The Adventures of Vito Marino

That was too fast...

2012-02-10T19:04:00.004-06:00

I took Jax to his new foster Mom on Wednesday. Boy was it sad for only having this guy since Saturday! He is such a love. The sweetest, snuggliest boy ever. Yes, you heard me Vito and Vinny. You could take some lessons.

Vinny: "Who, me?"

Just like when Pippa was here and she was so sick, Vito was really good with Jax. He seemed to know something was wrong with him and he laid on the floor with him a lot (note the belly bands). Jax seemed most comfortable on hard surfaces, and I'm happy his new foster Mom has carpet throughout her house because it's much easier for him to get his footing on carpet than on my hardwood floors.

How precious is this baby? And if only you could snuggle him!

But his new foster Mom came back from vacation so I met her at her work on Wednesday afternoon for the handoff. She instantly loved him and was so sweet with me, who as you can imagine, was a crying mess.

She gave me a hug and assured me she would take great care of him and I know she will. Jax and I got some snuggle time in the Jeep while we waited for her and that's when the tears came. It's a really good thing I had him such a short amount of time because I can't imagine getting more attached to him! I just wanted to cry looking at him most times because his walk is so sad and it's so unfair for such a perfect pug.

He was shaking as we were in the Jeep - I know he knew he was leaving me. Ugh! But his new FM called me that night and said he was doing just great. And I just realized I never updated you all - the vet called on Monday morning and said the orthopedic surgeon did not recommend surgery based on the x-rays alone "because he seems to get around and doesn't seem to be in much pain." I disagree with that and so does his new FM, so she is going to see about getting a second opinion. I do hate the thought of him going through such an invasive surgery - but at four years old, it's heartbreaking to think of him hobbling around with so much of his life left.

The best news is that his FM said I can pug-sit him when she has to travel for work! Hooray!

Hope to have some posts from the Double V's soon! "Hope" being the key word! Miss you all and thank you for still reading as I struggle through this blogging slump! I "hope" to use some of this weekend to get caught up on your blogs too!

Later friends!

Jax is Here

2012-02-04T18:49:00.004-06:00

Vito's Mom making another guest appearance. I went to pick up Jax this morning an hour and a half from St. Louis. Pippa's mom rescued him last night and she called and recommended that he see a vet right away, so I took him straight there after picking him up. He is pitiful.

He walks like he's drunk, and falls to the side. He's tiny and his ribs are visible (16 pounds). His back end is much smaller than his front end. His breath is atrocious and Pippa's mom found an ear infection. He sheds like a beast, likely due to his poor diet.

The doctor found a lot of things. He thought at first after visual observation that his walking-problems might be neurological, but after doing a few manual tests on him, he decided to do x-rays. The results showed what the vet called "the worst hips I have ever seen." :( He has hip displaysia and secondary arthritis. He said the hips aren't even in the sockets - and he couldn't really see any sockets for them to be in. He's going to send the x-rays to an orthopedic surgeon to see if anything can be done surgically.

On top of that, he needs to be neutered (oh the marking!), have an infected tooth removed, and he has a yeast infection in his ears. I'm so curious to know the story of what happened to this little guy's eye, and who cared enough about him at one point in his short life to actually take him to a vet to get it repaired.

The good news is that he is absolutely precious. He is so sweet and loves to be held and snuggled, and just nuzzles in to your neck. We just hope something can be done for him.

Vito is alarmed.

He goes to his permanent foster Mom on Wednesday, so I'll just love on him until then. Vito & Vinny are being pretty good to him although Vinny is currently in time-out for barking at him too much. He's 3 years old so he's in for 3 minutes. Isn't that how it works?

We'll keep you updated on Jax's journey.

What's a Blog?

2012-02-03T00:36:00.008-06:00

That's the question. I remember what a blog is. But my Mom clearly DOESN'T. And since she's the one who knows how to type, Vinny & I have been totally screwed!!

But don't worry, faithful followers, it's not like we've been doing anything too exciting around here.

I discovered a new perch instead of the ottoman.

And I stretched out a lot. Usually on Mom's lap.

And then there were a few cold days where I remembered where the heat vent is.

And I got a Shut-Up Stick or five.

And we've discovered that Vinny freaks out whenever any animal is on tv. So much for the theory that dogs don't see clearly b/c this weirdo senses an animal on tv even when it's on "Mute."

Mom clearly has no interest in discipline. And that's fine by us.

Seriously, even when it's just a cat or a chicken, he does this. Really - when there is no sound on at all! Or even just Cesar Millan's face!

Obviously Mom has been neglecting us as usual. She went to a fundraiser a few weeks ago. She told Vinny & I it was a fundraiser for dogs so we didn't squeal TOO much when she left (but we were secretly skeptical). It was a fundraiser for Gateway Pet Guardians who feed the strays in East St. Louis every single day (PJ hasn't missed a SINGLE DAY since 2003!) and they also rescue when they can, but they don't have a shelter so they rely strictly on foster homes - so they need lots of fundraisers like that one! And Mom "fell in love" (GROSS!).

Now, my instinct tells me to hate those pictures. But I know that puppy didn't have a home and he was found wandering alone away from his Mom & his brothers & sisters and that sounds kind of sad. His name is Rex. Mom says now that she thinks he's found a home but she was dangerously close to bringing him home to live with Vinny & me that night because he "melted into" her.

Before you go and start thinking I'm a softie, I'm NOT! Because I've caught wind that Mom is doing something Gawd-awful Saturday morning. She's going on a road trip (and not taking me with her!) and bringing someone back with her from Rolla, MO (about an hour and a half from us in St. Louis).

Meet Jax. Pippa's Mom (you remember Pippa right??) found Jax in one of those crazy "free to a good home" ads and she contacted SEPRA to see if they could save him. There was an open foster home (NOT MINE THANK GOODNESS!!) but that home is on vacation right now, so my own Mom is going to get him on Saturday and Jax is going to stay with us until next Wednesday when my Mom takes him to meet his permanent foster Mom at the vet. The people who have Jax now say he has "hip issues" and as you can see, he's missing an eye, so he's got some things to over come. Vinny & I have agreed to take it easy on him while he's here. We DO have hearts SOMETIMES. If it's on a limited time frame. Yeah!

Alright, I'll TRY to make Mom post something this weekend and since Jax will be here, I'm sure she'll be allllll over it. She loves posting about dogs that aren't us. She's a real jerk that way.

And I will MAKE her get caught up on your blogs too, if I have to sit on her to do it! Later, friends!

Welcome to the Family

2012-01-11T20:57:00.006-06:00

Yep, you read that right. I just acknowledged that Vinny is officially part of our family. He has to be I guess because now he has a Puppia harness that matches mine AND a St. Francis tag to protect him, just like mine. (PS if you follow that link, you'll find our friend Sue at My Doggie's Closet on Ebay - that is where Mom gets our harnesses and St. Francis tags which she has also bought as gifts for other canine friends! AND you'll see a pic of Yours Truly and my little brother. Disclaimer: this is not a paid promotion! We just happened upon Sue when Mom was looking for my first harness back in the day, and she was so great about making sure it was the right size! PLUS, she has lots of other doggie goodies!)

ANNNYYYWAAAAYYY, I guess that means Vinny's here to stay for good, so I have decided to embrace it (maybe temporarily? We'll see...).

Vinny in blue, me in green. Who's better looking? YOU BETTER SAY ME.

Since I'm embracing him, I will say Vinny looks pretty good in blue.

I decided since he's staying, that he & I should band together and slowly drive Mom insane. Boy has it been FUN! We've been marking on every spot that would stand still in the house! And that is a lot of spots!

But then Mom got wise that it wasn't just me doing the marking. She caught Vinny in the act. (He is still a rookie after all, he has a few things to learn about not getting caught.) Little did she know, months ago I had showed Vinny how much fun it is to pee indoors, and since I'm his big brother, he followed along and has done an amazing job! I'm so proud I could almost cry.

I didn't think this completely through though because something called a "belly band" exists. Mom had tried it on me before but got lazy - imagine that! And Vinny had to wear one til he was neutered and he peed right through those suckers like a champ! But after his neuter he didn't pee inside anymore. Until I decided to get him on my side. :)

But look at this:

DRAT!

We were caught completely off guard with the belly bands. We didn't think Mom would actually go through with it!

I immediately sank in to a deep depression.

And Vinny didn't fare much better. He only lifted his head for the camera.

Well they made us stop marking. But we figured out how to wiggle out of them pretty quick - Vinny was a pro and actually gave me some pointers. Who knew younger brothers were good for anything? And as predicted, Mom got lazy again, and wouldn't you know it? We started marking inside again immediately! Serves her right for trying to outsmart pugs! She keeps threatening us with something called "Craigslist" but we know she's all talk about that too.

Update: just thought you all might want to see my former foster-sister Pippa - in the middle of a fawn pug sandwich, with her brothers Otis and Stuey. And today is her mom Stacey's birthday - so Happy Birthday Stacey!

That's all for now! Happy peeing-indoors, Friends! Winter is here and that's the best time to leave your mark. :)

Later!

"So This is Christmas & What Have You Done?": 2011

2012-01-05T20:37:00.021-06:00

FINALLY, I have whined enough to get Mom to do a Christmas post! Seriously, this is the laziest lady you would ever have the misfortune of meeting. Yeah, yeah, she feeds me and my brother, but that's about the extent of it. Sometimes she gives us water and lets us go outside to see the light of day but those are only rare treats.

We went to see Grandma & Grandpa in the Ozarks as usual for Christmas and it was Vinny's first time there. He seemed to like it okay. But since Christmas fell on Sunday this year - we were there from Thursday through Monday and we were ALL (especially MOM!) ready to get back home.

Here goes:

Vinny

Snoozing on Mom's lap

This is my Great-uncle Bobby - he had never met me before so I had to make myself comfortable of course. Great-Uncle Bobby is kind of a miracle and my Mom loves him a whole lot (he's SUPER funny apparently). He has had a liver transplant and TWO! kidney transplants in the last 20 years or so. He wasn't feeling good this day either and went to the hospital again the day after Christmas and just got out yesterday. We all pray that he will be okay for a long time.

See? Great-uncle Bobby liked me. It's clear. :) When Mom was 12 years old, Great-uncle Bobby had his liver transplant at the hospital in St. Louis (where we live now! But is 3 hours away from where Mom & Great-uncle Bobby lived). And my Grandma (his sister) basically lived in the hospital with him for almost a year as he had setbacks and recoveries, so my Mom remembers that year very clearly since Grandpa isn't a great cook.

OK, back to the pictures:

Vinny in Grandpa's chair. Look how much Grandpa doesn't like him compared to how much he likes me!!!

Me and my BFF Trey

Begging for Trey's food

Begging for Grandma's food

Vinny begging for Grandpa's food

Mom's cropper isn't working for some reason so she hates this picture because of all of the mess but we have to have a picture in front of the tree every year so there ya go. (She also hates Jay Leno but that is another story entirely.)

Oh yeah. And Jack was there. Mom loves when he sits like this (which is a lot). But look how fat he is! He's so fat! Ha ha ha ha, Fatty Magoo! (Any "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" fans out there?) Fatty Boombalatty! Fatty McFatterstein! Oh, sorry, Mom - you say he runs like 2 miles a day with Uncle Michael and apparently is just a big ol' beagle according to the vet? And I lay around like a slug every day? Whatever.

Grandpa, Jack, me & my day-glow eyes & Uncle Michael

Man I'm handsome

One of Vinny's strange bark-at-the-carpet fits

I try to pretend like I don't know him when he does this

He's just weird!

Jack must have been really tired from those 2-miles-a-day runs because he pretty much spent the whole four days right here. Including when Grandma had to sleep on the sofa one night because Grandpa snores and they had run out of beds what with us all being there. Grandma said she tried to move him but he's...wait for it...TOO FAT.

Ah. All to myself. Me and Grandpa.

