Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Settled

I think Sol has adjusted to life with us pretty well so far. In her short time with us, she has already mastered the Princess & the Pea sleeping technique.

I think it is safe to say that she has made herself right at home. We couldn't be more thrilled.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Really?

Sol isn't one for moving. Unloading the dishwasher is tedious enough without having to sidestep the pug.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Sol’s Big Adventure

On Saturday CFPR was holding an event at a flea market very close to the house. Having not seen the good folks at CFPR for awhile we made a point to stop by and say hello. Knowing the the flea market is always very crowded and is not technically a place where dogs are allowed, we opted just to bring Sol with us.

Now this made Baby Benny a little nervous because word on the street was that there would be pugkin bread at the event and he wasn't quite sure if he could trust Sol to procure the tasty bread and bring it back home to him. It was a tough mission, but Sol chose to accept it.

So we ventured off with Miss Sol while the others stayed at home. Sol throughly enjoyed the short car ride and was very excited when we arrived at our destination. We tucked her in her pouch and we were off. We found the CFPR booth and Sol got to meet all of the great people at CFPR.

Ann was there and wouldn't you know she had stashed away a whole bag full of pugkin bread pupcakes! They were little individual sized pugkin bread bites! Sol also got to meet Julia, Ann's pug that was also hanging out in her pouch.

We talked for awhile and then it was time to return the pugkin bread loot to Benny at home. Benjamin was quite pleased with Sol's score, although he was not very happy to see me loading the freezer with some of the extra pugkin bread pupcakes.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Eye Doc Visit

Yesterday, Luna & Sol visited the eye vet for their checkups. Sol's visit was just for a routine checkup. The last time we were there, they put her on drops to slow cataract growth and we have seen a great improvement in the cloudiness in her eyes. The Dr. agreed that Sol is doing well and we are going to keep the same drop plan for her.

Luna was not due for a checkup, but we brought her in with Sol because we noticed a small bump developing on her upper eye lid. Given her history, we didn't waste anytime getting her in to have it looked at. Her diagnosis was an obstructed gland in her eyelid. At this point we are hoping we will be able to clear this up with a few medications. In about 2 weeks time we will know if the medications are going to work and we will revisit the eye doc with Luna. Hopefully, things will have cleared up, otherwise, Luna will need to have a procedure to drain the clogged gland. She will not need to be put under, however. How they will drain the gland without putting her under is beyond me, but I trust that they have their ways.

The silver lining in all of this is that the blocked gland does not seem to be bothering Luna at all. They eye doc said that she would be pawing at her eye if she was experiencing any discomfort and we have not seen her messing with her eye at all.

She is a trooper. She takes all her many drops each day like a champ and has battled through all of her different eye maladies as well as anyone could expect. I feel bad for her because it seems like we never get any good news about her eyes, but overall, I think she handles her limited vision very well. She runs through the house with the rest of them and adapts very well to new situations. Over the years, we have learned her limitations and her weaknesses and that has helped a lot. It at least keeps her from doing face plants at the beach.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Odd Sleeping Spot

Sol has a knack for finding little nooks to curl up in for her little naps. I guess she feels safe in there.

To me, one of the best parts about having 4 pugs is their different personalities. Benjamin, Henry & Luna would never dream of sleeping in there.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Another First

Last Saturday there was a break in the rain for a few hours, so we hurried outside and cut the grass. At that point, we had had so much rain, that as soon as the sun came out you could pretty much sit and watch the grass grow. Because we knew it was going to start raining again we hurried and got the lawn in tip top shape in record time.

When we cut the grass, the pugs always watch. They peer out the front door when we are out front and shift to the back part of the house when we move to the backyard. Even though we are never out of their site for more than a few minutes they always give us a big greeting when come back inside the house.

On this occasion, they were super excited to see us because they had a week's worth of energy stored up since they hadn't been on their normal walks because of the rain. And in all the excitement, the highlight of my Memorial Day weekend happened. Sol played! For the very first time since she has been with us!

Since Sol has been with us, she has shown no interest in any of the toys here and she has not even pretended like she has even considered joining in when Benjamin, Henry & Luna get to romping around the house. I have always just chalked this up to her age and at this point in her life she has other things that are more interesting to her - like napping.

Benjamin, Henry & Luna are pretty playful and chase and wrestle with each other on a daily basis. But when it comes to playing with us, they each have different games that are their favorite. Benjamin's favorite game is tug and if a person is going to play with him, that is what he wants to play. Luna, is very cat like in how she likes to play and she likes it when you stick your hand under a blanket or throw rug and move it around. Henry is a classic chase kind of guy and loves to be chased around the living room. We tried each of these games with Sol, along with a slew of others and she just looked at us like we were crazy.

But on Saturday, when we came inside from cutting the grass, she charged at me and then ran in the other direction. At first I didn't catch on, but then she did it again. I stupidly, stood there, probably turning my head side to side like a confused pug, thinking, "Does she want to play?"

So, I did what I love to do, I took off running after her. She saw me coming and quickly turned her head and took off running around the couch. She turned the corner around the couch and I was just a few steps behind her. As soon as I turned the corner, my heart melted as I saw her drop down into a play stance. Her chest flat on the floor and her wiggling butt high in the air. I took my hands and smacked them against the carpet and she lunged forward and then spun around and was off and running past the living room table. I followed in pursuit and she made a big loop through the kitchen and then back into the living room. We made a few more laps around the living room, wiggling in between the furniture, and then she was tuckered. She walked up to me, plopped on the floor, rolled over, showing me her belly and letting me know that she would like nothing more than a belly rub. I happily obliged and as I was petting her I was grinning from ear to ear.

We played a five minute game of chase around the living room. Most people will probably think what's the big deal? But, to me this was much more than a game of chase, this was me getting the chance to do something I never thought I would do with Sol. Something I thought I had missed out on with her.

I have said to several people that Sol today acts like she is 5 years younger than the day she came to live with us. She could barely walk and heavily favorite her right shoulder, her eyes were cloudy and we later found out that she had a tumor in her mouth. She just didn't have the spunk that she has now. Ever since we had the tumor removed from her mouth, she has been a different dog. Her energy has increased and she loves to go walks, loves to chew bones and now she even plays!

Sol's arrival had done a good job of stirring my biggest fears with the pugs - that they are not going to be here forever. I don't spend much time dwelling on it, but I know things will one day be different here in the OBP household. It will be so incredibly hard for me, like it is for anyone who loses a beloved pet, because my life is so intertwined with theirs. Working from home allows me to include them in a huge part of my life that would normally be pug free. They snore away on conference calls and take lunch with me everyday. Because most of the stuff I like to do on the weekends is dog friendly they are always with when I am out. I probably don't spend more than 4 hours a week without the pugs around.

I will admit that Sol being 13 scares the hell out of me. But it is the little things, like this 5 minute game of chase, that help me see Sol as dog that she is and not just as a number. She may be 4 months older than the day she arrived, but she sure doesn't act that way and at this point that is all that matters to me.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Got A Boat?

When Sol first came to us she didn’t seem so pampered, but now that she has been here a while she has quickly gained a serious sense of entitlement.  For example, she is seen here wearing a raincoat.  This was our vain attempt to help keep her a little bit dry in the continous down pours we have been experiencing over the last couple days.  However, while wearing the raincoat, she did not move once outside.  Instead, she insisted on a more appropriate form of accommodation.  A yacht pehaps, Sol?  We ended up taking off the slicker and toweling her dry once again but she seemed extremely displeased with the whole rain event we are in the midst of.  Poor Sol.  Rags to riches to slightly damp.  Poor poor Solsey Baby.