Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Happy One-Day-Late Birthday, Jerk

Jack's 4th Birthday was yesterday. So I'm late. Whatever. Now get off of me, Jack.

We'll be back with a Christmas post whenever Mom decides she's out of her blogger funk/laziness.

Oh and Happy Birthday Today to Uncle Michael! I really mean that one - I like him a whole lot more than Jack. Weird how their birthdays are a day apart, huh?

Later, friends! Hope you all got more treats than I did!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Mom's Busy...

...trying to figure out how to work this blasted thing.

We will see you in about a year at the rate it's going.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

HAPPY 2ND GOTCHA DAY, BABY BEAR!: Novel Alert

Edited: I started this post on Dec. 11 but Vito's Gotcha Day is actually today - Dec. 12! 12/12 - how lucky. :)

Vito's Mom taking over on VITO'S GOTCHA DAY!! Two years ago today, I went to pick up Mr. Vito Marino to come and live with me forever. It was sort of a long drawn out saga that brought him to me, which I wrote about in my 1st ever post on Vito's blog. I can't believe it's already been two years since that day, but I also can't believe this boy has only been in my life for two years. It feels like he's been here forever! In a wonderful way of course. :)

So this post is going to be chock full of pictures you may have already seen, or maybe not!

The first picture is the very first picture taken of Vito by anyone I know - it was taken on my parents' deck by my cousin (the Mom of Vito's BFF Trey!) on her phone - she emailed it to me to see if I wanted him. Ha! IF I wanted him! Can you imagine? Looking at this picture reminds me of how long ago it was & how far we have come. :) The caption was added by Vito's Aunt Becky ("The Treat Whisperer") as she was convincing me that I could handle him and his housebreaking issues. I'm blown away by how uneducated I was - especially thinking now that he still pees in the house on a regular basis 2 years post-neuter. And I could not care less. OK, that's not entirely true, but I could not love him any less. :)



Look how teeny & precious he was! The vet would not be happy at how I have "fattened him up" in 2 years.

This next picture was within 5 minutes of him entering my old apartment for the first time. He just plopped down and thank goodness I had my camera ready because it is still my very favorite picture of him EVER.

He arrived on December 12, 2009 and I ordered my Holiday cards the next day - using that picture!

He then sprawled out displaying the infamous frog legs - which I was unfamiliar with and spent the next year documenting. It still makes me smile and when he burrows up next to me on the sofa like that I still can't resist giving a good massage to those chunky thighs (which he appreciates).

The next one is still Day One. This was the first picture I took where I figured out the "dog alien eyes" are hard to avoid without a fancy camera or a smarter photographer than me. I thought there was something wrong with him when I saw this picture!



I can't imagine what he was thinking - he had been in 4 homes in less than 2 months. :(

Aunt Becky came to visit after we had been home for only a couple of hours. It probably wasn't the best plan but I didn't know any better. I should have let him settle in - but as you can see, he loved it.





Becky had a Pomeranian all through our college years (and way beyond) who passed away at about 15 years old, about a year before Vito came along. It was hard for all of us to say goodbye to Ziggy but hardest for Becky of course. The day she met Vito, she said how much she missed having a little dog. She especially bonded with Vito that first day because of that. (Now she has Rojo and Cracker Jack.)

The night Vito came to live with me, I got very sick. I think it was actually stress - it's so crazy to think about it now - but I really did stress so much about getting him. I was single and very set in my routines - and my routines consisted of not having any routines. Other than happy hour about 3 times a week. ;) I knew he was going to be the biggest commitment I had ever made - I was committing myself to something for at the very least (hopefully!) TEN YEARS! I was going to have to come home after work every single night and let him out - no more carefree impromptu happy hours, no more vacations with no-worries or dogsitters (thank you Uncle Michael!).

So that night, I woke up vomiting at 2 am. And again at 4 and 5. And for 3 days after that. I had to miss work. With this strange little creature who I wasn't sure I even liked and who smelled funny (partially explained below by the ear & wrinkle infections I was unaware of at the time - & partially just classic FRITO PUG!), and who wanted on the furniture.

Look at him!!


And yes - that's how naive I was. I thought I could keep a dog off the furniture. What?? I KNOW! And certainly not a pug. I knew nothing. But I learned it all in a matter of about a week. Why would I NOT want a dog on the furniture??? Lucky for Vito that I was sick, and that I consequently looooved having him snoring on my feet on his first few days in the house - it makes me sad to think about him being in a new environment after so many changes and someone not allowing him on the furniture!


This baby was NOT sitting or lying on the floor. He kept me company and kept my feet warm while I was so sick. And shedding? It took me about 48 hours to get over that too. Now I judge people who DON'T have pet hair on their clothing.

Look how emaciated he used to be!!!

That first week he came to live with me forever - while I was so sick - I got him neutered. If you read the first post linked to earlier - you'll see that the people he went to initially gave him back to me because he was still marking in the house. They promised me when I gave him to them that they would get him neutered. Again - so naive back then - now I would never give an un-neutered dog to someone for fear of them breeding him. But all was meant to be in Vito's case and he came back to me.

When I took him to the vet at 7:30am to drop him off for his neuter, as mentioned before - I wasn't even sure I liked him! It was cold out - I was sick - he wasn't housebroken and I had to take him out every 2 hours on a leash in my apartment backyard - he was still peeing on the furniture in those 2 hours while I was sleeping. But when that nurse took him from me at the vet's office and I had to LEAVE HIM THERE - I started sobbing in the lobby. That was when I knew - everything in my life had changed. Vito had changed me and I officially loved him. :)

Just three weeks after he arrived, I took him to Beginner training at Petsmart. He didn't know how to Sit, or Stay, or Leave It or aaaaaaanything. He had lived in a crate his whole previous 2 years of life. He was the underachiever of our class - but was the favorite of all of the other pet parents. :)


Judy the St. Bernard

Proud Graduate!