I was okay with Vinny coming on Grandpa's lap then because we were engrossed in this awesome tv show that Grandpa introduced us to on the Hunting Channel called "Arkansas Outlaws."

And then there was Jack.

Hanging with Uncle Michael and The Jerk.

Uncle Michael and my brother and my cousin

We hope you all had a great holiday! Kitty & Coco sent us those super-sweet bow ties! I really liked mine b/c it wasn't a sweater or a hat, and it didn't bother me a bit. And Mom said I looked handsome. She said Vinny looked stupid. Or at least that's what I heard.

Later, friends!

Happy One-Day-Late Birthday, Jerk

2011-12-28T19:39:00.004-06:00

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!

Mom's Busy...

2011-12-16T20:25:00.002-06:00

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

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

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

2011-12-11T01:28:00.016-06:00

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!

Blogging Blahs...

2011-12-07T18:49:00.003-06:00

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!

Fun Christmas Puggie Stuff!

2011-11-24T00:01:00.003-06:00

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!

Happy Pugsgiving!

2011-11-22T18:51:00.002-06:00

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!!

Pictures with Santa!

2011-11-21T18:40:00.010-06:00

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!

Our Holiday Card from Shutterfly!

2011-11-20T00:34:00.005-06:00

Our foster pugs have meant so much to us this year, so we wanted to honor them in our Holiday Card! And thanks to Shutterfly, we got to do that at a big discount (plus free shipping from a standard coupon on their site)!

We love you Louie and Pippa, and yes, Vito even loves Vinny, as he finally made his way in to our family officially after a long 5 months, and 3 surgeries. And this Thanksgiving, we are thankful for all of our pug friends & family in blogville, and most especially, for Pippa being found safe & sound and ready to celebrate her first Christmas with her forever family (and we are told, lots of presents coming her way!).

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy Gotcha Day, Vinny!

2011-11-19T17:12:00.004-06:00

It's official - he's staying!

To celebrate, the boys got their pictures taken with Santa today. It all went surprisingly well. Except that I definitely need to invest in one of those double-leash contraptions. We'll share the pictures with you when they arrive via email this week.

We love you, Vincent! Even Vito.

Thank you for finding us.

THANKS, GAMPY!!!!

2011-11-17T18:27:00.006-06:00

Oh my pugness. I got an EXTRA-SPECIAL gift in the mail today!! Guess who it was from??? PAYTON'S GAMPY! He sent me a Cardinals jersey! And it is a super nice satiny one!

Now you know that I don't care much for clothing. But I do care a LOT for the Cardinals, so I am able to make some clothing-exceptions.

Ah, satiny and soft. See how happy I am?

I already had a Cardinals jersey BUT it was not as nice as this one! It was that cheap-o "polyester" stuff. So guess who that jersey belongs to now? You're right! My very unimportant FOSTER brother, Vinny! HA HA HA!

Vinny in his itchy cheap polyester version.

I have UPGRADED now, thanks to Payton's Gampy! It was SOOOOOO nice of him! He said Payton's Cub-fan parents have brainwashed her so much that they wouldn't even allow her to try it on. Oh that's so sad. I always pity those who are born Cubs fans and just don't know any better. Thank goodness I was raised right, just like Gampy! GO CARDS and thank you again SO much, Gampy!!

Gampy, when we meet in person I will be sure to wear my jersey!

PS Saturday is the big day when supposedly Vinny becomes my brother forever. Bah humbug.

Jeez, do you have to sit so close to me?

Later, friends!

Shutterfly 2011 Promotion!

2011-11-14T17:23:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Minnie & Mack's recommendation, we are participating in the Shutterfly Promotion and we are very excited about it! Shutterfly has great cards for all seasons, photo books (a friend made one for all of us from a girls' trip to Napa two years ago and it's the perfect keepsake!), address labels - you name it, if it involves pictures, they've got it.

We also really like that Shutterfly has cards that can be "holiday-neutral" as we have lots of Jewish friends who we want to share cards with but "Merry Christmas!" splashed all over it just doesn't seem appropriate.

We have our Holiday Card all designed, just waiting to hit "Order" on payday! :) We hope to be able to share it with you soon! And don't worry about Vito, it doesn't involve ANY hats! We went with a snowman theme as that is what all of my holiday decorations are - no Santas for me!

PS, speaking of Santa don't tell Vito or Vinny they are going to get their picture made with Santa on Saturday. :)

SHE'S HOME!!!!

2011-11-13T10:43:00.005-06:00

PIPPA IS HOME!! The details are a little sketchy, but someone called Pippa's mom this morning after finding her in the road more than 10 miles away. She was not thin, as though someone had been feeding her, and she smelled like cigarette smoke. She did not look like she had been living in the woods for 6 days. We still believe that someone took her and then dumped her as pressure was being put on.

Whatever the case, she is HOME and her Mom said she looks great and after a nice bath, she is sleeping on her favorite wine rug in the kitchen.

Thank you all for your prayers, for linking her to your blog, and for your support! We are all just thrilled.

This is My Dog Bed

2011-11-12T01:32:00.006-06:00

I confirmed for Mom tonight that she never needs to waste another penny on a dog bed.

Later friends.

Dog Beds (and Pippa of course)

2011-11-10T18:43:00.006-06:00

I love dog beds. Mom has bought me 3 of them now and I've destroyed every last one of them. I mean, they are just giant stuffed toys right?

Sure, it looks smushy and cozy like we should just looooove to curl up in there. Nah, why do that when we can tear them open?

You can see that Vinny is a very good student.

Later, friends!

PS Vito's mom here. There has still been no news about Pippa. Her mom is NOT giving up though and is posting her everywhere possible, and still searching. We really believe at this point that she had to have been stolen. Lola & Tucker's mom offered to post Pippa on their blogs so we sent her some information on Pippa. If you are interested in doing the same (even if you aren't in the area, someone reading your blog might be), just contact me and I will send you info & pictures. We are absolutely desperate to find her, no matter in what condition. We can't think of anything else until then. Her mom says she cries every time she sees a pink toy and keeps replaying every second of that day wishing she had done something differently. It is heartbreaking. As she said "Dogs aren't 'just dogs' to me - they are family and Pippa is family." Pippa's mom has saved so many dogs over the years and has dedicated countless hours and her own money to these babies. All of her pugs are rescues, but she works with all breeds at the shelter she volunteers at (where she saved both Pippa and my Vinny). It's so unfair that she is going through this.

Hug your pups tight, even if they sneeze in your face like Vito did to me last night after I told him that hug was for Pippa.

Below are some more pictures of Pippa from her first night at our house on June 2 of this year (my birthday!) while she was still feeling good:

Pippa is Missing

2011-11-09T19:09:00.004-06:00

Vito's Mom here. Very sadly, after my happy update on Pippa the other day, she is missing. On Monday, 11/7 at 2pm, her mom let Pippa and her 3 pug brothers outside to do their business. They live in a very rural area in Southern Missouri on 35 acres. She watched them go to their "usual potty spot" and went back in the house (leaving the door open) for less than 2 minutes. Two of the pugs came back inside as her mom was going out to call them all in, but Pippa and her pug/boxer mix-brother, Rosco, did not come in. She found Rosco at the pond, located halfway between the house and the road (a very long driveway), which she said was very unusual for them to go that far on a routine potty break. Pippa was nowhere to be found. The land is very wide open before the woods begin, and she should have been seen. She is very slow and not a runner, and she never leaves her brothers' sides.

Needless to say, panic ensued. Her mom got on her ATV and started to search the property immediately and in no time had 5 other people on ATV's helping her. There has been no sign of her. Everyone is devastated and heartbroken, and are still searching. The pond where Rosco was found was spotlighted to see if she had fallen in, and searched again today (it is very shallow). The suspicion now is that she may have been stolen.

A big reward is being offered and has been publicized on 3 radio stations, a large ad is coming out in the newspaper there tonight, fliers have been given to every house in a 5 mile radius, and all of the surrounding land has been searched by ATV, and foot when possible.

Please keep Pippa in your prayers, as well as her family. They are beside themselves. We are hoping that someone has her and will be motivated by the reward to return her.

We love you, Pippa. Come home soon.

Jack and Me: Friends??

2011-11-07T18:25:00.003-06:00

Jack unexpectedly came to stay with us for the weekend because Uncle Michael went camping. It was a weird weekend. I was in a weird mood. And apparently so was Jack. Because we got along like best friends! And I never feared for my life!

Note that Jack started it! He came over and plopped down right next to me!

Eventually I kind of wanted him to get away from me so I slowly started leaning to the side.

I will admit though that Jack was laying here first and I joined him on the rug.

But you know what Vinny was doing during this love-fest between Jack and me? This:

I think he's gotten smarter. This worries me greatly.

Later, friends!

Another Foster Pug Update... Pippa!

2011-11-02T21:38:00.006-05:00

Once again, since Vito has had his post for the night, I'm going to sneak in another one since he is now snoring next to me with his face smashed between the back of the bend of my knees up on the sofa! He'll never find out!

Since I gave an update about our first foster pug Louie last night, I thought I'd also give an update on our second foster pug, Pippa. Pippa was only with us for less than 48 hours as you'll remember. She became very ill and went back to live with the awesome Stacey who rescued her from the shelter in Southern Missouri (and who volunteers there on a regular basis and has saved SO MANY DOGS - including OUR VINNY!). Well, very long story very short - Pippa is still very happily living there with her 3 brothers (2 pugs and 1 pug/boxer mix!) and her human sister, and she is doing just great! We never found out exactly what was wrong with her, but they suspected it was some kind of parasite. She is still a slow little lady and is still a little skittish at times, but I think you'll agree based on these pictures, that she is doing just fine and loving her life with her most amazing family.

Pippa with her brothers from L to R, Rosco, Otis, and Stuey (all rescues too!) at the family lake house

Pippa hanging out with her human sister and her pug brothers Otis and Stuey

Love you, Pippa!

Pug Party!

2011-11-02T18:00:00.007-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Mom had a big football party - but I've taken the liberty of renaming it the Pug Party. Granted, Vinny and I were the only pugs there, but that's neither here nor there. In fact we were the only dogs there which is unusual for one of Mom's parties. But that was just fine by us because we got allllllll of the attention! And we like attention. Plus no one was trying to eat us because Uncle Michael was running in the Warrior Dash that day so stupid Jack was at home being a loser who has no friends. Anyway!

"Don't worry Mom! We're on door duty! You just keep making that taco soup!"

"When are they gonna beeeeeeee here already??"

That's my BFF Kyle.

And that's Vinny trying to hog all of Kyle's attention which I did not appreciate one bit.

Vinny, get out of here! Go find your own BFF! Paul is around here somewhere!

Mom said Kyle's shirt was "trashtastic."

Vinny beat Kyle at several rounds of tug of war despite me trying to sabotage the game.

Finally! I had him all to myself!

And I got a vigorous head rub.

I was pretty tired toward the end of the night so I couldn't help snuggling up with Mom despite the presence of cameras.

Are you laughing at me, Bill? Do you think this is funny? I'm exhausted!

That's all for now. Later, friends!

Little Louie Boy Update!

2011-11-01T20:26:00.003-05:00

Since Vito got his post in for the night, I'm going to sneak in my own! I'm sure you all remember our first foster pug-love - LOUIE! His mom & I keep in touch and she lets me know all about how he is doing...and he is doing GREAT. She even said "He is the best kid-dog ever!" You remember he has a human brother who is under 2 years old. She said Louie is so patient with him as he learns about "gentle hugs" and he lets his human brother lay on him. :) So proud of our boy! Before the home visit, I was nervous about Louie living with such a small child, seeing as Louie was only 2 years old and very much still had all of his puppy (i.e. jumpy!) energy! But at the home visit I knew it was meant to be, when Louie jumped and kissed all over him, and he didn't mind a bit. He laughed and clapped, and I knew they were going to be the best of friends.

Louie's mom texted these pictures to me on Friday night. She made him this little outfit out of an old pair of sweatpants as she was watching Game 7 of our Cardinals winning the World Series! I think it's fitting how it is Cardinal red, don't you?

