Beauty

Beauty is really only skin deep.  Fur deep, actually.  I know I have a face that is a little skewed, but my Mom tells me that I am beautiful.  She says I look intelligent. (And she brags that I can not only underSTAND a lot of words, but I can spell quite a few, too~) 

Mom is away on a painting trip.  She said she would have taken me this year but her room is on the 3rd floor, and it would be tricky for me, as the stairs are slippery.  I am going to cross my tail and hope that next year she is on the 2nd floor.  I know I would be a great asset on a painting trip.  People are tired after painting all day outdoors.  I'm good at snuggling and getting people to doze off....

Come home soon, MOM!

I'm intuitive.  I know when to lay low and when to be a star.  When my Conor is cleaning up his house, I know to stay low.  Stay a loaf.  Can you see why they call this "Pug Loaf"?  Still as can be... I avoid any actual cleaning myself.  I love weekends at Conor's.  He takes such good care of me - and did I  mention he always buys me treats?  Yeah.  He knows how to keep a pug happy!

Crime Scene

Oh, no...... Do you see the look on my face?  I DIDN'T do it.  Whatever it is.  What? A stolen bagel?  Nope.  No idea.  You say it was over-filled with cream cheese, and half the cream cheese from the 1st (eaten by Mom) half was also in the wrapper?  Yeah... no.  I don't know what happened to it.

(OK... I'll come clean with YOU guys 'cause we're friends - and that means ZIPPA DA LIPZ)  It was like this....  We were out running errands and Mom got her breakfast (hello?  It was almost LUNCHtime!) .  It was a bagel she said had "too much filling". *Shnork* - what does THAT mean?  Anyway she scooped out a lot of the filling and ate half - I must say she did share some of the bottom of the bagel with me.  She said (Imagine her squeaky 'mom' voice here) "Oh, Paco, you don't like garlic or onions, and this is a Works bagel...."  Then she pulled over under some big trees and opened the skylight and cracked the windows so I'd get some of that nice, cool breeze, and went into a store.  I thought she was NEVER coming back.  I thought I was STARVING.  (She says 20 minutes, tops).  I hopped into her seat and got on the floor and dug under her seat till I found the bagel and that big ball of cream cheese.  OH MY GOD, it was soooooo good~

So... she's not happy when she gets into the car.  She says "Who ate my lunch?"  She says  "Paco... you look guilty..."  

(I was trying my best to look "What? Me?")

But man, if you ever get a chance to eat a Works bagel with cream cheese .... it is worth the risk....  And no, my belly does not hurt.  Mom is making Pizza for supper, and I want my OWN!

Mellow Fellow

I think My Mom's going crazy.  She says I am driving her there.  She is starting to meditate again to reduce her stress...  I guess trying to climb into the laps of the fishermen on our walk today started her off.  The fishermen were NOT complaining.  And I think they had snacks hidden in their little kits.  I'm pretty sure of it.

Anyway, we came home and she set out to paint on the porch.  Boring, right?

BUT, Moose, the Rottweiler mix next door, came WALKING right by our house!  What does HE do when I leave our house to get into the car?  To go for a walk?  To hang out in the garden?  HE throws himself at the windows of the house - he's torn a screen completely out of the window, and he HOWLS and barks.  Now.. what would you do?

I spun around and howled and barked in my best guard dog bark,  SPIN SPIN SPI- OWWW!  I caught my lead on my leg, and I just SCREAMED!  I spun faster and screamed louder!  Everyone came to the doors and windows to see what someone (Mom, right?) was doing to me!  Only I was spinning so fast Mom couldn't even catch me to stop me and see what leg was pinched!  Oh, she got so annoyed.  When I finally got unstuck, she made me lay down and STAY DOWN on the porch.  QUIETLY.

No wonder I suck my little baby tiger like it's a pacifier.  With my life.... who wouldn't?

Who's That Puggy?

My Mom says that when you have a Pug, perfect strangers feel they have to participate in your relationship.  This past week, for instance, some woman chased us as we walked from our car to the studio... (we did not like being chased, we were nervous).  When she caught up to us she said to Mom: "Is that a Pug?" (points to me)

Mom:  "Yes, his name is Paco, he's 4 years old..."

