All Better

Well, Winston had his last of three post-op check ups on his mouth last week and Dr. Harvey said he is all good to go. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and encouragement while he went through this surgery. I know it wasn't a major operation, but it's always major when it's your baby!

So, for a month Winston has not been able to chew on any chew toys. This has been hard since chewing is Winston's FAVORITE thing to do. He is not much of a stuffy dog. He's really not interested in that at all, his thing is "Chew chews!" You may remember his very favorite dinosaur:

Well, they told me to get rid of most of his old chew toys as they could have bacteria on them that caused this plaque build up and infection in the first place, so poor old dinosaur had to go bye-bye.

But to celebrate Winston finally being able to chew again, let me introduce: Pugasaurus Rex!!

Oh, the anticipation!

Oh, the sweet joy of chewing on your dinosaur!

It's good to be better!

Interruption

AHEM. I, Clementine Peezy-Wheez Churchill, would like to interrupt this "Winston's pity party program" for a special announcement:

I'M BORED.

Enough about "poor Winston" - POOR CLEMENTINE! First off, Winston disappeared for a WHOLE day without even telling me where he was going. Then he shows back up 8 hours later, he smells like a bunch of other animals and people, he's all doped up, he doesn't even recognize me, then he proceeds to fall asleep for the next ten hours. RUDE.

Then when he wakes back up, Mami and Papi are all "awww, Winston, poooor Winston" blah blah blah. What about ME???

Then at dinner he got SOFT FOOD and chicken stock! And what did I get? KIBBLE!! The Injustice!

And worst of all - he won't play with me!! And every time I put my "Let's get ready to rumble" bark and skip and crazy face on, Mami and Papi start yelling at me and tell me to "leave Winston alone." What am I supposed to do????

I mean, Winston is usually pretty lame anyways, but this is RIDICULOUS. Plus, he still smells funny. Bleck.

So, dear readers - I implore you. What should I do?? How do I make it through this never-ending boredom fest without the Mami and Papi yelling at me incessantly and without hurting "poor wittle Winston"???? I need ideas, quick - I'm getting cabin fever!!

Recuperating

Winston is back home and recuperating via extended napping:

His surgery went well, except for a few hitches. Once they got in there, they realized that what they thought was one tooth was actually two crowded teeth - there was so much plague and tartar build up, it was nearly impossible to see that there were two teeth in the one area, so they ended up removing both teeth and once they figured this out, they realized a similar issue was happening on the other side of his mouth. Rather than remove those teeth as well, they injected the gums with some sort of antibiotic that should keep that excessive plaque and tartar build up from happening on the other side as well.

He is eating well and keeping everything down - which is really good and even though he's still groggy and sleepy, he seems to be happy and feeling much better this morning. When I picked him up last night it was like he didn't even recognize me - he was so out of it. But this morning he was excited to get up and eat breakfast (duh, he IS a pug - surgery or not).

Some of you commented yesterday that you'd like to follow me on Twitter. You can find me @ladypug (shocking!) I'd love to follow you on there as well, so find me and I'll follow you back.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers and reassurances! The Pug-Blog community is so amazing - you always have support even for those of us who aren't always as on-point about our blogs and commenting and keeping in touch as we should be (ie - ME). Thanks so much.

Toofer Trouble

Tomorrow morning I take Winston in to the vet to have his teeth cleaned and have at least one removed. Despite my incessant brushing of both of their teeth as well as dental treats, and high quality dog food, one of his teeth has managed to basically rot from the root up. They say it's a genetic thing and has nothing to do with how I clean and maintain their teeth. Which is both a good and a bad thing. The good thing is it's not my fault, but the bad thing is that there's nothing we can do about it happening to any of his other teeth in the future. Hopefully, though, this will be a one-time event.

In any case, he, of course, has to go under anesthesia for this, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as this is always a tiny bit risky.

He is, however, looking forward to all the yummy canned food he'll get to eat for the next week :)

I pick him up at 5pm tomorrow night - we'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. Thanks to everyone who has already given me reassuring messages via twitter - they have all helped to make me less nervous about this. Winston hasn't been put under since his neuter when he was just a tiny puppy, so it's been a while since he's spent the entire day at the vet's office. He did just fine then, though, and I'm sure he'll do just fine this time around as well.

More Good News

Remember the pug, Frodo, that I posted about in December? He went missing on December 18th and was found two weeks later, in a neighbor's pool. It was very sad, and his momma missed him terribly, but then something amazing happened.

A few weeks ago, this dog showed up at Frodo's momma's house:

She was very skinny and clearly hadn't eaten in a while, but she was well behaved and knew all her commands. Frodo's momma and daddy tried very hard to find her owner, but no one came forward to claim her, so now "Lady" belongs to them.