Louie's a teeny boy and he was getting cold! So his crafty mom came up with the perfect solution, and she said he loves his recycled sweatpant outfit!

How darling is this boy? We love and miss you Little Louie Boy!

Doctors and Stuff

2011-11-01T19:26:00.011-05:00

Well as I said, we have a lot to catch you up on so we'll get the stupid medical stuff out of the way first. And since I'm the oldest and most important pug in this house, we'll talk about me first.

I had to go to the vet a couple of weeks ago for... SHOTS! I'm sure you all have been through this. Shots are dumb. I usually like going to the vet when it's for stuff that doesn't involve SHOTS. I hang out and meet other dogs and get told how cute I am. That day I met a 4 month old Frenchie named Chloe but Mom didn't want to get creepy by taking a picture of a stranger's dog.

But as soon as we got to that evil back room, I got antsy. I insisted on being on Mom's lap.

Something's up. I smell SHOTS. And not the good kind. My freakin' nose even started to run!

I fought as long as I could, but then I had to resign myself to it.

This is going to happen, isn't it?

The doctor-man came in picked me up and took me to another room to give me the SHOTS. They were short-staffed that day so they didn't have a vet tech to come in and help with the SHOTS, so I had to go with him. I won't tell Mom what happened in that room, but I made Mom wonder when he brought me back and I gave him KISSES right in front of her! HA! I never give kisses, not even to Mom. I just like to keep her curious. It's funny.

The doctor said I need to have my teeth deep cleaned in the Spring. When they "put me under" for that (whatever that means! Anyone know what that means?) they are going to remove the little bump that Mom posted about here.

OK, on to the other pug who lives here - you know, the youngest and less important one.

This one.

Well apparently there was some good news about him last week. He had a Bile Acid Test last week to follow up on his shunt surgery, and the doctor said the results were... PERFECT. So now he gets a regular kind of food (it better not taste better than mine!) and no more medicine, and they will test him again in 3 months.

AND he went to a special eye doctor last Friday too. Remember when he had to have surgery on his eyes? Well after his surgery, the bumps came back. So he went to a special doctor, and the doctor said it isn't really a big deal. He said a whole lot of stuff Mom didn't understand, but basically if the bumps come back (they're gone now), they can FREEZE the insides of his eyelids and it will fix the problem!

That all sounds good right? WRONG. Well it doesn't sound good to me anyway. Because you know what this means don't you? It means Mom is going to be adopting Vinny very soon - like maybe even this week - and he will be my ACTUAL BROTHER.

Look how proud he looks there on the left. Like he's gloating about moving in permanently and ruining my whole life. He had this all planned I'm sure.

And again with the chin stuck in the air and the chest all stuck out. Blah.

Ugh. I need to lie down.

Later, friends.

We are the Champions...

2011-10-31T18:51:00.008-05:00

Wow. Mom & Vinny didn't know that when they said we were taking a baseball hiatus from blogging that it would end up being this long! I knew though, b/c if you didn't know this about me, I am rather psychic and I TOTALLY knew the Cardinals were going to win the World Series!!! GO CARDS!!!

The downside to not blogging for this long is that it's really hard to remember everything that's happened and get it all organized. So let's start with baseball. Mom took some pictures of us watching the games.

Vinny stole MY baseball Nylabone.
(Mom's note: you can see here that Vinny's eyes were swollen and had red bumps inside his eyelids, and this was many weeks post-surgery and suture removal.)

Look at him slobbering ALL OVER IT! MOM!!!

I was not happy about being stuck with the stupid plain Nylabone.

All of the games didn't go in our favor. We were down in the dumps some games.

And some games we just couldn't even bear to watch so we closed our eyes.

Last Friday - the day of the big game - Mom got us some baseball themed treats - and some real foodable treats too from a new store that opened up in our neighborhood. Vinny even got a Cardinals collar to match mine! I think that means he might be staying. :(

Vinny checking out the baseball.

Vinny didn't even know the proper way to tear this open. Don't worry, I showed him later.

Peanut butter treats!

Nom nom nom

I had to take mine in the other room to eat it so that Vinny wouldn't try to swipe my crumbs!

All gone!

We did some real celebrating that night! The Cardinals haven't won the World Series in our lifetimes so we really did it right - champagne and everything! Don't tell Mom. We did that after she went to bed.

We have a ton of stuff to catch everyone up on but we'll have to do that over the course of the week. For now I'm gonna go see if there is any of that bubbly left.

Later, friends!

We're Busy

2011-10-07T19:50:00.002-05:00

Mom, Vinny and I are busy. We will return to regularly scheduled blogging soon. What are we busy doing? Watching baseball, that's what! Go Cards!

Later, friends! (PS we hope this baseball-hiatus lasts longer than past tonight! And FYI, Vinny goes to get his eye sutures removed tomorrow. I'm sure there will be more Vinny-centric posts in the future. Boo!)

Vinny Update AGAIN - Jeez...

2011-09-27T18:50:00.005-05:00

Mom has been a HUGE slacker AGAIN. And once again, I have to write a post about Vinny. This is getting OLD!

Mom just wanted to let you all know he's doing fine after the surgery on his eyes. The vet thinks it was something called "chalazions" which is what the bumps on his eyelids were - and were caused by his tear ducts becoming clogged! The vet wrote up a really long description of what they did, so if you ever think your pug has this problem, my Mom would be happy to explain it all to you, so just contact her. It's always something with this guy! (Always something getting on my nerves and taking my attention away!) They are still waiting for the test results to confirm that is all that it was, and if it was, then the surgery should have permanently fixed the problem. When he came home that night, he was in another daze. He hates anesthesia almost as much as I hate writing blogs about him.

He was actually sleeping like this.

AND he had to wear the cone of shame which I found to be hilarious but Mom and Vinny both found to be a nightmare. Mom was so upset about it she didn't even get the camera out. He also has to have eye drops for 10 days which Mom says is like wrestling a very small, very strong monkey. Mom took him for a follow-up on Friday and they said everything looked great, and she has to take him back to the vet in about a week to get the sutures out of his eyes.

ENOUGH ABOUT VINNY!

This past weekend Mom's friend Valarie came to visit from Milwaukee. But she was a slacker yet again and didn't take many pictures (of us anyway). But here is my favorite. Look what a weirdo my FOSTER brother is:

You can see my gaze of judgment in the background.

He slept in this position for 20 minutes. He couldn't even blame it on pain medicine. This was about 7 hours after his dose (he got pain meds every 12 hours for the first 5 days).

Valarie brought us Nylabones AND chicken bouillon cubes - she boils her crazy dog Sue Ellen's bones with them! Genius! Of course Mom has been too lazy to try it yet.

OK, that's all for now. Mom isn't feeling very good - she says it's allergies - I say it's probably because Vinny passed on some kind of liver or eye disease to her. I'm convinced he's contagious.

Later friends!

More Company & Vinny Causing More Trouble...

2011-09-19T17:38:00.010-05:00

Mom's friend Veronica came to visit us from Kansas City this past weekend. Mom says we are in the middle of "A Lot of Company Stretch"... Grandma & Grandpa & Trey last weekend, Mom's friend Veronica this past weekend, and Mom's friend Valarie (that crazy dog Sue Ellen-Who-Looks-Like-Carol-Channing's mom) this coming weekend! I like company. Company is so much more fun than my Mom is.

And "Fun" to me is usually just doing this. Here I am on Veronica's lap. She is cozy.

Veronica took this picture of Mom & Vinny. He's so lame. But Mom loves this picture because Vinny never lets her hold him. But for some reason that day he just went limp & let her rub his chest forever.

Me, on the other hand - I mean, I look super cool here on Mom's lap. I look slim & trim, don't I? DON'T I???

Why does Vinny always have to be hanging around when I am just trying to enjoy my Mom's lap??

Of course it wasn't all good. As usual, when company comes to visit, I always end up left at home for some reason. You might have guessed based on Mom's history, that it's September and that means it's winery season. (Actually any season is winery season for My Mom The Wino.) So they left us all day on Saturday!

Mom's usual winery crew including Uncle Michael.

Some of Uncle Michael's friends joined them this time.

Yes. That is my Mom drinking wine out of a rubber duckie. They are super mature.

Anyway. Mom woke up yesterday (Sunday) and saw something strange on the corner of Vinny's eye. It was a red bump. She thought it was weird and I did too. I told her she should call the vet. Because I was really worried about Vinny.

HA! That's so not true and you almost fell for it! I wasn't worried about Vinny AT ALL!! But Mom was still worried about him this morning, and luckily she had the day off from work so she took him to the vet.

Red bump and swollen.

Vinny at the vet (note his left eye)

Turns out, they said they needed to keep him overnight and do surgery first thing tomorrow morning. The dr. said that he has what would be the human equivalent of "sties" on his eyes - 4 more even showed up while they were at the vet (or maybe before but Mom hadn't seen them) including one on the inside of his eyelid. They have to lance them open tomorrow under anesthesia so that they don't break open and cause infection. This might be the reason he's had really, really gross white eye boogers for about a month now. They don't know what has caused it, maybe an allergic reaction of some kind.

Mom said she cried when she left him and he was very sad too. She left his fleece blanket from SEPRA with him so hopefully he would know she is coming back.

Once again, Vinny causing trouble. He's such a pest.

But I miss him. I must admit. Only to you guys though, not to my Mom (Mom you aren't reading this, are you?? You are only supposed to be typing, not listening!). Mom did something super nice for me though because I was searching the house for Vinny when she got home. Since Vinny can't have fun-foods, Mom gave me a pork & sweet potato rawhide tonight since he wasn't here to be jealous. Hank's mom brought these to me when she & Hank came to visit!

DEEEEEEEEE-LISH!!

Later, friends!

Company!

2011-09-13T18:40:00.009-05:00

As I said last week, we had visitors this past weekend! Guess who? ... I'll wait ... That's right! Grandma, Grandpa, and my best friend Trey!

Things got off to a promising start on Saturday morning. Trey was eating eggs. We waited patiently.

We didn't get any eggs. Hmph. Grandma even offered to scramble us an egg but Mom said no because of Vinny's strict diet. Hmph again. But we did get some treats, so it was a trade-off.

Once again, we lost our case when we begged to go to the Cardinals game. We got stuck staying at home with Grandpa and Stupid Jack the Jerk.

Uncle Michael and Trey. I think Trey looks sad because I'm not there.

And clearly my Mom was super sad too.

Jack was his usual crybaby-self while Mom, Uncle Michael, Trey and Grandma were at the game. He sat and stared at the door for an hour. Then he got on the love seat and stared out the window for an hour. He has serious issues. So he was happy when Uncle Michael came back.

Loser.

Trey was eating some potato chips so Vinny & I made ourselves comfortable, just in case.

Mom, stop with the flashes, if you distract me and cause me to miss a crumb I will be very mad!

Then Grandma ate her leftovers from their lunch on The Hill that day, so we made ourselves comfortable again. (Top Secret: she gave us each a piece of pasta!! That's why Grandma is always my favorite.)

Sunday morning, everyone woke up at the crack of dawn again thanks to Grandpa. So I lounged around with Trey waiting for some eggs (which I didn't get again!).

They had to leave that day and I was sad.

Me and my best friend.

I was so sad I just had to lay down.

Grandpa, me and my BFF.

Then Vinny had to come and butt in to the picture.

Vinny tried to be BFF's with Trey but it didn't work. I will always be Trey's #1 pug!

That's all for now! Later, friends!

Some People are Coming to Visit...

2011-09-08T21:27:00.005-05:00

...And we had to get baths tonight and everything!

Mom even (tried to) put clean sheets on the pull-out love seat.

