Back from vacation!

I'm back! Sorry, my weekend hiatus" turned into a "weeklong hiatus". Dad took a while getting the pictures off of the camera, and then he found that some were deleted... it was fun.

But I've still got some great ones! We left on Friday and piled in the car, ready for hours of fun. Mom and Dad were pawesome and got the back seat all fancified for us. It was like a personal castle, all just for Big Brother and me!


We took turns sitting in the front seat with either Mom or Dad, whoever was not driving. I didn't like that at first. In fact, on the way up I had several "accidents" in the back seat. Oops. But there were plenty of rawhides and toys and such to keep us busy. Snoufer liked the window-- not so much me.


On Friday night we stayed in a hotel in Topeka, KS, after stopping at a late-night Wendy's for food. The guy at the drive-up had a Cockney accent-- seriously! And was REALLY rude. Mom and Dad were also rude for not giving Snoufer or I any of their food. All we got was the normal stuff. The hotel was pretty cool, though-- pet-friendly and lots of room to run around in!




Snoufer stole my stick and hid under the bed. Meanie.


When we got there, I had the time of my life playing with Mom and Dad's friend's bigdog-- SADIE!


She is a Katrina orphan that Dad's friend adopted when they were rooming together (before Mom and Dad got married). Sadie remembered Dad, alright! She wagged her tail like crazy-- not even Snoufer gets that nuts! Speaking of which, Dad says that's all the pics he has of Sadie, since she is such a hyper dog, he couldn't even get her to sit still for one picture. Trust me, he's not lying. She gave Snoufer and I both a run for our money-- all 48 pounds of her! She's a lab-something mix, but I think there's a little bit of pit bull or something like that in her, because she has small ears and a VERY muscular body. Anyway, she's a cutie!

Oh, and just to prove I wasn't there to only have fun all the time--


See? We did some work as well! Dad wants me to put in here that if anyone is reading this who plays Fantasy Football and looks closely at the draft board, don't worry-- our league is different than most people's, in that we start two quarterbacks and give them LOTS of points, so that's why they always go first.

Speaking of which, one of the guys on my team did pretty well last night! Woohoo! Go Brandon Jacobs! Go PugNation!

After the draft, everyone was pooped, so we crashed at my human grandpa's house. That was pawesome to see him as well! I wowed him with my super-cuteness.


Then came the big, long ride home for 14 road hours straight through from Illinois to Colorado. Strangely enough, I didn't have one single accident the whole way. Maybe this had something to do with it...



LOTS of sleeping on the way back. Except for when Mom got pulled over by police in Kansas for speeding-- TWICE. And she has never gotten pulled over before, at all! Thankfully, she only got one ticket, but Snoufer and I made sure that we barked like crazy at the cops when they came up to Mom's window. We sensed she was in distress-- what else could we do?!

What a week! I had a great time. Now, I will leave you with what I think is just the cutest picture ever taken by anyone, ever.


See? What'd I tell you?

Fantasy Football Friday! (and weekend hiatus)

Hello!

I wanted to let everyone know first of all that yesterday I got my checkup at the V-E-T-apostrophe-S and all is well with me, my stomach, and my surgery area. I have been cleared to travel, which is good, because...

I am going to Illinois with Dad and Mom to perform the auspicious office of Fantasy Football team mascot for Dad's team this year. Yes, it's kinda nerdy, and yes, it's full of testosterone (do those two even go together?), but Dad likes it, and anything that makes him happy is fine with me! He named his team PugNation, which I think is a neat little play on words acknowledgement to how I rule his life ever since I came to the house.

So, I will be gone all Labor Day weekend and will be back on Tuesday, blogging as usual! In the meantime, while I'm there I get to meet my human grandpa for the first time and hang out with my Dad's friend's bigdog Sadie. Pawesome! The only drawback: 13-15 hours in the car... one way. At least it will be broken up on the way down. Straight through on Monday on the way back? Eeek.

I promise I will pose for lots of pictures (of me-- don't worry, I won't let any pictures of beer-drinking guys sitting around a draft board creep in). Have a great weekend, everyone!

Whirlwind Weekend

First off, MOM'S HOME!!!

She got in on Sunday, and Dad drove to the airport to pick her up. I drove along with. When I saw her standing outside the terminal, my little doggy tail went absolutely wild!