Lady:  "WAIT RIGHT HERE!" (runs off down the street... Mom looks at me like "How long do we wait?")

Lady arrives a few minutes later: "Here!  I bought this at a yard sale!  YOU take it!"

And she shoved a wooden pug in my Mom's hands.

I said to myself.... "This cannot stand.  If she has a Pug that does NOT steal food, pee in inappropriate places, demand that she look at it CONSTANTLY..... what will she need me for?"

Mom was a bit bewildered as to why she would want a reverse color wooden pug as well.

I tried to talk to it... it's really dumb.....

enjoy the movie...

At The Pond....

I hope you all had a nice weekend.  I helped Mom clean her studio on Saturday.  Not that I like to clean.  I mean, I do my best - I pick things up with my tongue.... lint, tacks, pens, paper, string - and .... you guessed it... I get yelled at.  "Don't put TACKS in your mouth, Paco!"  

I ask you.... How am I SUPPOSED to pick things up?  I say, again, I have no thumbs.  Anyway, Mom did calm down. And we got it all done.

But the beginning of the day was best.  We went to the Bagel Shop in Barrington.  Here I am being the best dog ever.... waiting... waiting.... for my bagel.  Or, at least for my HALF a bagel.  The piece I got for all that 'goodness' was about 1/8 of the bagel.  Yes, there was cream cheese.  But - could she have spared it?  Harummmmph.  I fixed her.  Showed her how starving I was.  I ate a huge piece of goose poop.  :) (It was not as good as the bagel....)

Always 'On'....

This is a live 'action shot' from WPRI News.  Not really, but it SHOULD be.  I have a job.  I'm to protect Mom at all times.  From other dogs, strange dogs, wild dogs, and.... bumble bees.  I also am supposed to 'tattle' when our kitties do bad stuff like raid the trash and find pieces of chicken bones with meat attached that they are not sharing.  For this I use a special high pitched 'yip'.  Mom knows it as the 'Tattle Yip'.

At the studio I must be extra vigilant.  I must bark when the new upstairs neighbors walks.  Anywhere in her new studio.  She walks a LOT.  So... I sound the alarm.... a LOT.

But here I was confused, a little. There was this big, big bumble bee walking across the carpet.  Was it a bee or a little bird?  Was it going to eat our cottage cheese?  So I yipped.  A lot.  And just like I thought, I was right. Mom shrieked.  She ran and got a broom.  Put it down and got a hammer.  Put it down and found a magazine, but apparently there were art pictures in it and it couldn't be used.  A shovel, also discarded.   Back to the broom... all the time making this "EE-E-E-E-E-E-E--E!" sound.  See... she WANTED it dead.  But not really.  She was talking about how we need bees.  About how this one bee could pollinate a lot of flowers and vegetable plants.  But..... "E-E-E-E-E-E-E!"  Finally she popped it out the front door on the tip of the broom.  I needed a nap!

Where's Dad when you need him?

Hey.  I'm back.  Really.  You should subscribe so you don't miss a chapter in my Wild Pug Life.

Chillaxin' At The Beach... While It's Still Allowed

HEY!  Today my Mom said "Enough is enough!" and took our first day 'off' in over 6 weeks.  We are EXHAUSTED!  She paints and teaches and computes and frames and mails and works and even sometimes cooks, and I have to follow her around constantly.  I never get a break.  Seriously, it's too much!

So... because I was SUCH a good dog at the beach today, Mom promised to post for me on my blog!  I would do it myself - I have lots of ideas - but I was born without thumbs.  No, it's not a birth defect, apparently no pugs have thumbs.  Odd, don't you think?  Because we are definitely not dogs, and most of us believe we are Furry People on 4 Legs.

