The teams playing in Super Bowl XLVI didn't turn out exactly how we would like (darn Ravens), but that didn't stop us from enjoying the game on Sunday. And the pugs love football Sundays! What can be better than snacks and cuddle time!
You can see a little bit of the tv in the mirror behind the pugs, but it sure doesn't look like the pugs are too interested. I'm pretty sure they were all snoring by the end of the first quarter.
Right after I snapped this picture, I awoke Benny from his slumber when I planted a big kiss on his forehead. Luckily, he doesn't really mind. He is used to be being smothered with kisses.
Benny is just happy not to have to wear his cone of shame.
It looks like Henry drew the short straw and got the job of begging for the dinner leftovers. I love how Luna and Benny are in the background saying, "Ask her! Ask her!" Well, at least Benny is, Luna seems a bit disinterested.
In reading some of the comments to the recent Beach Friends post, I noticed that there was a comment about how the term wiener was not a preferred term for Dachshund. Trust me, I am cool with that. With that said, I must share some history of the pugs with the Dachshunds.
Our latest trip was to Ponce Inlet dog beach where the pugs met not one but two Dachshunds. They were shown in photos in previous posts. The female Dachshund was named Sweetie. The other dog's name was Oscar. A la "Oscar Meyer Wiener".
Both of these Dachshunds were very pleasant dogs. But, rewind to almost a decade ago (how scary is that to say?!). When the boys were young, we would occasionally take them to doggy day care to get their energy expelled since at this rare moment in history, neither of us worked from home. I began working from home when they were still puppies but not yet at this point.
Anyway, we took them to a place called Ana's Ark Doggy Daycare (I believe they are still in business under a different name). This was while we still lived in Maryland. The doggy daycare had web cams so you could see what was going on in the life of your beloved fur ball. Well, mostly when we spied we would see Benjamin peeing on all the toys. However, there were only one or two beds in the corral and these would be coveted by all the other small dogs that were not the owners own 2 small Dachshunds as her two dogs pretty much never left these precious soft thrones. One of the dogs was named Gus.
Gus was a territorial bully. Gus would regularly ensure that no dog (especially no flat faced pug) was going to sleep on his pillow (or play with his toys, or stand in his space or drink from his water bowl, etc, etc, etc). So, whenever the boys would try to do any of those things, Gus would stand in front of the toys or water bowls or pillow or whatever and growl, bark or nudge the boys out of the way. Benny would back down and sulk away disappointed, but not Henry. Henry, of course knowing this was not ok, would nudge back or sneak around to try to get his way. This would make Gus a bit fiercer and often Ana, the owner, would eventually have to step in and remind the long dog to do the right thing. She did so with a stern toned, "Gus! Be Good!!"
This upset Henry probably more than it did Gus. I think Henry thought that he was the one getting hollered at. (Yikes) This went on for a few weeks. It really shook Henry up. But our guilty pleasure at home would be to randomly yell "Gus! Be Good!" and watch Henry stand at attention. He shuttered at the name Gus for years to follow.
Even now we can still catch him on it on a "good" day. The rest of the time, he no longer flinches.
It has been 6 years now that we made the trek to Hollywood Florida to fetch Luna from her captors. Just kidding. But this day 6 years ago, we did rescue her. We refer to this day as her Gotcha Day since we don't know exactly when her birthday is, this is the day we celebrate her new life with us in her forever home.
As this day approached this year, I took some time to reflect on what we knew about Luna that first day (which was almost nothing) to what we have learned about her and how she has grown (and matured).
Luna was a 2 year pooch when we met her. She had chronic dry eye, was rail thin, her fur was patchy and course, her breath stank to the highest heavens, her face was dark, her little boobies sagged from post birth nursing and she had an extremely nervous personality.
Now, her dry eye is manageable, she's beefed up a bit in the weight department, her fur is soft with far less bald spots, her breath isn't minty fresh but is doggie appropriate, her face has become a soft shade of silver, her tiny breasts perked with age (and really, who can say that?) and while she still has a feisty personality, it is not due to paranoia or fear. It's because we'd all better hail to her as she has been diva-afied.
So, those are some of the basics of how Luna has changed from a 2 year old rescue dog into the 8 year old little miss that she is today. But on to some of the finer points about what Luna has taught us.
Luna has shown us that as long as someone loves you, you can be and do anything you want to do. Luna slept standing up the first night home. So, obviously she did not come to us really ready to trust anyone. And honestly, it probably was not until about a full year later that she truly believed that she was in her forever home and could embrace both her humans, 2 pug brothers and even her sissy the cat. As she learned to depend on the routine, know that her needs were going to met, and discover what it meant to be spoiled she came around even if this was a slow process. As she learned this, that little girl then developed the same embarrassing sense of entitlement that the other silver spoon chewing pugs had. She got demanding. Which we didn't mind at all because then that meant that she knew she could not only depend on us but that we would cater to her because she knew she was loved. And that is all we ever wanted her to know is that we love her and she can feel safe with us forever. She is so comfortable with us now, that if she could snap her fingers to beckon us, she surely would. So, see, with love you surround yourself with the respect and honor you deserve.
Luna has also taught us to pay attention! Again, on Luna's first day, we stopped at McDonald's on the way home for dinner and offered her a French fry. She turned her nose up at it as the boys chowed on their tasty potato. I remember thinking that there was a serious possibility that Luna may not have teeth. I thought this since her breath was awful and now she couldn't eat a French fry. It had to have been because she was toothless. Oh, I have to laugh at myself now. She had teeth, of course. But Luna has helped me to realize that we aren't all carbohydrate lovers. Luna is a serious carnivore. That girl loves her meat! Even to this day, unlike the boys who will happily gobble a cheerio or cheese cracker, she just tells me to save it and give her a piece of ham or turkey or chicken or hamburger instead. Any meat. She is not that picky about her proteins but she warns me to not forget that meat is her favorite. Ever since that first day, I have always teased her about the fact that she really just wanted a Big Mac and that I am still sorry that I still have never delivered on the promise that someday I will get her one. (I guess now that it is 6 years later, I should follow through sometime soon.)
The last lesson Luna has helped us take to heart is to be patient and don't rush perfection. Again, since she didn't trust us, she would never submit to us by allowing us to put her on her back (which meant she missed out on many a belly rub). Well, it took a bit of time, but now she loves to be on her back to get her tummy massaged. And we all consider it worth the wait. So, to quote Diana Ross, "You Can't Hurry Love."
It has most definitely been a wonderful experience rescuing Little Looney. She's 8 now. We've had her 6 of those 8 years. Happy Gotcha Day baby girl. We love you.
After seeing Luna in action at the beach, it is hard to believe that her Saturday morning started with her tucked under the covers not wanting to get up.