Well I'm sure you all know what that meant for us puggies. Clean sheets mean it is war/play-time! Play-time for me, war for Vinny. See, Vinny isn't that bright. He thinks the sheets are attacking him as Mom struggles to get them on the bed. He growls and whines and fights them. I just think they're super fun to burrow under and then maybe even take a nap, thus rendering Mom's efforts to get them on the bed useless. When Vinny growls, I get angry. I break out my best UFC moves on him. Mom says she wishes she had her video going on her camera because we got a little crazy.

We'll be sure to tell you who our visitors were next week! (Hint: one of them likes to feed me food out of the refrigerator, and one of them likes to give me belly rubs and sing my name to me, and one of them says he doesn't like little indoor dogs but he is obviously a big liar, and all three of them never take me to Cardinals games with them - but I am going to try my hardest to make that change on Saturday!)

Later, friends!

What a Week

2011-09-02T22:24:00.011-05:00

This week has SUCKED! Mom decided to do something ludicrous and have some guys come over and tear our house apart! (Mom's note: just a little house renovation.) These guys showed up on Monday and came at the crack of dawn every day this week and you know what that meant? Vinny and I were banished to the basement! And they made such a racket! But Mom says it's all over now and we don't have to go to the basement ANY. MORE. Whew. I hate it down there! I make Mom carry me down the stairs and then I squeal like I'm being tortured on every step. Stupid Vinny just runs down there on his own like he's going to a carnival. I was at my wits' end! Not only that but they were working in our bedroom so we had to sleep on the pull-out love seat and Vinny even fell off one night! I mean, I laughed of course, but I am ready to sleep in my own big fluffy bed tonight for the first time since last Saturday!

Last week, Mom's friends Kyle and Paul and Paul's girlfriend Mae came over. See, Mom is super challenged when it comes to house stuff and even more challenged when it comes to lawn stuff. So she has a rotation of friends (and Uncle Michael) who mow our lawn for us.

They hung out for a long time and played with Vinny & me. (Too long according to Mom the next morning when she had to go to work... I don't understand why... but she said she didn't feel very good after that late night... Hmmmmmmm...)

You might remember Kyle from our housewarming party last year. Kyle made fun of me and said that I didn't even "look real," and then lo and behold (like they all do), he pretty much fell in love with me...although he still won't admit it out loud. As you can see, nothing has changed.

There was no room on Kyle's lap for Vinny. HA! You lose Vinny!

Paul likes us a lot too. He & Mae have a Japanese Chin at home named Yogi and Mom says he is almost as cute as a pug. ALMOST.

This is Yogi. He has horns. I don't think he is cute at ALL. His mom Mae calls him "The Prancing Outlaw." PS I'm glad my hair isn't long enough for people to put horns on me.

Mom says Paul is like a big kid, and he even has a big idea of making a reality show about us and pitching it to TLC. It will be called "Two Pugs, Endless Hugs" and he made up a theme song and everything. I don't know about that. I don't want Vinny & I to end up like those Gosselin kids needing therapy for the rest of our lives.

Paul is kind of crazy. In a good way of course!

Uncle Michael even stopped by for a little while.

Me and my day-glo eyes.

Vinny was all up in Kyle's face giving him kisses. (He has a real licking problem. He licks Mom non-stop.) Kyle clearly does not like Vinny as much as he likes me. But who does?

And here is a really embarrassing picture with Paul that Mom gave me a treat in exchange for allowing her to post. It is not my best angle.

On that note, I am going to bed now. I don't know what Mom & Vinny are doing, but I'm going to bed.

Later, friends!

Copy-pug

2011-08-24T22:03:00.004-05:00

Some people talk about copycats. I talk about copypugs. I think you will recall that my stupid (foster!! HE IS STILL A FOSTER, MOM!) brother Vinny copies the way I sleep. Well that's not the only thing he copies.

Behold: Me, King Vito, on my royal perch.

Followed by my stupid FOSTER brother, Vinny.

COPYING ME and stealing my perch on the ottoman.

This guy needs to GIT. That's what the people where Mom is from in the Ozarks say - instead of "Get Out" they say "GIT." And Vinny needs to GIT.

Later, friends!

4 Weeks Since Surgery!

2011-08-23T18:57:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone, it's me, Vito. I KNOW! My Mom is actually letting me write my OWN blog.

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to say.

Mom says I have to tell you that Vinny's surgery was 4 weeks ago today and he is doing just fine. She tried to take a picture of his scar but he's "uncooperative" - I'm not quite sure what that word means but she says it about me sometimes too. So I'm going to assume it means something very good.

We've been pretty lazy lately. (Well except for feeding time of course...see last post...)

I wish Vinny would get off of my Mom's leg.

Look at Vinny totally copying the exact way that I sleep!!! He is so annoying!

And I went to the groomer on Saturday and she sent me home wearing this totally fruity bandana. I humored Mom for one picture:

Vinny, get all up off my rear!

But this is how I really felt:

That's all I got folks. I gotta return to my regularly scheduled nap, now. Later friends!

Hungry Bear

2011-08-18T18:21:00.002-05:00

Clearly someone is not moving fast enough for Vito's (or Vinny's) liking.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-17T18:00:00.003-05:00

VISITORS!!!!!

2011-08-13T23:02:00.015-05:00

Hello friends. Do I have a story to tell you all. So on Friday, there I was, minding my own business, trying to ignore Vinny (as I do) when Mom shoved us both out the back door in to the back yard. We heard activity going on in the house, and I of course had to bark my fool head off (as I do). Well what would you know? Guess who appeared on the back porch.

Who the heck is that?? Well, you might recognize him. His name is Hank. He is kind of famous. And he was wearing camouflage. So I was leary.

But then I went to investigate.

And you know what? I asked him a few tough questions, and then it took us no time to get chummy. He told one of those jokes they tell around the poker table at the VFW and I cracked up. I can't re-tell it here. After all, we are in mixed company and the "wimmen-folk" don't need to hear that kind of language.

So I told Mom it would be okay for him and his Mom Sarah to come in the house. I mean, they had driven all the way to St. Louis from Indianapolis.

When we got inside, I suddenly remembered though, that this is my house. And I needed to remind Hank of that.

I needed to brief him and ensure that he knew who was in charge of this operation.

Vinny, being my loyal (? loyal-ish I guess...) soldier took orders from me, seeing that I am the commander, and we interrogated Hank from both sides.

Finally I watched with pride as Vinny perfectly executed his months of being-obnoxious training and took over the interrogation.

He barked and howled right in Hank's face. Vinny did not care that Hank came in wearing camouflage and looking all tough.

WELL DONE, SOLDIER VINNY!!!

Finally, Hank surrendered.

And then Vinny felt guilty. I did NOT teach him that.

While Hank "rested" (whatever!) I took quite a liking to his Mom Sarah. She was awfully nice and even brought us some rawhide/sweet potato twists and brought Mom a super cool magnet. Plus, she was comfortable. (Note Vinny on the floor... where I ordered him to sit.)

THEN, Vinny and I were sent to the back yard again!! What was going on?? I am telling you all, it was the weirdest day ever. Look what happened next!

It's Payton!!!!!

Payton and her mom Christy and her gamma Diane came to visit too!

And Vinny and I were all up in her grill.

Let me tell you - don't let that sweet pink harness fool you...

This girl has an attitude! And she told Vinny to get right out of her face! (And between you and me, he deserved it! OK, and so did I when I got in her face later!) If you all don't know Payton, go visit her, because she is a real miracle pug!! She has been living with PDE for five years!

In the mean time, I had released Vinny from his soldier duties, and told him to allow Hank to wander freely about the house. So we were in the kitchen, waiting for treats. I mean, what other reason would those humans have had for gathering in the kitchen?

Then my Mom had to do something stupid and pick up Hank.

Ridiculous.

Clearly Hank hated it. And I didn't appreciate it much either.

Hank eventually escaped and found his way to his own perch.

THEN, he made his way to the floor, and somehow ended up in front of Payton's mom Christy. I am still ticked off about this. I don't know how he knew that she had amazing massage techniques, and I am still plopping down in front of my Mom hoping for something similar to what Hank experienced. Behold:

Look at his face!! That is Pug Heaven! I need what he is getting!!

Well, I had enough of watching this love fest going on in the floor. So I went where I knew I could at least get my chest rubbed by someone (although it's no shoulder massage, MOM!!!)...

WHAT?? I'll take what I can get.

Then I moved on to Sarah. I told you I took a liking to her.

And clearly Hank didn't mind that I was hanging out with his Mom, I mean look at him...

Hank and Vinny eventually ended up setting up shop next to each other. I thought that was nice, you know, soldier and captive. Hank being the captive, Vinny being the soldier, and me being the commander of course.

WAKE UP, SOLDIER VINNY! No resting on the job!! Jeez, I have to do everything myself.

Here is all of us with our moms. Payton is showing us what she thinks of us stupid boys.

And look what Payton and her Mom brought to me and Vinny.

You know what? I've been trying for over 24 hours now and I haven't been able to rip either one open yet. What kind of magical material are these made of????? It's killing me!!!

Later friends!!

Vinny Update

2011-08-12T16:46:00.002-05:00

Mom here, Vito refused to write since this post does not pertain to him. And he hates that. Just wanted to update you all - Vinny got his staples out on Wednesday. The doctor said the results of the pancreas biopsy were basically inconclusive, and that we won't really know if anything is wrong unless he has problems with digestion.

As for the shunt surgery, the plan is to re-test him after 3 months to see if the shunt repair "worked." They said it won't be known until at least then (possibly even 6 months!), as it takes time for the band to re-route the blood flow. It is also even possible for the shunt to set up in another area - we definitely do not want that!! So for now we wait!

Vinny had some fun at the vet though - with the vet's turtle! It was wandering free when we got there and he was not having it! How howled, and whined, and basically talked, telling the turtle that he had some nerve being all up in Vinny's space!

What the hell is that, Mom?

Holy crap, it's moving!

It's coming right at me!!!

Get out of here, turtle!!

Hooooooooowl!

Stay tuned friends, we have an exciting post coming up in the next day or two! We had VISITORS today!!!

Vinny Loves Vito

2011-08-03T18:11:00.002-05:00

On the Mend: Blog Post #100!

2011-08-01T18:31:00.004-05:00

I'M BAAAACK!

That's right, ME - NOT my Mom, NOT Vinny, but ME - (KING) VITO!!

Well, it's been a weird almost-week around my house. But Vinny seems to be on the mend. You know how I know that? Because tonight he actually tried to climb in to my Mom's lap and give her kisses! Well you know how I felt about that! I had to make a HUGE ruckus and remind him that is MY lap, not his! Then Mom threw a hissy fit and got all worried about Vinny hurting himself, so I got sent to time-out. Yep, she made me stand in the corner and face the wall just like those poor kids at the end of The Blair Witch Project.

Not really but she did do a whole lot of threatening me with going-to-bed. So I hushed.

Anyway, not a whole lot is happening since it's so hot outside. We just hang out inside and wait for Vinny to heal. Since they changed his meds on Saturday he is acting more normal and not in a trance anymore, plus he is laying down more (which is good since before he was just sitting or standing all the time). He's sleeping at night now too which I am happy about because he was really interfering with my beauty sleep.

Mom says I have to get used to him because apparently he's staying for awhile. How long, no one knows yet. Or at least they aren't telling me.

Pre-surgery

That's all for now! Later, friends!

Another Vinny Update

2011-07-29T23:29:00.004-05:00

Vito, Mommy must apologize for hijacking your blog with all-things-Vinny. But I know you don't mind because you are just as concerned about Vinny as the rest of us!

First night.

Waking up. (Thanks in no part to my camera I'm sure...)

It's been a long few days for all of us. Vinny is doing okay, whatever "okay" means after such a traumatic surgery. He has mostly been in a sitting/standing trance since Wednesday morning (after sleeping all night Tuesday - the day of surgery). The vet said this was normal, caused by the narcotic pain killer that he is on. He also said that he probably does not want to lie down because of the incision, which seems to be true. I have seen him try to lie down on the rug and it's immediately uncomfortable for him and he returns to sitting or standing position. It is truly heartbreaking because I know how tired he has to be. He starts to fall asleep and catches himself.

