Tuesday, June 24, 2014
As most of you may know, Benjamin and Cupid were the 2 fur babies in the house that were the least amicable. Their relationship didn't meet the whole philosophy of "fighting like cats & dogs" but Benjamin was just all too curious about Cupid. And Cupid knows that curiosity is HER job (even though they say, curiosity killed her kind). But Baby Benny just wanted one good sniff of that kitty cat tukhus. And Cupid just would never allow that to happen.
Benjamin, with his never give up attitude, well, he never gave up. He was always chasing kitty tush. Just one good sniff, QP! Just one, good sniff....
Well, now Cupid is getting what Benny never could. She is getting that one good sniff. At the same time, she is paying her last respects. You see, Benny was cremated and they sent him back to our vet in a cedar box. (As seen last week, we had our own urn that we preferred for him.) So, after the ashes were transferred from the cedar box to the metal urn, we were left with an empty cedar box.
You can see in the video that Cupid is not only getting the last word in (as cats tend to like to do) but she is finally showing the love for Benny that he rightfully deserved (but that he could never sit still long enough for Cupid to show). And she gets in HER infamous good sniff.
Monday, June 23, 2014
We wanted to share that Baby Benny is back home with his peeps and furry siblings. Albeit, he is safely tucked in an urn with puffy nearby. He is resting peacefully near Solsey and Lou C. (For newcomers, Sol was the black pug we foster failed/rescued and was with us for about 15 months (but it seemed longer). And Lou C was a bunny that we had previously, as well. So, Lou, Solsey and now Baby Benny are all sharing company together. Their spirits are frolicking over the rainbow bridge with other fur babies, such as the loved ones you all have lost.
OBP peeps have been very appreciative to all of you readers for you kind and supportive thoughts through this tough time. We recognize that each of you has either, or will likely soon, experience similar loss. We value the pug community and the support OBP has been able to offer to one another. We think it super cool that OBP has created friendships that may not otherwise have been formed. And we know that pug people are just generally cooler people than most others. 
So, again, we hope you all know how important you are not only to us but to one another.
While, with time, the quiet that is now our home is getting easier to live in without the presence of boisterous Benjamin, some days are still so much harder than others. Certain meals that were his favorites to beg for are not eaten without tears or at least a lump in the throat. The grieving, in general, is still fresh.
Henry, Luna and Cupid are all processing in their own ways, as well. And so are Grammy and G'Ma. It has been tough on extended family and readers, alike. But the quiet. Oh the quiet. It is just so so quiet. For 12 years we didn't realize the level of noise and activity Benny brought us. It was just the sheer busyness. As a pup, he was full of energy and running around the house either knocking things over, tags jingling, toenails scrapping, scratching for treats, obnoxiously chomping on bones, barking, snorting, snoring or occasionally howling.
As he aged, he still jingled, scrapped, scratched, snorted, snorted, chomped and barked but the howling lessened and whining, tooting and hacking replaced the puppy noises. But no matter what, Benny brought a smile, joy and an unconditional love to all he met. He just always left you feeling better than you did when you came upon him. He left you feeling full. He filled your heart bucket with love. If you had a hole in your heart, he plugged it then filled you. He wasn't just a volcano of love with his noisy love, he was also a steady stream of lava love. Always warm though. Whether explosively warm or a level flow of warmth, that was Benny.
And now that is gone. In what seemed like an instant but in retrospect had been slowly disappearing. We hold it in our hearts We are clutching the memories as though with a grip so tight it makes the palms sweat. We are terrified of forgetting a moment and still living in a disbelief that no more moments will be created by Benny. Obviously, we are still all over the map.
We are still processing. Helping the others process, too. Henry has had some rough days. This is to be expected. The boys have been together virtually every day for their entire lives. Henry has always needed that nudge from his big brother to coax him into doing fun and mischievous stuff. Hank needed to be pulled out of his shell in ways that only Ben Ben could do. So, we are trying to help him through this in extra special ways. Luna, on the other hand, is grieving differently. She is becoming even more of diva (i.e. discipline problem, acting out, tantrummy). So, it is a delicate balance with how we are meeting her expressions of grief. Trying not to reward bad behavior but finding ways to help her feel secure and comforted. She was able to get Benny to do her dirty work for her in polished, more affable ways that only Benny could pull off. Luna, however, is more of a dig your heels in and demand it kind of girl. (Guess she never heard the phrase, you get more flies with sugar than you do with vinegar).
Anyway....
that is the rambling update. We will try to bring you more coherent stories soon. There are a few to tell but we are still trying to put ourselves together here in OBPland.
Thanks again for you patience, loving support and Benny reflections. When pumpkin bread season comes around again, you will probably see not only flashback stories but grief relapse....
So, for now....
Take care.
Friday, June 13, 2014
I am very sad to say that Benjamin passed away yesterday morning. Wednesday night he had another one of his breathing/coughing/panting episodes. This one began shortly after dinner. We gave him one of the special shots we have on hand for emergencies like this, but it did not work like it did last time. The first time we gave him the shot, it took 9 minutes before he was calm and resting easy. Last night, it took 43 minutes for us to start to see any relief and the relief was only mild and not long lasting. As the night progressed it became more and more clear that this was going to be a long lasting episode. We did our best to keep Benjamin as comfortable as possible throughout the night and took him to the vet first thing in the morning.
While we knew Benjamin's trachea issues and other maladies were progressing, we were not expecting to get to this point so quickly. And although we anticipated summer being a struggle, we still thought we had a few more months at least.
Amidst the whirlwind of emotions and throughout conversations since Wednesday night, one prevailing theme has risen above all others and this is how happy and positive Benjamin was in life. He assumed the best in everyone and everything. He touched everyone he met and made them feel loved and left them with a smile.
In the spirit of Benjamin, I want to take this time of enormous sadness and remember all the joy that Benjamin brought to our lives. If you have a moment, reflect upon a favorite story or Benny-ism and post it in the comments for us all to share. I can't think of any better way to celebrate the pumpkin bread loving, pillow king that was the luxuriously wrinkly and most handsome pug we called Baby Benny.
On a side note, I expect we will take a hiatus from posting next week to take some time to process everything. We will return soon.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Henry is always looking for an adventure and with the weather already being too hot to take long walks we are becoming quite creative when thinking up new adventures for him. It seems he has become the official errand pug. His most recent errand has been gassing up the car. He really seems to enjoy this errand as he is ever so curious about the other people at the gas station. That or he is just looking for the person that gives out treats. Because whenever he goes to the bank or through the drive thru he always scores a treat. I think he is still trying to figure out the gas station adventure.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Luna needs an intervention! She has become addicted a particular type of compresses rawhide stick.
Each night, sometime between 8pm-9pm, Luna will get restless. She will stand in front of the TV and bark at us on the sofa. This will continue until we give her one of her chewy sticks.
As soon as one of us gets up from the couch, Luna will dart to the kitchen. We'll get the chewy stick out of the pantry, give it to her and she will run back to the run so happy and proud.
On some nights, when her craving is really bad, she will repeat this process in hopes to get 2 chewy sticks!
The girl really knows how to get her way!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Looking forward to your captions in the comments.
Monday, June 9, 2014
With so many dog beds I often wonder why the pugs pick the bed they do. My office is one of the rooms with the most dog beds. I like to give the pugs options since when I am in that room it is usually for large amounts of time. Last week I had a work from home day and I got a chuckle out of Benny passed out on the dog bed in the farthest corner of the room. Is this the comfiest bed? Quietest corner? Least drafty spot?
I think it might have to do with it being a double dog bed stack. You know Benny loves his pillow piles!
