ago!

To cope with Mom being gone, Dad has alternately snuggled with Snoufer and I and watched a movie or worked like crazy. Mom left him a to-do list of stuff, so he's been busy with that, but he's also taken us out to places. Speaking of which:

Saturday August 2: We had Pug Club at the dog park! It was BLAZING hot-- the day before set a record for Colorado Springs (99 degrees!)-- so we didn't stay long, but I had lots of fun meeting new pug friends! There was a big stocky fawn named Roscoe who liked to chase tennis balls; I can run faster than him, so I beat him usually. There was a skinny fawn named Romeo who might even put me to shame for how energetic he is! There was also a black female named Gina who was there... but no Veronica. *sigh* Maybe I'll see her again someday. And then there were 4 puppies as well! One was only 12 weeks old-- she crawled right into Dad's lap. I could tell he melted then; maybe I can use this as leverage to get a female pug in the house. Dad's got a soft spot for the ladies, and we are one of the VERY few families with only one pug in the house. You know what they say about us: you can't buy just one! The others were about 18-20 weeks old. I had fun with one of them-- finally, someone I can play with who is smaller than me! I slept for the rest of the day after that.

Sunday August 3: Dad took us to a place called Nosh here in Colorado Springs that has a Puppy Pool Party on Sundays. It's this outdoor bistro with a fenced-in area next to a downtown park that dogs can roam around in and meet/greet while the humans eat. Don't worry: they provide doggie treats for us, and kiddie pools to splash in (No, I still am not a fan of water-- I didn't get in), and they give you a bandanna afterwards! I've decided I like big dogs. I hung out with a Weimeraner and a Rottweiler a lot that day.

Backtracking a bit...

Thursday July 31st: I got my last shot. I am officially set! Now comes the big decision. Dad and Mom like the way I look so much they want to find a lady Beagle and, as they put it, "make Puggles." I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I think I'm starting to get it. I've been feeling wierd lately-- increased energy, awkward body, deeper bark, increased protective instinct... And I find that I like big furry toys. A LOT. Anyway, Mom and Dad are having a bit of a moral dilemma, because they have been told by several friends and Petsmart people not to find me a lady, because there are a lot of dogs who get put to sleep due to overpopulation. Complicating the issue, I have a baby tooth that just won't fall out, so now I'll have to get it extracted, which means anesthesia and big bucks if it's not already part of another procedure. I'm a little nervous as to what kind of procedure they would do that would put me to sleep (temporarily), but I trust my parents to do what's best. If only they knew what that was... So that's adding to Dad's stress level a lot. He would certainly like help from all the Pugverse if they want to give it!

So as you can see, it's been both a busy and an emotionally full past week or so! Now I have to get back to my Morale and Welfare job, so I will sign off and give written updates as they happen!