He does this for HOURS on end...

Or this. Always with his tail down. :(

Bedtime has been hard. The first night, as I said, he slept like a rock. The second night, he woke up, and thus woke me up (luckily actually), by leaping in to action and trying to jump off of the bed at 2:30am. Again at 3:30am. Again at 4:30 am. Neither of us slept again that night. Last night, he did the same thing at 11:30 pm before I had fallen asleep, at which point I decided to just put him in his crate to make it easier for me since I had to actually go to work the next day (I stayed home with him the first day after). It wasn't easy for him though (or me it turned out), he cried at first and was still standing up when I fell asleep, whatever time that was. I woke up to him crying at 6:30am.

He was to be restricted from jumping on the furniture for FOUR WEEKS. But that has proven impossible to stop. He does it before I can catch him, and when I do try to lift him on or off of furniture while avoiding the massive incision, he fights and squirms which I think is more risky for injury than him jumping on to the furniture. Also when I have lifted him up, he immediately jumps back down. :(

This morning I took him back to the vet because I was concerned about how red the area was, and also about him being unable to lie down and sleep. They assured me that all was normal, but also gave me a lower dose pain killer to start tomorrow which should remove him from the trance-like state but still relieve his pain.

One should never wish their life away, but right now I would like to fast-forward four weeks when this boy is healed and I'm able to snuggle on him again!

We should have the results of his pancreas biopsy by the end of next week.

Thanks again for everyone's support! Pug hugs to all!

Vinny is Home!

2011-07-26T19:09:00.004-05:00

This post will probably be a jumbled mess (and I apologize that I could not allow Vito to tell the story - I can't get the details right and I know he definitely can't!). We just got home with Vinny from his surgery this morning. Oh my, this baby is breaking my heart. He is SO sleepy (which is much better than being awake and in pain!). The incision is frankly frightening. Luckily I can work from home tomorrow to be with him.

As for the surgery - here is where my details probably aren't accurate, but I'm trying to remember everything the Dr. told me on the phone around 1pm today after Vinny woke from anesthesia. He said that the shunt was not what they were expecting once they got in there - it was a different kind of shunt - what kind I can't quite remember! Which might explain why his symptoms didn't match a typical liver shunt - what with him acting so healthy. But they did repair it. He then went on to tell me that the real concern is with his pancreas. It is very small, and could possibly be (or lead to?) something called EPI, which you can read about here. Or it could lead to diabetes. He did say that pancreatitis was probably not a possibility.

All very scary. BUT the doctor said all can be managed, thank God. I do not know at this point if I will be able to manage it financially as his forever Mom, but I do hope so. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. For now he has staples for 14 days, and must be kept "inactive" (no jumping on the furniture! How do I manage that??) for 4 weeks.

So much information to process, yet so much waiting to do. I know that everything will end up the way it is supposed to be though.

And thank you again so very much for all of your support, as well as your donations. Love to you all!

Sleeping with his head up

Sloooowly falling over...

Finally comfortable. Look at that hideous incision.

WARNING: Graphic incision photo below. Along with tiny puggy wee-wee, which he would hate me for posting.

Uuuuuuggggghhhhh

And Vito got a Shut Up Stick to distract him. He's still working on it!

THANK YOU!!

2011-07-25T18:32:00.004-05:00

I am so incredibly excited and happy to tell you all that we raised EVERY penny for Vinny's surgery tomorrow!! I just cannot believe everyone's support and generosity. It means so much to all of us.

We're all very nervous about the surgery tomorrow. Please keep Vinny and the surgeon in your thoughts and prayers, and we will update you tomorrow night! With that, a montage of Sweet Vinny.

We love you all!

SO GRATEFUL!

2011-07-22T18:13:00.002-05:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you SO much to everyone who has donated toward Vinny's surgery, which is coming up on Tuesday. We have raised $865 of our $1,300 goal so far! I am completely overwhelmed and amazed. I know that many of our friends (and strangers too!) in Bloggerville have donated, and it is incredible.

You can still donate here and help us meet the goal! Just click on the little "Become a Virtual Foster" bone at the bottom of the page.

Again, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. And as the Slimmer Puggums say, we can't wait to pay it forward.

Vinny

Vinny Needs Your Help!

2011-07-21T09:17:00.003-05:00

Hi all, Vito's mom here. We went to the vet yesterday for Vinny's ultrasound, and confirmed that he does have a "very large" shunt that is preventing blood flow to his liver. This is a very serious and scary situation. He is scheduled for surgery this coming Tuesday, July 26, and the hope is that this will "cure" him, however the doctor was cautious, saying that he thinks there may be other issues going on as well, which they will try to discover as they are doing the surgery, and will also be doing a biopsy on his liver then.

I'm reaching out to all of our friends in Bloggerville to beg for you to send a donation (big or small - every bit helps!) to SEPRA to help them pay for Vinny's surgery. It is going to cost $1,300 and the Rescue is already so over-stretched. Vinny and I (oh yes, and Vito too!) would be forever grateful. I've attached the link to his page. Just click on the "Become a Virtual Foster" link at the bottom of the page.

Help Vinny Here!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I will keep you all posted. The good news is that he is still acting very normal and does not seem to be in any discomfort.

Visit(s) to the Vet(s)

2011-07-18T18:06:00.005-05:00

Lots of updates to give, Mom's been slacking on the blog again. First of all, to follow up on the post about that unsightly bump on my side - Mom took me to the vet to get it checked out on Saturday. She put my harness on me about 15 minutes before we left, and I WAS READY TO GO!

Come ON, Mom, you are SO SLOOOOOOOW.

The good news is that they think that little bump is either a benign cyst or a skin tag. They tested some cells and they all came back fine. They are going to look at it again when I go for my shots in October. And in more good news, I'm down to 21.5 pounds! That's down a whole pound since last October (and 2.5 pounds since a few months after she got me and porked me up on treats while we were in obedience training!). Mom says it's the grain-free food. I say it's the starvation. Po-TAY-to, Po-TAH-to.

Now on to a little scarier stuff. The Saturday before last, Mom took Vinny to the vet because he had been barfing. They did blood tests on him and his liver enzymes were "markedly high." (Mom saw the results and she thinks "markedly" is an understatement.) So the vet said since Vinny is acting totally normal (and he has stopped vomiting), and is still eating like a pig, that he wanted to wait one week to re-check the levels. So Mom took Vinny back to the vet this past Saturday (yes she had to take 2 different pugs to 2 different vets that day!) and she got the results again today. There has been only slight improvement. So now they want to do an ultrasound and possibly a liver biopsy.

The vet said there are several things it could be. One being a "portal systemic shunt" which is something they are born with, and involves an abnormal blood flow to the liver. This could possibly be solved by surgery, or Vinny just may need to be monitored and "live his whole life with chronic liver disease." Whatever that means.

Mom knows she might not have gotten some of the details right. It is a lot to understand and we just aren't to the point where we know what is going to happen or what his future holds. But it makes Mom very sad because he's such a seemingly happy and healthy boy.

We will keep you updated. They hope to schedule the ultrasound for this week. Mom still hasn't adopted Vinny and for now he is on "medical hold" with the rescue. It's causing Mom to stress out a lot. She is not sure what she is going to do.

On another note, Jack stayed with us AGAIN this weekend. You guessed it, Uncle Michael went floating AGAIN.

And you also guessed it - he tried to eat both of us! Once it was me and once it was Vinny! Luckily Mom put him in time-out and gave him a stern talking-to before he could swallow us. The good part about Jack trying to have us for dinner is that Vinny & I really bonded as a team against the Crazy Beagle.

Mom said for most of the weekend we were all really good.

But she was happy when Uncle Michael came home to pick up Jack the Jerk at noon yesterday. And so were we!

Later, friends!

Stuff

2011-07-09T14:35:00.004-05:00

Today my Mom made me go to bed and then she put Vinny's harness on. I hate it when they go on adventures without me so I let them hear it!!! Turns out, I should have been pretty happy to stay home in my nice air conditioned castle because apparently Vinny went to the vet. He's been barfing all week. He's done it probably 6 times. It's all food, nothing else gross, but the vet said to bring him in.

So they went and Vinny got bloodwork done and got put on an antibiotic for the week. The blood test results will come in on Monday. He's acting pretty normal so Mom thinks it's not anything too serious. Paws crossed!

In other news, Louie's mom posted a new picture of him this week from his visit to see his extended family in Nebraska. She titled it "King Louis" and my Mom loved it!!

I now demand to be called King Vito!!!

Vinny and I got baths earlier this week. Vinny did not do as well in the bath as I do. Ha! I am so perfect!! I mean, he did okay but he did try to get out of the sink once. He's a wild man, that one.

We had just gotten dry when it started pouring rain outside!

That same night, Mom put this fleece blankie in the floor. SEPRA sends fleece blankies for their fosters and Louie and I looooved to chew on the tassles! (Just like my Mom's big Cardinals blanket that I have taken on as my own!) Well she thought Vinny (AND I!!) might like to play with it. But you know what that fool did? He just laid down on it!

Alright, that's all for today.

Stay cool, friends!

Need Advice

2011-07-07T22:09:00.005-05:00

Vito's Mom here - hijacking his blog once again! But this time it's not to talk about other pugs, so he's okay with it. ;)

Last week while rubbing on Vito, I felt a bump on his right side, just a little behind his front leg. I didn't think anything of it at first, I thought I had just hit one of his teeny puggie nipples. (Ew.) But then I kept hitting it and finally inspected. It's not a nipple, that's for sure. I decided to keep an eye on it and, as they say with human moles, make sure that it didn't "change." Well it hasn't changed in just a week, but I am concerned enough that I decided tonight to take pictures of it.

I am not soliciting any medical advice, so have no worries that I will sue you if you tell me something wrong! I just wanted to get some opinions and utilize the years of Pug experience that is out there among my Blogger friends. I know I have heard about "skin tags" - but I don't really know what those are or what they look like. I also have heard worse things - like cancer.

And for fear of sounding like a cheapskate, b/c of course I would sell my soul in exchange for Vito's health - I would love to avoid the vet if this looks to anyone like something they have seen before on their puggies?

Note, even though these may look different, all of these pictures were taken within seconds of each other tonight. (I left my fingers in the shot to show size perspective!)

Now, so as to not leave this post completely devoid of cute puggie shots - here is a picture of Vinny and Vito, just chilling in the a/c (and of course they were both lying down just like Vinny until Vito heard the camera chime and had to perk up).

Thank you in advance!

Dress Up Day

2011-07-03T18:20:00.003-05:00

Really sometimes I think my Mom just exists to annoy me. I mean, I love the Cardinals as much as the next guy, but I hate clothes. I haaaaaaate them!! I prefer to be "au natural."

She is forever trying to put SOMETHING on me - whether it be a hat, or a sweater vest, or my Cardinals jersey. And today she was clearly bored or something, and it was too hot outside to do anything else once she had cleaned the whole house. So she decided to pass the time like this:

Luckily, this time I at least got a treat (ok, TREATS) while being tortured.

Oh and then there is that guy in the pictures with me. Whatever. I'm not ready to discuss.

Later, friends!

Welcome, Vinny!!

2011-07-01T23:56:00.004-05:00

How gorgeous is this boy?

I finally had to make the decision, and it eventually had to come to an Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo kind of situation between Vinny and Bugsy based on the equally split Facebook/Blogger vote. Vinny it is!

(And as you might guess, Vito had nothing to do with this post. He is still mad about being reprimanded for intentionally peeing on his new brother's leg tonight, causing Mom to have to put Vinny in the kitchen sink and carefully rinse his leg off while avoiding his recent neuter!)

Thanks to everyone for their input! Vinny is such a gem and fitting in to our family perfectly! Vito will return to his regularly scheduled posts soon! (...Once he is out of Solitary for his Pee Infraction, that is...)

A Change is Gonna Come

2011-06-29T12:51:00.005-05:00

Vito's Mom here. Vito's at home napping so I thought I could sneak in this post without him knowing about it.