Unfortunately, Snoufer couldn't see Mom until he got out of the hospital. Yep, that's right. He got hemorragic gastroentritis (HGE) and had to be put on IV fluids for 36 hours. He was so sad when he left! He wouldn't even play with me, and he just laid on the tile floor unmoving at the hospital. Dad was really scared, so I was working double-time on the Morale and Welfare. I missed him too. He's back now and just as spunky as ever!


Of course, he is a little more grumpy than usual, but that could be because he is embarrassed because his paw is shaved. He is a very vain Westie; he likes all his fur to be just so.


Of course, he's also got to take antibiotics to follow-up, which Dad gives him in peanut butter! Why can't I get sick?


Just kidding. I don't want that. Bloody diarrhea? No thank you. Besides, now Snoufer has to be on a bland diet, which Mom and Dad cooked up for him of rice and beef.


It can't be that bad, though, since Snoufer scarfs it down like crazy! Dad told me they're still not sure what caused it, but Snoufer got sick at about the same time that Dad started giving me gravy mix-ins in my food. I thought my food was disappearing rather quickly... The doctors say that it wasn't that that caused Snoufer to get sick, but it might have been a gastrointestinal trigger. So, the real punch line here is that I don't get gravy any more. NUTS!

An interesting side effect of this is that Dad and Mom are researching whole and/or raw foods for me and Snoufer. I'm so picky, and this experience has gotten them a little gun-shy on additives in mass-produced foods. Seeing how much Snoufer gobbled up even his bland diet of "real food", they think that might solve a lot of problems for us. Any suggestions from my pugfriends on this?

Mom had a great time on her vacation. She was visiting family in Michigan at a cottage on Upper Silver Lake (right by the Michigan sand dunes). They spent a lot of time fixing up the cottage for renters in the season coming up, but they had some time left over to fish:


To roast marshmallows over the fire on the beach:


And to go to a petting zoo:


I'm trying to figure out what this guy thinks he's doing...


When she was growing up Mom planted a tree in her backyard. Look how big it is now!


Next post I'll put up the pictures I promised of the Rennaisance Festival. Just to close this one out, I have here definitive proof that I really can read and type on my own, without any help from Dad.



So there. Pay no attention to the leg-like surface on which I am reading. It's nothing. Definitely not a human.

Oh! One more thing. I participated in the Christmas in July that Herbie, Nixon, and Fattie's mom organized, and I got Samantha and Mr. Tigger! I put together a goodie bag for them yesterday, and they sent mine out today! Mmmm, I can't wait! I am also participating in Project Dogway Week 2, so look out, all the competish! Updates on that as it happens.

So glad to be back!

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!

Baths bite

I hate baths. I hate my humans for giving them to me. OK, I don't really hate them-- it's hard to hate them, with their wierd little noses that stick out and how their eyes are so close together and their hairless bodies: they're so ugly, they're cute! But right now, I don't like them.

They gave me a bath yesterday. I got wet. It was humiliating...



I tried to escape several times, but to no avail:



Oh well, at least Dad gets in there with me. Funny, though: Mom wouldn't take pictures of him, just of me. I guess it had something to do with those wierd fabric things they put on their bodies-- Dad didn't have any on. And here I just thought they were for making soft areas to sleep on the floor, and burying rawhides in.

Speaking of rawhides, I have found a new love: real bones! Petsmart has these great bones that are real live boniness, and they're awesome! It's great, because Snoufer chews on them until the big, hard nubbies on the end are gone, and then I finish off the middle. It's the best part anyway, with its yummy and chewy marrow... Mmmm... yummy bone yummy bone yummy bone...

What? Oh, sorry. Got a little distracted there. I still like rawhide bones, though.



I'm settling down a bit in the morning and sleeping longer, which is great because now Snoufer and I get along better!


Other stuff going on with my humans: Dad is looking for a job because his contract expires in September, Mom is still waiting on word for what class she will teach next year, and she is getting ready to leave on vacation back in Michigan with her family. She will be gone for a whole 3 weeks! Dad and I both are pretty bummed we can't go with her (Dad can't leave work for that long), but at least he and I can watch lots of movies together and maybe go hiking while she's gone!

That's all for now! I'll do my best to keep the updates coming-- Dad's getting a new computer soon, so maybe this one will not be discriminatory against persons of paw and will have oversized keys. I hope so. Typing with your claws can be really jarring...

Oh, and since Snoufer got a closeup last time, here's mine: