On the way too and from the beaches, we ride over a tall bridge that is over a river. This is a very popular smelly place for Henry. And often we see people looking at Henry as he hangs out of the car window. Well, even before Henry's propensity for window surfing in the car, we would often take photos as we drove over the bridge just to get the beautiful sun over the water. So, now we just try to get the same shot with Henry in the foreground. So, there's Hank strutting his stuff out the front window as per usual all while the sun is setting.
We often refer to the pugs as our sun, moon and stars. And as we have shared we frequently look to the skies to see Luna and Solsey. It has been recommended that we use the North star to represent Benjamin. That was a terrific idea. However, we are not often able to spot the North star (and maybe we do see it but we cannot recognize it as such). As I have written in a previous follow up comment, I believed there were a couple of planets that we see nightly (either when Luna is out or even when she is not). I finally used the app on my phone to confirm these planets. They are now confirmed to be Venus (the brightest one) and Jupiter (the less bright one).
Although the boys were not given extra terrestial names like the girls were, we still use these celestial bodies to "talk to" Benjamin and sadly also use to refer to Henry. How we see it now, we have Solsey in the daytime, shining bright,lighting our way. She is here with us much longer in the skies than she was with us here on earth. But her light illuminates everyone everywhere. Then there is Looney. She obviously is the fickle moon. Sometimes a large white glow, sometimes a sliver and often sometime in between (on the few days leading up to the full moon, it seems that our silly girl is asking us if her "butt looks big in this moon" or "does this moon make me look fat?").
Then there are those 2 other planets. Venus and Jupiter. We see them almost nightly. Venus, the Roman Goddess of Love & Beauty. Now we know the love and beauty part fits baby Benny to a T. But he would be a Roman God not a Roman Goddess. Although it was not uncommon for people to assume he was a girl. He had long eyelashes, and other somewhat feminine features. So, Benny is Venus to us. He's hanging up there with Luna in the nights. Can't see him in the daytime when Solsey is outshining him.
As though all of that was not enough to make your eyes well up (or at least it does mine). Here is the saddest part for us. Henry, then must be Jupiter. He is dim in the sky as we know he will be next to go light the sky. Jupiter is not bright yet. It is just a slight glow waiting for him to cross the bridge to light the sky more fully. But we fight with the dim light in the sky to make sure that we keep Henry's light here on earth. We are just looking at Jupiter as a place holder near his bro. And the fact that Jupiter is the planet with the big red blotch seems to represent Henry, too. The red blotch could be any number of things: one hard working kidney or the cancerous kidney that was removed, an eye that was removed, or the cataract covered eye that remains, the hemorrhages in his brain that caused him to seize and are his biggest medical malady to date or it could just be his one large, beating. loving heart. It is not lost on us that both planets fall within the constellation of Cancer. Both the boys had some version of cancer. Benny's was mild compared to Henry's but nonetheless they have both been affected.
In any case, no matter what your belief system or your methods of coping, there is likely no denying that the skies bring comfort and peace to many. And seeing the pugs in the sky has been something that we have found very beneficial in getting us through this last year and will continue to do as life (and death) continue to come our way.
I guess instead of referring to the pugs as our sun, moon and stars, we should say sun, moon and other planets.
Each day the routine is that one of goes to work early and the other a bit later. We stagger times so that we can give Henry the best possible we can offer (since I no longer work from home). The early bird will get to work and prep the ipad to watch Henry on camera. We have 4 cameras positioned around our home. 3 inside and one outside. But this still leaves us with blind spots. The main one is in our bedroom where Henry recently has had a proclivity to nap. I doubt that Henry knows that this makes us crazy (not being able to see him) but we still know that he is ok since we can hear him (or should I say NOT hear him). We know when he is upset more by hearing him bark, whine and howl than if we just saw him visually with no sound. So listening for him is actually more important than seeing him.
I say all of that but of course, on our own high anxiety days, we worry that he is dead off camera. And of course, if that was the case, there would be nothing we would be able to do anyway but obviously being able to see and hear him helps put us as ease. So,the other day Henry went off camera. It was on of our own higher anxiety days (we were both in and out of the office, in meetings, could not listen to the live feed effectively, etc). Well, we let Grammy know when she got to her shift that we wanted her to give us a text message update about where exactly Henry was and in what condition (which translates to, "Is he breathing?!"). Not only did Grammy let us know he was alive and breathing, she also told us exactly where he was and sent this photo as proof. It was a relief. #HenryGoesOffCamera #HenryHidesOut #HenryDodgesThePaparazzi #HenryMakesHisPeepsWorry #HenryIsStillAGoodBoy
On the same walk where we took photos of Henry finding the hidden right turn at Doris Leeper Park, we also recorded him walking other parts of the path. We had just been discussing how he does so well and hasn't been "stuck" there (sometimes he gets into a jam and struggles to get his way out). But you see that he can find the path and does try to stay on it. At the very end of the recording, though, you see that I have to chase after him as he decided to leave the beaten path. THAT is Henry of old for sure but we know that this time it was an accident!
We are in a routine where Sunday nights typically end at Doris Leeper's place. As long as we don't go too often, this is Henry's favorite park. He can navigate unleashed! It is amazing. Especially where the choice is to turn right or continue straight, Henry knows that going right is the correct path. And we are not tugging him on the leash to give him the hint. He has just learned his way and is much better at navigating the route there than many other places for some reason.
These two photos show where Henry is to make his turn and Henry after he's made his turn. I don't think the photos really show it very well so maybe next time we will video it to really demonstrate just how good he maneuvers the path.
We are pleased to announce that Henry has been given the 100% healed all clear sign from our vet. It was a couple of weeks ago when we shared that we took our eyes off of him for a quick moment and he walked himself into a tree causing a large corneal scratch. After a few weeks of meds, though, he is back to good eye health. Still blind though. Dang! The meds did not fix that! Crappy medications. They don't go above and beyond! They only healed the abrasion! They did not cure his vision! ugh!
Dang! The meds did not fix that! Crappy medications. They don't go above and beyond! They only healed the abrasion! They did not cure his vision! ugh! 