I broke the news to the adoption coordinator yesterday that I want to keep Colonel! She is always sad when foster parents keep their foster pugs (Foster Failures!) because then she loses foster homes. But she was very understanding and said as long as I keep being her volunteer coordinator, she is happy. :) So she is going on vacation until July 11 and we'll use this as a trial period to make sure that I'm sure about Colonel joining our family permanently!

Colonel was neutered yesterday. Poor guy. He broke my heart when I brought him home and he couldn't walk straight, or go up or down the stairs, or jump on the sofa. Yet he refused to lie down and sleep! It was a tiring night for sure! He just refused to close his eyes, even though they were barely open and he was snoring - all while sitting up and staring at me. :)

Vito was a good friend to him and kept him company the few times he would lie down.

Finally around 9pm, he lost steam.

On another subject, I really want to change Colonel's name. I feel guilty doing it because he very much knows his name and responds to it immediately. But I just hate the name - it's hard to spell, and it doesn't go with Vito. I figure this guy is going to hopefully be with me for 12 more years, so I want to like his name. So, I'm asking for your help! I've narrowed down to a handful, please vote in the Comments!

Leo
Joey
Rocco
Bugsy (goes with the mobster theme but maybe too cutesy for me?)
Vinny (this was always my first choice but stupid Jersey Shore has ruined it for me!)

I think I am leaning toward Leo...

An added bit of trivia - Vito was born "Curly Joe"! So changing a dog's name can be a very good thing. :)

I'll leave you with a picture of Vito's favorite perch - the ottoman.

Uh-Oh

2011-06-27T18:17:00.006-05:00

I'm back, people! I just shoved my way on to the laptop so that Mom wouldn't try to write my blog herself AGAIN. I have had it up to HERE with her!

So she agreed to let me write this post provided that I agree to update you on The Colonel. He went to the vet on Saturday and all looked pretty good. He had some ticks, which totally grossed Mom & me out that she hadn't found those in two days! And then they got the results of his poop test, and he has whip worms! Mom says someone must have been keeping him outside a lot. That made me ALMOST feel bad for him. But the treatment is pretty easy, just a long drawn out series of powder in his food. I may try to steal some of it - I wonder if it tastes good. Sounds like extra food to me...

What kind of crap is this??

Colonel found two pillows under the end table, and Mom just let him chew on them!! She would NEVER let me do that!

She said she was going to throw them away anyway.

And then she reminded me that I should be grateful he was humping those pillows instead of me. Alright. Point taken.

One good thing about Colonel is that I stole his Milkbone star and I was able to chew on it for almost a day before I ripped it open!!

For two whole days Mom left the belly band off of him and he didn't pee in the house at all! But this morning he peed ON MY CRATE!!! And then he did it again tonight! Oh MAN. NOT the right way to start out with me, buddy!!!

Mom has been throwing it in my face that he seems to be some kind of mutant pug and doesn't even shed. Now I know she is crazy.

But we've been getting along really great, we don't even wrestle and annoy Mom like Louie & I did. Mom says that we "co-exist."

Mom would tell you that she caught me resting my chin on Colonel but that I lifted it when I heard the camera. SHE WOULD BE LYING!

Which leads me to the title of this post. Mom doesn't think that I know anything, or that I speak English and overhear her on the phone. But I do and I have!!! I have heard her talking about KEEPING COLONEL. I KNOW!!!! She just has to rob a bank or something to come up with his adoption fee. I told her to go right ahead and do that and land herself in jail, then I'll go live somewhere else that feeds me people food and Colonel can go... well I don't care where Colonel goes!

The Colonel

Colonel's getting his manhood snipped tomorrow, so I guess I'll have to keep being nice to him for a little while longer...

Later friends!

The Colonel Has Arrived!

2011-06-24T15:39:00.005-05:00

Vito's mom here! And BOY IS THE COLONEL CUTE!!!

Hello, my name is Colonel, nice to meet you!

Vito getting to know The Colonel.

Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi!!!

I drove a little over an hour last night to pick him up. He is positively precious. He and Vito are getting along just fine, if you can believe that. Sure, last night Vito tried his hardest to annoy Colonel, but things are much calmer today.

Colonel's first Shut Up Stick!

He was a big fan.

Yes, I have called them both by the wrong name since he arrived.

Don't worry, Vito got a Shut Up Stick too!

Sweet Baby Bear.

...And Colonel still enjoying his...

He looks absolutely perfect. What a looker! We go to the vet tomorrow for shots and work-up, and then hope to get him neutered early next week. And my fingers are crossed that the neuter has an effect on the marking - as he has now peed through the only 3 belly bands I have! They are currently drying on the back porch. ;)

He's not a fan of the Belly Band - especially this one that is too big. ;)

I think he's happy to be here! And I am thrilled to have him! I'm sure Vito will weigh in with his opinion on that soon.

More updates to come!

Happy 4th Birthday to MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

2011-06-22T19:24:00.006-05:00

Today is my FOURTH BARKDAY!!! Mom had to work so I waited alllllll day for her to come home and give me some loot. She didn't disappoint! I mean, I didn't get a cake, and I didn't get her to agree to not go pick up Colonel tomorrow, and I didn't get a Big Wheel like I asked for - but I DID NOT have to wear one of those crazy birthday hats! So it's cool.

Birthday Watermelly!

Who needs cake when you have watermelly? Scrumptious!

Good to the last drop!

Woops, I think I got some on Mom's brand new kitchen rug. Oh well. Whatever.

There's more right?

I'll wait.

Then I'll move over here and wait some more.

Then I'll tuck my top lip in and look intimidating. I know there are some presents in this house.

Brand new baseball Nylabone!

Oh it smells delicious.

Birthday Pterodactyl! I knew she would cave and get me a stuffed toy!

I will tear open this beak if it kills me.

Just surrender now, friend.

Oh dinosaur, I loved you so much. I'm sorry I ripped you open in 5 minutes and now you are in the trash.

Thanks Mom!

Thanks for the presents and the watermelly, Mom!!! Now let's just enjoy our last night together before HE moves in tomorrow.

Note from Mom: Thank you for being born, Baby Bear, and thank you for finding your way to me. I love you more than I can ever put in to words.

Vito's first Gotcha Day at home 12/12/09

My Mom is a Big Fat Liar

2011-06-16T18:30:00.003-05:00

After Pippa got so sick and left us, my Mom promised me she wasn't going to foster again. Well you know what? She is a BIG FAT LIAR!! Because guess what. This guy is coming to stay with us next week.

His name is Colonel. He's three years old and some people brought him to the shelter where Pippa's mom volunteers. Well you know my Mom, she just couldn't say no. Great, juuuuuust GREAT!!!

With a name like Colonel, I hope he doesn't think that means he gets to be the boss of me!!

And I'm turning four years old next Wednesday, Mom better not try to pass this fella off as a birthday present. Because I won't stand for it!! Or sit for it, for that matter.

I must escape before next week. I will need assistance and possibly a place to stay once I figure out my route. I am thinking Indianapolis sounds nice.

Later friends.

Spaghetti Tuesday!

2011-06-14T18:51:00.004-05:00

Alright, people. I'm going to let you in on a secret. Sometimes my Mom actually DOES give me food. And my very favorite is Spaghetti!!! Mom always lets me lick the plate so I get really excited as soon as I smell that sauce cookin'!

SLUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRP!

Pippa Update: her Mom said she is down to a steroid pill every other day, and she is doing better, but the limp comes back if she gets too active. It's still a big improvement though, and they are keeping a close eye on her. Her mom says she'll probably be a lazy puggie, as evidenced below!

That's Pippa with her brothers! I'd like to get in on that pug pile!!

Later friends!

Letter from Louie!

2011-06-09T18:56:00.007-05:00

I got a big surprise in the mail yesterday! It was from my old friend Louie. And it wasn't just a letter, but presents too!!! I love presents. We're going to share it with you!

Dear Vito,
How are you? I am fine. Actually, I'm doing great! I have a new brother. His name is Jonah. He has some super sweet toys! (But I'm not supposed to play with them, so I don't tell anyone about my secret stash.)

How is Jack? What stupid things has he done lately? My mom says I have relatives in Nibraska (wherever that is) and we're going to visit them in a few weeks. My uncle Frodo is a Boston Terrier. My dad says he licks the air nonstop. Weird. My cousin Otis is also a Boston Terrier. He's so hyper that he doesn't take naps during the day. What kind of dog doesn't like to sleep?! I'm sure it'll be a good trip, though, because my Oma (that's what we call her) cooks a LOT, and I've been told she drops scraps. I will try to save some to mail to you later.

My mom said you are getting a foster sister. She said we should make fleece rope toys for you and Pippa, so I helped her make some. Yours is the one with blue in it and Pippa's has pink in it (because she's a girl - duh). If she doesn't end up liking rope toys, ~~you can mail it back to me so I can have it~~ you can have hers (my mom made me change that). Or you can give it to that girl with the dumb Carol Channing haircut. Or Jack (tee hee hee). I hope you like them. I added some slobber. You're welcome.

Well, I hope we can have a play date sometime. My mom says you miss me. Your mom told her that. You're a big softy after all! Well, I miss you, too. Thank you for being my foster brother and friend.

Pugs and kisses,
Louie

PS Please give your mom snuggles from me!

And here's what he sent me!!

I think it made Mom as happy as it did me.

Pippa Update: I think maybe your prayers worked because Pippa is doing great! Her mom said she even walked to the pond today and chased a duck! She is still on steroid pills and they seem to be doing the trick for now. We all just hope that she doesn't relapse again once they ween her off of the pills. Fingers crossed for sweet Pippa. She's still sleeping a lot, but the fact that she's walking and eating and drinking is great news. Her mom and dad are prepared to take her to the specialist if she goes downhill again. We all hope that she was just faking it to get back to her real mom and dad! ;)

Here's a picture that her mom sent my mom!

Later friends!

Prayers for Pippa

2011-06-07T18:16:00.007-05:00

Vito's mom here. You might not realize this but sometimes Vito struggles with the English language and Mom doesn't have the patience to translate for him right now to tell Pippa's story.

Pippa arrived on Thursday night (my birthday!). She is a sweet, beautiful girl!

She was very happy!

Her temporary foster mom, Stacey, brought her up from Southern MO, where she had rescued her from a shelter. She had been living with Stacey for 11 days and was doing great! She was very scared and sad at first but had really started to come out of her shell and was just an angel. It was very sad to see them say goodbye. Stacey had strongly considered keeping her but she has 3 pugs of her own and wanted Pippa to have her own family because she seemed so perfect.

Vito of course did his best to be super obnoxious when she arrived! Barking and squealing, his favorite way to welcome people or dogs. :) So we went outside and let them get out their energy and get to know each other.

Look at that beautiful coat of chocolate brown under the black.

We came back inside and Pippa made herself comfortable on the couch, where she stayed most of the night. Early on, Vito realized she wasn't much for playing, so he pretty much left her alone for the remainder of her stay. That night I did notice that she seemed to have a bit of a limp, but I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was - it was actually more of a "head-bob" while walking than a limp on any of her legs. I planned to keep a close eye on it.

She wasn't interested in her rope toy which should have been a sign.

But she seemed to become comfortable and content.

Friday morning, Pippa was still keeping to herself for the most part, which I thought just meant that she was sad. She hated to be picked up, but I also thought that was just from possibly having been a breeder, and not understanding people-love. She wouldn't eat but I thought her tummy was just upset. She slept a lot, but I was in touch with Stacey and that seemed normal. As the day went on, and the more trips we went on outside for potty, she was moving slower and slower. Around 4pm, she had diarrhea, and that was the last time she went potty at all for me. I finally got her to eat some wet food out of my hand. By about 6pm, the limp was pronounced. By about 8pm, when I would make her stand up, she was holding up her left front leg. In between all of this, she was just sleeping.

Vito was honestly concerned about her. He laid on this ottoman by her most of the day.