Not to brag.. but we were the only people on the whole beach, and Mom let me OFF LEASH - Wooo-hooo - Who Let The Pug Out????  I ran and ran in circles and ovals, racing down and up the beach.  I could hardly catch my breath.  I was totally ready for my cool bowl of water, and a nap on Mom's lap while she read.  May is MY month at the beach.  Then - no pugs allowed :(

Glad to be back.  Missed 'ya!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yesterday was my 2nd birthday!

My Mom says that now I'm a 'big dog'.

A lot of people have been emailing her (I guess my email address is hard to find) and saying they are not really 'little dog' people but that they like me.  Good! I already KNOW I like them!

So you lovely Southern ladies, and wonderful West Coast ladies - here's some 'big dog' licks coming your way!

I DID get a cake yesterday, but Mom said since it was chocolate I couldn't have any. 

Ever hear of anything like that?  My OWN cake?

She says she will make up for it today.  

The jury is still out on that one....

In the meantime - have a fab-u-lous day!

xoxoxo

Whew! All Good Now!

Mom's home... at last.... and so am I.  I think Harry missed me a LOT.  I get the impression that Isabelle was doing the *Happy Dance*, thinking I wasn't coming home!  I just had to keep my Molly company, then Conor... I'm a giver.  In return I got to go to a Pet Store on Beacon Hill in Boston and got to pick out my own cookies.  Pretty great!

This is where Izzy, Harry and I hung out today.  Next to Mom, who for some reason spent the whole morning on the PHONE.  Boring.  I mean, LOOK how bored we all were!

My Friend Harry

I guess I'm not like other dogs, in that my very best friend (OK, BESIDES my Mom) is a cat.  Yup, Harry is an orange cat, which he says is a special, magic kind of cat.  Not sure about that, but he is pretty great to me.  While both he and Isabelle push treats off the countertop for me, Harry actually kills little mice and gives them to me.  I like to crunch them, and then hear that high-pitched "EEeeeeeEEEEeeeeeEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! sound my Mom makes when she sees what's in my mouth.  EVERY time she thinks I have a grape stem in my mouth and she panics because pugs are not supposed to eat grapes.    Yeah.  I KNOW that.  Then she sees its a mouse leg sticking out of my mouth and that funny sound starts!  It's good cause I get to keep chewing till Dad or Rory come pry my mouth open and take my treat.

Harry also helps me *yell* at the 2 Golden Retrievers next door.  "Oooof Ooooof Oooooofffff!"  I yell.  I'm offering help, I'm telling them I'm a big dog, I am also telling them to be quiet.  Harry jumps up on a chair and glares at them.  Really, he thinks they're afraid of HIM. ;)

*sigh*

I wish Mom would come home from Atlanta.  I'm having a great vacation in Boston and all, but.... do you think she misses ME?

What In The World?

My Mom thinks I sit in her lap when she's on the computer because I like to snuggle.  Well, yeah, OK, that but REALLY I have bookmarked a News website, because I like to keep up with world events.  My family is NOT good at watching the news on TV.   So whenever they're not looking I open my bookmarked news site.  Sometimes I comment on the articles. Look for me... I call myself PacMan.  :) 

Oh, and I hope Egypt is far away.  I don't want to have to PROVE I can protect my family....

New Duds

She means well, she really does.  This is the 3rd or 4th 'jacket' my Mom has bought for me.  This time, she waited till the Bay Colony AKC Dog Show to go and take every little measurement of me to a vendor called "Noah's Suitcase", where you pick the outer, inner, belt, lining and trim for a dog jacket.

Here's the thing.  I HATE 'dog jackets'.  It took a LOT of bribery for me to try to take a step or two in this *ahem* lovely coat.  Yeah, so OK, it fits me.  Even has a little part where my curly tail can pop up and curl.  And, OK, it's warm.  And it does NOT itch.  But ...

(hey, I KNOW I look good in it ..) BUT... I'm an outdoorsy kind of dog - no, REALLY!  In order for me to 'go' I make Mom take the jacket OOOFFFFFF.  Then we walk home like that.  Happy.

See?  I'm happier now.  Tail up and curled, ears perky..  Let's GO!