I like to think that Frodo led Lady to his momma and daddy to help fill the hole in their hearts. Just like Archie and Tiffy have done for Melissa and Michele.

Hope really is the thing with fur.

Welcome, Lady!

Hope

Emily Dickinson famously wrote, "hope is the thing with feathers" . . . but I say, "hope is the thing with fur . . . and a wet nose . . . and a little wrinkly face" because hope is what Melissa and Michele have found in their new fur-babies: Tiffy and Archie.Hope that the holes in our hearts from our loss will be filled with the love we find in our new friends. Hope that every puppy and every rescue puggie will one day have a loving, caring home. Hope that the things we have learned in the past will help us in the future and that love is an ongoing lesson and that each being we come into contact with is continual practice.

We are SO happy to welcome both of these amazing dogs to the blogosphere and into all of our hearts.

WELCOME WELCOME Archie and Tiffy!

Not just a dog

Well, it took me many weeks, but I finally worked up the courage to read Michelle and Melissa's final blog tributes to our friends, Stubby and Emmitt.

Though I knew about both of them going to the bridge, I had been avoiding reading about it, because I knew it would make me sad and cry . . . which it did, BUT, their touching tributes did something else - something that Emmitt and Stubby have been doing for a long time - they inspired me!

Stubby and Emmitt are probably two of the most inspiring dogs I've ever known. Stubby inspired his mom to start a blog, but not just any blog, one of the smartest, most important , environmentally informative blogs I've ever read. He and his mom helped share their passion for the earth and environment by giving us helpful tips and tricks to saving our mother earth - and that will live on forever.

And Emmitt - wow! Emmitt inspired his mom to change her entire life and focus on her true passion - art! The inspiration Melissa found in Emmitt not only changed her life, but all of our lives as I know all of us in the pug community adore her artwork and her wonderful blog that helps us see art in every aspect of life. And THAT will live on forever.

People often tell us "it's just a dog" or "they're pets, not people," but never underestimate the power of the pug! They are amazing, inspiring little creatures and trust me - they are not oblivious to this. Winston and Clementine inspire me every day, even if it's just the inspiration to smile and laugh and enjoy life. They inspired me to start this blog, which became a major writing outlet for me after I dropped out of my Graduate Program in Creative Writing. They were even a major inspiration for me to quit my job and start working for myself from home - so I could spend more time with them and enjoy them more. And when I sit at my desk in my home office here is a snapshot of what I look at throughout the day that keeps me inspired:

Emmitt and Melissa's art keeps me smiling all day. And Michelle and Stubby's blog kept me informed and entertained.

Yes, I cried. Yes, we will all miss having Emmitt and Stubby here on our plane of existence, but remember that all is not lost - Emmitt, Stubby and all our sweet, loving, funny, pugs will live on forever in the inspiration they give us and others.

Never. Underestimate. A PUG.

See you on the other side of the bridge, sweet boys.

Dream Home Pug

So, in an act of unparalleled optimism on my part, I have entered myself to win the HGTV Dream Home. After entering, I was taking a virtual tour of the home, when I spotted something.

Turns out, we've already won the house, and Winston was nice enough to head there before our arrival to make sure everything is ready for us.

Thanks, Winston! See you in Stowe soon!

(Seriously, there are no animals or people AT ALL in this virtual tour except for this one little pug. How funny is that?)

See for yourself.

Help Foster!

Pug Lover's Rescue in Rock Hill, SC, where we adopted Clementine has recently suffered two tragedies. One of their foster moms suddenly and unexpectedly died in her sleep and a second foster mom recently was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Between the two of them, they were fostering 7 dogs who now all need homes.All of these dogs are adoptable and most are completely healthy. They just need a place to stay. If you or someone you know is able to take a foster into their home or even better if someone you know would like to adopt a pug and give them their FUREVER home - please please please, let me know.

You can read about the dogs that need homes at this site.

The director of PLR sent me this short description of each dog:

Mia 10/11 years old hard of hearing & has little eyesight, very small about 13-14lbs fawn

Mugsy male 9 years just needs a home not good with small children (picture of Mugsy below - he is a sweetie)

Obi & Anna Obi fawn no issues, Anna black bonded pair Oobie is the way it is pronounce

Katy little pug female blonde mix 4*5 years old

Molly 6 year’s old fawn female kind of shy

Roxy 7 years old fawn female was a breeder dog loving but scrappy

Please Please Please, if you are able - take the time to consider opening your home to a foster dog. I would love to be able to do this, but with Clementine's aggression issues and the fact that our house is already too small for the four of us, I'm just not able. But I'm going to do everything I can to help find these puggies a good home. Please spread the word!

Christmas with the pugs

The pugs got a new bed for Christmas:

I think they like it.

What did you get??