By 9pm, she wouldn't walk at all. I carried her outside a couple of times to see if she would potty, and she would just lay down in the grass where I put her. She drank only a little bit of water. Late that evening, Stacey and I agreed to meet at the emergency vet's office early Saturday morning.

Precious girl.

Saturday morning, she still wasn't walking. When we got to the vet's office, she would stand briefly but was now holding up both her left front leg, and her back right leg. The vet did x-rays, which came back negative. He was then concerned that this could be something in her brain.

After much deliberation and a few tears, Stacey decided to take Pippa back home with her and get her to a specialist. The vet here gave her a steroid shot, which helped! She was up and walking and eating and drinking! But it didn't last. Sunday the vet called in a steroid pill for her, which had no effect.

Back at home, Pippa woke up in pain early Monday morning, so Stacey took her to her vet in Southern Missouri, where as of last night, she was being kept for more tests and observation. Her vet is also concerned that it may be something in her brain.

Please keep Pippa and Stacey in your prayers. She is just the sweetest thing ever, and Stacey will do everything possible to help her and give her a good quality of life. Hopefully they will find something definitive soon, and that it is treatable. I am happy to know that whatever the outcome, that Pippa is back with her real mom who loves her so much, and who Pippa clearly loves as well.

Another Memorial Day...

2011-05-31T18:29:00.004-05:00

Another Memorial Day has come and gone and I bet you know what that means. Yep, Uncle Michael took off again and dumped Jack with us! I'm going to have to have a talk with Uncle Michael about all of these float trips...

We had a pretty good weekend. It consisted of a whole lot of laying around like slugs.

Sporting my multi-purpose Memorial Day/4th of July collar.

Jack was super lazy and Mom was really happy about that!

Of course, we did get in to our fair share of mischief...

How dare that dog walk down our street!

Jack, get down you fool! She sees (and hears) us!!

Man is he stupid.

Stop with the howl already, she's right behind you! Stop trying to get me in trouble!

What? We weren't doing anything.

On Sunday we had a little BBQ. And guess what? We didn't get ANY FOOD. But Mom's friend Lindsay gave me lots of snuggles. You know how much I love snuggles. I mean, look at my face. Oh yeah, I just LOVE snuggles. Way more than food.

Not really.

We hope you all had a great holiday weekend. We are still thinking of our neighbors to the southwest in Joplin and all of the hard times they are having. Mom's friend Laura lives there but luckily she is just fine and her home was 2 blocks from where the damage starts. If you haven't, please consider donating to the Red Cross or the Joplin United Way. They need all the help they can get and every dollar makes a difference.

Later friends!

Here We Go Again...

2011-05-20T18:11:00.008-05:00

First of all, since my Mom sometimes forgets who this blog is about, let's talk about ME. I'm going to tell you about my new favorite game. It's called "Mom Tells Me To Do Something and I Pretend I Don't Know What She's Saying, But Then 2 Minutes Later When She's Given Up, I Go Do What She Says & Pretend Like It Was All My Idea." My preferred version of this game involves my Mom saying "Go get your bone" and I tilt my head and stare at her like she is an alien for about 60 seconds. Then I pretend to do something else for about 30 seconds. And then 30 seconds later I run to my crate and get my Nylabone! OMD it is HILARIOUS.

I win the game again!

You lose, sucker!!

Second of all, my Mom had the nerve to go visit my Aunt Valarie (and her crazy dog Sue Ellen who barked right in my face last time I saw her!) in Milwaukee last weekend.

Look how dumb Sue Ellen looks with her Carol Channing haircut.

Well I guess you know what that meant for me. Yep, almost 4 days stuck with JACK. He was pretty good to me so I shouldn't be such a grump about it. But she didn't even ask my permission to go, so I have to sometimes hold a grudge to teach her a lesson and remind her why she calls me "Bossypants." She said she had a great time but that it was REALLY cold and windy and rainy - so cold and windy and rainy in fact that when she got back to St. Louis where it was 50 degrees and raining, it felt tropical! So when she got home, we snuggled for awhile.

I looked adorable for a little while to make her think all was forgiven.

But then I remembered she had left me for almost 4 days so I gave her the good 'ol Stink Eye.

And now I guess we have to get to the title of the post. That's right, my Mom is being ridiculous again. And my definition of "ridiculous" is - taking in another foster pug. Meet Pippa:

She's coming to stay with us on June 2 - my Mom's birthday coincidentally enough. Apparently some jerks who were driving a luxury SUV dumped her at a shelter in Springfield, MO (about 3 hours from where we live in St. Louis). She had just been spayed and even still had her stitches. Weird huh??? Well there were no available foster homes for her (I'm having flashbacks of LOUIE!) so Mom agreed to take her in. They think she is about 5 or 6 years old. Mom promises me this will be the last one, but I'll believe it when I see it, MOM!!! So now she's living in the shelter office until Monday when a lady will take her home with her until she can bring her to us in St. Louis. They said she's really scared so that made Mom very sad.

Speaking of my old friend Louie, he's doing great in his forever home, which makes Mom (alright, and me...) very happy.

Later friends!

Louie is Safe & Sound

2011-05-09T18:10:00.008-05:00

Vito's mom here again. Vito is feeling a little blue and said he was in no mood to write yet. Louie's mom sent us some new pictures today from the weekend and boy, did they do the trick (for me, anyway...Vito seems unimpressed)! We had a bit of a melancholy weekend, especially yesterday for some reason. I was missing Louie like crazy. I kept expecting him to run in to the room from getting a drink of water in the kitchen, or trying to trip me as he ran as fast as he could to beat me (and Vito more importantly) to the sofa, and I am really missing him sleeping on my side as we laid on the sofa during tv-time. And Vito has been "off" since Friday. He's been very quiet and slow, and sleeping a lot more than usual. (Now that I write that out, I'm hoping he is just depressed and not something more!) It's funny how much he seemed to dislike Louie until he was gone...

So these pictures made me so happy. Seeing how he is fitting so perfectly in with his new family, and especially his new brother! They've made me feel soooo much better! Enjoy!

Brothers :)

Still giving kisses!

Louie would like to teach his brother about sharing.

He definitely looks comfortable in his new home...

And he's still sleeping with the tongue out...

They went to a local festival of flowers and Louie had his own ride!

And lest I forget who this blog is about, here's another picture of Vito with his forever friend, Louie.

We hope to return to regularly scheduled posts by Vito very soon! And I want to apologize for slacking on reading everyone else's blogs! I had a work event that consumed my life for way too long, and then the drama of Louie leaving - I promise to get caught up soon! Or Vito will make me pay, I'm sure. We don't call him Vito the Enforcer for nothin'.

Later friends!

Goodbye Little Louie Boy

2011-05-06T23:21:00.017-05:00

Vito was too overcome to write this post (ok, that might be a little melodramatic and the truth is that Vito's Mom might be selfish right now!), so here goes:

Louie left us this morning. It was harder than I even anticipated, and that is saying a lot. Even when logic enters the picture (as it definitely did last night and today), it doesn't matter when you see that little pug face in his new dad's arms at the car, and you know it is the last time. I know this little boy is going to the most amazing, most perfect home that he could possibly be going to. I know that this family is wonderful and will love him with every bit of them. But it still ripped out every piece of my heart, and I couldn't even control my tears enough to say goodbye to his mom as she was putting Louie's new human brother in his car seat. I just had to run inside and sob like a child. That's all I could do. I wish I could take that part back and have given them a proper goodbye and a proper thank you for giving me such a sense of comfort in being the PERFECT home for this little boy.

So with that, I leave you the pictures of Louie's last night, and morning, with Vito and me:

Vito whispering words of wisdom to his partner in crime on their last night together. :)

Sad Bear. (Disclaimer: no pugs consumed any wine during this photo shoot despite the presence of wine in the background.)

Louie's going-away bag.

Precious little boy going to his new home!

And one last kiss for his foster mom from the King of Kisses!...

Louie's new family! How cute are they???

And we even already got a photo of Louie in his new home - exhausted. That's a good sign.

I hope you all noticed that Lou's new Mom commented on the last post. She is wonderful and Louie is such a lucky boy!! We love you forever Louie, and hope you never forget us. We will never forget you.

Later friends!

Uncle Michael Says Goodbye to Louie...

2011-05-03T18:44:00.004-05:00

Well it's official, friends! Louie goes to his new home on Friday! Mom says the new family is absolutely PERFECT (and Louie's new mom might even be reading this right now!), so it's making her a whole lot less weepy knowing he's going to a great (not just good!) home.

Mom had to work all weekend so Uncle Michael came and dog-sat us. Here are his goodbyes with Louie (and me and Jack of course! Let's not forget who this blog is about! Wait, I mean, to clarify, it's about me, NOT JACK.):

Jack & I are annoyed with all of the picture taking.

And Louie is showing his infamous snaggletooth.

Yes, Louie is tiny and adorable, I know, I know, I hear it every day.

And that's enough of that. Have I mentioned how happy I am to be getting my spot back in bed?

Later friends!

Jack

2011-04-23T19:58:00.004-05:00

Crazy times around here! Uncle Michael went to San Diego on Wednesday morning, so Jack came to stay with us on Tuesday night. My house has been crowded and I didn't like it one bit!!

But even I have to admit that Jack was on really good behavior.

I still really didn't trust him at first...

But he won me over...

Well, my Mom would probably disagree with my good behavior assessment since she came home from work on Wednesday and Jack has moved his whole crate across her bedroom (from inside!) and torn up her bedskirt (again, from inside! He chewed a head sized hole in his crate a long time ago). Louie and I were in our crates in the living room behaving like little angels.

Mom felt bad for Jack though and wasn't mad at him. He missed his dad. I get it. And he hates his crate anyway but Mom thought she needed to crate him since Louie & I were crated. Well she did a re-do on Thursday and Friday and let him roam (in his Thunder Shirt!) & put us in our crates in her bedroom and he did a good job. Yes, folks, that is me, acknowledging that Jack did a good job. I know he was sad so I was easy on him and he was pretty easy on me (and Louie too).

Mom said this is too many dogs on the sofa.

Louie looking adorable...er, I mean, what? Who is writing this? Louie looking like a total nerd.

Uncle Michael was supposed to fly back in to St. Louis last night but you might have heard that we had some bad weather here last night and the airport got shut down! Mom & Louie & Jack & I were all fine because nothing hit where we live in the City, but the airport got a direct tornado hit! So Uncle Michael got stranded in Dallas on a layover. He finally got a flight to Kansas City this morning and then took a shuttle to Columbia, MO and then rode to St. Louis with a guy he met in the Dallas airport. He got back to St. Louis today around 4pm (he only slept an hour since Thursday!) and went to pick up his car from the airport. Most of his car windows were busted out from the tornado. Uncle Michael is not happy. But he's home now sleeping for a day or so with Jack. And I know Jack is happy about that!!

On another note, Mom wants to tell you all to get yourselves to Urban Outfitters STAT and buy this t-shirt. You know, because she is a Crazy Pug Lady and apparently everyone else should be too.

Later friends!

PS Note from Vito's Mom: We do Louie's home visit on Tuesday. Fingers crossed that all goes well and I handle this whole thing like a grown up! :) THANK YOU ALL for your kind words on my last post.

"They Need Him More Than You Do..."

2011-04-16T21:36:00.009-05:00

Lou

Vito's Mom here. I had to take over this post (much to Vito's protest of course). Louie has been with us for a month now. It is safe to say that I am in love with him. There have been a lot of different emotions during his stay with us. Vito has been jealous, has misbehaved, and has been downright mean to Louie. I've felt guilty and sad for Vito because he doesn't understand who Louie is, why he is here, and why he doesn't have 100% of my attention all the time. I've felt bad for Louie because of the bully pushing him around (although let me assure you, he's always protected by me!). It's been an adjustment also having two pugs - harder for walks, harder for traveling, harder for feeding, etc. But of course there have also been a lot of good times, playing, wrestling, and later on, even snuggling between them (which I was convinced would never happen!).