He did learn to Sit and Lay Down and Stay and Leave It eventually (and has since forgotten Stay and Leave It) and was rewarded with a dragon which supposedly was protected with something called "Chew-Guard Technology" - well, Vito should have been a test-pug on that technology because it only withstood about a day of chewing before he ripped it open. Goodbye $17! I learned quickly to not invest money on stuffed toys for Mr. Marino.



He had ear & nose wrinkle infections chronically after coming to me as evidenced by these greasy-ear pictures! All was eventually cleared up after a lot of vet visits!


Pick it up, Mom!

Action shot!


He was also an excellent guard-dog in our apartment his first year. Since then "we" have bought a house without such an excellent front window for his watch-dog talents, but don't worry, he is still on high alert for every siren or voice or twig-dropping outside. We are safe, thank you, Vito.



Here's a flashback to Vito's 1st Gotcha Day - thank goodness there's no snow on the ground this year. He told me he did not appreciate the snow that I ordered for him last year.


I hope my Baby Bear is as happy living here with me as I am with him. I can't imagine loving anything as much as him. (Please don't tell Vinny. Because I love him a whole lot too!)

Happy? Or maybe just comfortable.

Happy. :)

DEFINITELY HAPPY. :)

I LOVE YOU BABY BEAR, VITO MARINO! HAPPY 2ND GOTCHA DAY!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Blogging Blahs...

Mom says to tell everyone she's been really busy and that is why she's not updating my blog or reading anyone else's.

But between us...she's just really lazy and uncreative. She's having the blogging blahs and is threatening to go in to hibernation for the winter. I will try to prevent that.

So because of Mom's pure laziness, this blog will be pretty boring and she will use it as an excuse to not post for me again for another 8 years. Don't think that I haven't connected the dots and realized that Mom's blogging blahs came along RIGHT at the same time as Vinny decided to live here forever. We had such a good thing going before he got adopted. He has ruined everything I tell you!

So Thanksgiving night Mom put up the Christmas tree. Vinny had never seen one before. He pretty much didn't care a thing about it. But Mom did force us to pose in front of it.

Because it had just gone up Mom hadn't yet spent a week rearranging all of the ornaments to be symmetrical so don't judge!

And here's my stocking - it's super cool and Mom got it on sale after Christmas last year at Target.

But she couldn't find another one this year so Vinny got stuck with a stupid snowman. HA HA HA!

Alright Mom says this blog has exhausted her. I think she needs to see a doctor or something for her laziness.

Later friends! Hopefully I won't be gone for too long!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Fun Christmas Puggie Stuff!

My Aunt Stacy (again, not really my Aunt but Mom makes me call all of her best friends Aunt So&So...) sent us a present in the mail yesterday! LOOK at this ornament!

Clearly Mom is a terrible photographer & doesn't really know how to work her camera especially for close-up shots. But that puggie is trying to scratch his ear!

She got it at Hallmark. It's pretty cute, I must admit. I shall name him..."Vito."

And Grandma sent Mom these gift bags!

I mean, that pug is cute too, but clearly not as cute as Yours Truly. I mean, it might be as cute as Vinny but I think we all know that Vinny falls below me on the Cuteness Scale. Agreed? I thought so. Mom looked on the tag and apparently Grandma got these bags at a store called Alco where she lives - it's like a discount Dollar Store kind of place. (PS again displaying Mom's shoddy camera work - this Not-As-Cute-As-Me-But-Maybe-As-Cute-As-Vinny pug's Santa hat trim is all glittery!)

Do you guys have fun Christmas puggie stuff?

Later, friends!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Happy Pugsgiving!

I think someone is glad to be home.

And Pippa's brothers don't seem to mind that she is back either.

Happy Thanksgiving all!!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Pictures with Santa!

Saturday was a big day. First we had to go to the groomer and get our nails done and our butts squeezed. Oh, both of those are my FAVORITE. Mom finally got to witness us getting our nails done and boy did we both throw a fit! Mom kept laughing. Vinny & I were NOT laughing. Miss Amy at the groomer said that ALL pugs act the same way - like they are about to be thrown in to a pit of fire. I say it's totally justified.

THEN we went to a pet store. I love going to pet stores! Vinny though didn't react very well. He apparently just wanted to go home, especially when we went upstairs and this guy in a red suit picked us both up. And it went a little something like this:

Vinny was looking at Mom to save him. Ha, ha, ha.

Vinny doesn't like being held facing outwards (he's a real weirdo, that one), so they got better with time. As you can see though, I freakin' LOVE being the center of attention! I bet you thought it would be the other way around - that I would be the grumpy one. WRONG! Look at me just hamming it up for the camera! Woo-hoo!!

Wheeeeeee!

OH! And our friend Lucy and her Mom Melinda came too. Lucy didn't start out so great either.

This is Mom's FAVE!

But they finally got some really "traditionally" good ones too!

And after all of that, we had to go adopt my stupid brother Vinny. Moving on.

Later, friends!

PS. these were done by David Carlyon from Darkwood Studios at Pets in the City. He's amazing and photographs the beautiful stray dogs in East St. Louis that are helped by Gateway Pet Guardians, and the proceeds from these photos went to them!
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