Wordless Wednesday

The Meaning Of Life

Here I am, housebound, because just after this photo was taken we got snow that just won't leave.  Ice canyons for streets... no fun at all to take walks.  And I'm sad, too, because I know that people I love are sad.  My uncle's mother passed away, and I can feel his sadness one whole town away.  They were very close, and I got to thinkin' .... mothers can LEAVE?  What happens to you then?  Who cares for you like your mother?  Nobody, that's who.  

I'm getting very nervous because my Mom keeps talking about a workshop she's going to in Atlanta.  Do people come BACK from there?  I don't know.  I'm just a pup.  My *brother* Harry simply gets in the suitcases, and he figures one of these days they'll close it up without seeing him, and *BINGO* he'll get taken along on their trip.  I don't know if that's such a great idea, though....

I ask you... would YOU leave me?

Wordless Wednesday

I'm Gonna Ma-a-ke Her Love Me.. Yes I Will... Yes I Will..

When I first came to live with Mom and the gang - Isabelle was 6 years old, and not very welcoming.  She had it in her head that SHE was going to be the Only Pet.  Well, then Harry came to live here and Izzy sulked for TWO years, so they say.  Sure, he attacked her, would only use HER litterbox, ate her food, but he's a sharer.  Like me.

To say she didn't like me at first would be an understatement.  She literally screamed when I came near her.  But she didn't know anything about Pugs.  How they like cats.  How they like to cuddle.  How they will *keep your litterbox clean* as by snacking.

And now... lookie here.. she has let me climb up on her mountain of fluffiness and cuddle.  Sure, she looks a little wary here, but believe me, I'm making headway....

I Am Not A Yappy Little Dog

Like you, I've been making my list of goals for the New Year.  I like to sit in this chair and watch the water and the sky, and the people walking by.  I love to watch the sea gulls too.  I was having a hard time because of what happened on our walk today... I just couldn't focus.

My mom was putting on her hat and gloves and I was doing my sniffing.  I looked up and saw a dog coming down the bike path - YAY!  I love to meet new friends!  The older woman holding the dog (he was about 3x my size) stopped and stared at us.  I was sitting in my "Welcome, let's be friends..." mode. Mom looked up and smiled at the lady - who scowled and dragged the big dog over a snow bank and off the path, muttering under her breath.

My mom said "Isn't he friendly?" to the lady, and looked at her dog (which she told me later was a pit bull mix, and maybe it was all for the best).  And the lady said to my Mom: "No, he's friendly all right, but he hates YAPPY LITTLE DOGS, like that one, there."  At this I looked behind me to see what 'yappy little dog' she could possibly be talking about.... there was only ME!

I could feel waves of something coming off my Mom, but she coolly said "Oh, well, actually Paco's NOT a "yappy little dog", but that was pretty mean of you to say that."  And when she turned away to take me in the other direction she said some stuff that I'm not going to repeat cause ... well... it's not such polite talk.  And she told me that that lady obviously was unhappy and did not have love in her life, and we should probably feel bad for her dog, too, because it's no fun to live with somebody so CRANKY.

Phoooo.... I can't concentrate.  I'll do my goals tomorrow.  When I'm done YAPPING..

Wordless Wednesday

Merry Christmas From Sandy Paws!

In our house the Christmas holiday is a little chaotic.

You're surprised that a little dog like me even knows what that word means?  I'm a reader.  I do it at night when the people are upstairs in bed.  We have a lot of books, and I have Isabelle and Harry help me.

ANYway... There's boxes and wrapping paper (that Harry and Isabelle find endlessly fascinating) and then stuff in side them, and all my best friends stop by to visit ... My Molly and my Conor and my Rory all under one roof for the night - I'm in Pug Heaven!

And, yeah, on Christmas morning they forgot all about me and my breakfast when they were making a brunch for my Auntie Nan and her girls:

Me lovin' my Auntie Nan

My cousins, Kaley and Darcy

I had a happy day, and I hope you all did, too.  

My dad fed me smoked salmon and a tiny bit of aged cheese.  Mom does not know this, so PLEASE do not tell.  She'll just go on about keeping to my doggie diet.  

I love you all...