Pugs Without Borders

Security System

We live in a great part of a great neighborhood. We're close enough to the center of town that we can walk to shops and restaurants, and last weekend we could walk to the Blues and Jazz Festival along the creek and main street.

All of this sounds idyllic and charming, right? Well, it would be. But the downside to living a great spot, is that people walk past your house to get to everything. And last weekend, A LOT of people walked past the house to get to the festival. And Barkley had to bark at each and every one of them.

He's like our guard pug. He lets us know when the mail carrier comes, when the neighbors get home, and when someone goes jogging on our side of the road. With all of the festival-attendees in town, it was non-stop barking. He'd sit in the chair, look out the window, and just have at it. I'm not sure what he was telling them (or maybe he was talking to us?), but it was clearly very important to him. Maybe he just wanted to go to festival for some funnel cakes.

Summer School

Barkley and Augie go to doggie daycare three days a week. To some, it might seem extravagant, but since we both work full-time, we thought it was important to give the boys both exercise and socialization on a regular basis. Plus, as we like to say, our neighborhood has excellent schools. The daycare the boys go to has a separate area for smaller dogs--with a grand total of six pugs now--and in the summer there's a little plastic puppy pool to cool them off.

Now...don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see they take breaks from playing and that they aren't getting too hot. But when I received this picture from the owner at the daycare, I have to admit, my first thought was that my kids are the slackers at school.

I mean really. That's Augie in the middle, Barkley on the right. And their friend Daisy Pug on the left. Don't stress yourselves out too much, kids. Wouldn't want you to, er...overheat. Do they realize what tuition costs these days? Jeesh.

Happy Father's Day!

Barkley and Augie pulled their allowances together, and got Todd a little something for Father's Day.

(So I didn't feel left out, I got a similar one for myself.)

To all the other Pug Dads out there (and Dads of any sort for that matter), Happy Father's Day!

Will Work for Food

I'm lucky enough to work in an office that's dog friendly, so every now and then, Intern Augie gets to spend the day with me.

Now normally, this sort of thing would be right up Barkley's alley. But I think if I took Barkley to the office, Augie would spend the entire day frantically searching for his brother. This way, Barkley is oblivious at daycare, and Augie is distracted by creative brainstorming sessions and TimBits.

Our company color is apple green, and naturally, Augie has a work shirt. I really should get some sort of royalties from Old Navy.

Sadly, Augie is not a Flash or Flex web developer, as our company is searching for those, and will pay handsomely. (If anyone knows a developer who wants to work for a fabulous company in Columbus, send them my way!) Instead, Augie conducted a very important meeting with Blue Squeaky Puppy, and did some in-depth analysis of Nylabone Spareribs.

World Gone Puggy

I've always had a thing for pugs. For starters, I think they're adorable. Then there's the wicked sense of humor. The facial expressions. The little piggy tail. Lately, it seems a lot of people in my world have gone to the pugs.

At the boys' daycare, there are now six pugs in the small dog area. Six! How great is that?! At work, one co-worker recently adopted a pug through Ohio Pug Rescue, while another is dreaming of the day she'll have a pug to call her own. Clearly, I have a lot of really smart people in my little world.

(Great picture, huh! I can't take credit for it. It's the work of Miss Lydia Stewart. More on that, later.)

Meat and Pugtatoes

We don't usually let the boys have rawhide, so there are always piles of Nylabones strewn around the house for them to chew on. They love the textures, and we keep an eye on them to throw out any bones that get too raggedy.

On our last trip to PetSmart, I saw the new "Bar-B-Chew" varieties--Corn on the Cob, and Rack of Ribs. Ha! They're the same semi-soft Nylabone texture, in fun food shapes. The Rack of Ribs is rib-flavored. The corn on the cob is, well...bacon flavored. Corn flavor must not test well with doggies.

The boys LOVE them. I wish I could have gotten a shot of Augie with the rack of ribs hanging out of his mouth. It's hilarious. (Augie's hoodie from Old Navy)

Sending and Receiving "Pee-mail"

On our evening walks, it's customary for the boys to stop at several of their favorite street signs to "check their pee-mail." They sniff to read, and...leave other "messages" for their friends.

For example:

"Dear Augie: How are you doing? Are you having fun on your walk? Maybe when we get home, our people will let us split a Frosty Paws treat. Love, Barkley"

Sombrero Outtakes

While Barkley is a ham when it comes to taking pictures, Augie is much less cooperative. Barkley will do anything for the camera. Augie is a bit of a diva.

Case in point: the sombrero photo in the last post was originally intended to be a shot of Augie-doo. But as you can see from the "blooper reel" below, it just didn't work out. Sigh.

My People Went to Mexico, and All I Got Was This Sombrero

I think he's handsome. And you know what? I think he thinks he's handsome, too.

Making Friends

While the boys were at "camp" last week, Todd and I celebrated the end of a rough year with a vacation in Cozumel. The weather was wonderful, the food was amazing, and the company was made even better by a doggie named Perla.

We met Perla our first day on the island. She's sort of the "house dog" at the villa where we stayed. She was the sweetest little girl. Her favorite thing was walking along the beach with us during low tide and looking for crabs in the tide pools.

I tried all week to figure out what kind of mix she is. I see a little pit in there...maybe some greyhound judging by the way she ran down the beach. As much as we missed Barkley and Augie, it was a tad bit easier to be away from them with our new friend to entertain us.

And as much as we'll miss the fresh guacamole and sunshine, I think we'll miss Perla the most.