Vito on the right

Waiting for treats

Now, Louie is officially up for adoption and we have had several applications for him, most of them coming from many states away. I cried when we received the first application from Georgia (we live in St. Louis). I didn't know I would react that way - but I couldn't control it. At that point, I wasn't even sure that I was attached to him. But the tears just came when I saw the address. I couldn't stand the thought of not personally seeing his home, and knowing I would never, ever see him again. And that was the moment that I knew I WAS attached and there was no going back from that. I couldn't give him to "just anyone." It was going to have to be someone who was better than him living with ME (and Vito). We moved on from that app (& I'm told a local pug was found for that family) and several more followed. This week though we got some good local apps. One great one in particular. They had two Boston Terriers, brothers - one who passed away last year at 13 years old, and one who just passed away two weeks ago.

References are being checked, a phone interview was done by the adoption coordinator (and they passed with flying colors!) and the home visit will come soon. I have cried so many times already, and can't seem to stop snuggling Louie every chance I get (very much noticed by Vito!). I can't even think about the day I actually have to leave him with his new family.

It's only been one month that I've known this teeny little boy! The point of this post is to say THANK YOU to all of you foster families who do this over & over, for much longer time periods than I am going to end up having Louie. And often for pugs with medical or behavioral or emotional (especially those poor babies who were puppy mill breeders), potty, etc. issues. Louie has been a dream in all respects! I told myself when I decided to foster that I would be able to do it because it is so necessary for all of the pugs out there who need help - I would be able to let one go because another one would need me. But I don't think that is the case. I am not strong enough for this. Looking in his little eyes, with his eager face & hugs & kisses that just tell me he loves me SO much - I don't know how to let him go. I am not strong enough to let them go, but again, I am not strong enough to disrupt Vito's life over and over with pugs coming and going. He doesn't like it, despite the sometime-snuggling. ;)

And despite the look on his face here!

The title of this post came from a conversation with my Mom last night as I told her about the potential family, and their lost Bostons, and how hard it is going to be for me. She said "You just have to know, they need him more than you do. They've lost their boys that they had for so long, they need him. You love him, but you don't. You have Vito."

Vito Marino

And that's what I'll remember the day I give him up. And Vito and I will go on. I haven't 100% ruled out fostering again, especially if there was an emergency situation, or a special circumstance, but I am just not sure I can do it again.

I will miss you SO much little Louie Boy. But I am excited for your new forever family and for the undivided love and attention they will give you, without Mr. Vito Jealous Pants getting in your way!

Reunited and It Feels So Good...

2011-04-11T18:21:00.009-05:00

I would just like to state for the record that my Mom came up with that ridiculous title. It could not be further from the truth.

Mom wants me to tell everyone thanks for their sympathy when Great-Grandma Ruby passed away last week. We had a nice, but sad, visit home. Everyone said how happy they are that she isn't in pain anymore and now she is with Great-Grandpa Gardner. Here are some pictures of Great-Grandma Ruby and her family taken in 2007.

Great-Grandma Ruby and my Grandpa Jim and his sisters. Grandpa's sisters took care of her every single day and night for over a year because she didn't want to leave her house. They did the same for Great-Grandpa Gardner for almost 3 years before he passed away in 2005.

Great-Grandma Ruby and her grandkids (that's my Mom in the hot pink)

Great-Grandma Ruby and the whole family - spouses and great-grandkids (I was only about 4 weeks old, that's the only reason I wasn't in this picture as her great-grandpug)

Stupid Jack was there too but even he was on his best behavior. I know I've told you guys what a jerk Jack is. Well not only is he a world-class jerk but apparently he has some "mental problems" too. Enter: The Thunder Shirt!

Jack had been inexplicably pooping in Uncle Michael's house and he even tore open the door in the kitchen that holds the food, while Uncle Michael was at work. Uncle Michael started crating him but he chewed through his crate and even moved it in to another room by himself! Apparently he misses Uncle Michael REALLY bad when he's gone, and the people at the store where Mom gets my chow told them that he has "Separation Anxiety." So now he wears this super nerdy looking thing that looks like a wool top coat to me. But it works! Now he acts like a normal dog (and he didn't try to eat me once!).

Don't you think he needs a monocle to go with that top coat?

I got to hang out with Grandpa and Trey too.

They tried to give me lots of food (Grandma too!) but MOM and UNCLE MICHAEL denied them every time! I don't know how much longer I can go on with these people. They are clearly abusive.

I could not be bothered to look at the camera because there was bacon being cooked in the kitchen!!

Louie went and stayed at another foster home while we were gone (they have 6 pugs - 3 of their own and 3 fosters!). SUPPOSEDLY when Mom picked him up, they told her that he was an "angel" and could not have been a better pug. I FIND THIS VERY HARD TO BELIEVE!! I think Mom is making stuff up just so that I will feel guilty and behave better or something. She is sly, that one. They even told Mom that Louie made a new BFF while he was there. You can see his picture here. I'm glad he did because I don't want him telling anyone that I am his BFF!

We got home on Saturday but didn't pick up Louie until Sunday. Now, I will DENY THIS TO MY DYING DAY TO ANYONE ELSE, but I feel like I can trust you all to keep it on the DL. When we got home on Saturday and Louie wasn't there, I looked EVERYWHERE for him. I searched high and low, and then I just laid around feeling sad for the rest of the night.

OK, I feel better now that I have been able to admit that to someone. Moving on!

Yep, Louie's still here. I wish he would go away. Mmm-hmmm. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Later, friends!

Shut Up Sticks for Everyone!

2011-04-06T18:53:00.005-05:00

It's really awesome when you get rewarded for "being bad." Lucky for me (and for Louie) "being bad" sometimes just means - "wrestling around like crazy while usually ON Mom's lap." So Louie was introduced to my favorite thing - the Shut Up Stick.

I think he liked it.

And you KNOW I liked it!!!

Sad news, Mom's grandma (my great-grandma) passed away so she & I will be going to Southern Missouri tomorrow (along with Uncle Michael and Stupid Jack). Another foster mom is going to come and pick up Louie tomorrow morning but we'll be coming back on Saturday and picking him up. I am having feelings that I don't understand. I THINK... I might actually... MISS HIM while we're gone??? No, surely not.

We'll be back soon! Later, friends!

Alright, Alright...

2011-04-03T20:12:00.004-05:00

Louie is growing on me...

But ONLY when I'm too tired to fight it. I swear.

And now Louie modeling his bandana. I like this picture - it reminds me that he isn't staying here forever!!

Later, friends!

Proof!

2011-03-28T18:24:00.004-05:00

That I was nice to Louie during his recovery.

And this is what Louie thought of the whole "procedure."

Now it's been 3 days since his neuter, and ALL BETS ARE OFF! This kid has been milking it for all it's worth and I've had enough. That being said...I've been getting in trouble a lot...

I say it's a good thing that Louie doesn't need surgery on his soft palette and he is all ready to go up on the SEPRA website for adoption! Mom says she is kind of sad about that but I am ready to get my spot back in bed! Sayonara, Louie!

Later, friends!

Poor Louie Boy

2011-03-26T00:03:00.003-05:00

Hi friends! I'm finally back! As you know, someone has moved in to my house. No one asked me if I wanted someone else to move in to my house. But after almost a week of careful consideration, I have decided I guess I am okay with it. I mean, for a little while. We are not talking permanent here. Right, Mom??

I have a lot of opinions about this guy, and I might detail them someday but for tonight I am going to be nice because Louie went through some trauma today that I can, unfortunately, relate to. So tonight, I am being nice to him and not talking any smack, and letting him get lots of rest.

Louie lost his manhood today. Mom tells me that means hopefully he will stop humping me soon. And if that is the case, then I am on board.

Poor Louie Boy, moving slow, post-neuter.

Looking pathetic.

If this doesn't melt your heart then you are dead inside.

Later, friends!

(Practically) Wordless Wednesday!

2011-03-23T18:02:00.001-05:00

Vito the Enforcer!

The Artist Formerly Known as Hamilton!

2011-03-22T19:46:00.004-05:00

You guessed it, Vito is still busy being a cranky old man to his foster brother! So again Mom is taking over this post. Sunday night we talked to the adoption coordinator and she asked if we'd like to keep Hamilton until his adoption, instead of transferring him to another foster home when they have an opening. We said YES! We are really enjoying having him, and I'd hate for him to have to change homes again. She also asked if I'd like to change his name since he hadn't been "officially" registered with the group yet, nor been to the vet. I also said YES to that! Hamilton was really a mouthful, and I just wasn't feeling the Hammy nickname.

So, Hamilton is now LOUIE! He's such a Louie and responded to the name right away. He went to the vet yesterday and we got a lot of information. They think he is about 2 years old - maybe older, but they felt confident saying two, based on the tartar on his teeth. I was really surprised! I thought he was much younger. He weighs 15 pounds, which I was also surprised about, I thought he was less. But my chunky monkey Vito probably skews my perspective!

He is getting neutered on Friday. (And let me tell you, Vito will be very happy for the humping to stop!) The only other concern is his breathing. He has a very hard time breathing, and is very loud, even at rest. When we got home from the vet, it took him about 45 minutes to be able to breathe "normally" (for him). He couldn't breathe without his mouth open, and sounded like a duck. He broke my heart. He was so tired and tried to lay his little chin down but kept having to lift his head to breathe and pant hard through his mouth. Finally he laid on his side to be able to "rest" while panting. The vet thinks he has an elongated soft palette which might require surgery, but he also plans to do an x-ray while doing the neuter to make sure that his trachea is not collapsing.

Wow! A lot of news for little Louie Boy. On another note, Jack came over on Sunday to visit! And this is what happens when you try to quickly take pictures of 3 dogs.

Uncle Michael could wrangle the pugs. The beagle was another story.

And thank you again to all of the other foster parents out there for all of your advice and encouragement! It's a tough job (and I consider myself lucky to have gotten an "easy" pug) and I know the toughest part will be the day he goes to his forever home. But I'm also really excited about it because he is such a great boy and I know we'll find the perfect family for him who will be so happy with him, and vice versa!

And I promise, Vito will be back soon! Later!

Day 2 of Hamilton's Stay

2011-03-20T13:49:00.004-05:00

Vito is still busy, so it's Mom writing again! They are doing great together, Hamilton is a sweetpea, and Vito is like his crotchety, older, fatter, lazier brother. I know I joke a lot about Vito being lazy, but I never really believed he was. Hamilton on the other hand? Always busy! And he doesn't like to sleep as late as we do either. ;) And double the pugs means double the shedding so we have some very fashionable sheets and blankets covering the furniture for now!

I went out today and got a fattier food for him to put some weight on - also a problem I'm not familiar with! Vito eats grain-free to keep the weight off. Odd to be trying to put the weight ON a pug! So we also got some Beggin' Strips. ;)

I couldn't only buy food, so they got some new toys as well. Vito is pretty happy about this arrangement because he got a new rope toy too!

And last but not least, poor Hammy is now wearing a belly band. He's not one bit happy about it either. Even though he looks freakin' adorable!!

Thanks to all of you other foster parents for the advice! What a great thing we have here in Blogger Land. Later!

Surprise! Meet Hamilton...

2011-03-19T16:02:00.006-05:00

Vito's mom here! Vito is busy so I thought I'd take over this post. What is he doing, you ask? Well, he's playing with his new (temporary) foster brother, Hamilton!

Hamilton was found wandering in a St. Louis suburb last week with a collar but no tags. SEPRA didn't have any available foster homes, and I've been wanting to start fostering, so Hamilton is the perfect trial run! We'll just be keeping him until a "real" foster home opens up, maybe up to a few weeks. I plan to start for "real" in June if this goes well!

I picked up Hamilton this morning from the sister of the woman who found him. He was living there with her and her 2 pugs & 1 Boston! She said he was doing great with them so I was confident he would do well with Vito too!

Hamilton (blue collar): "Hello Vito, nice to meet you."

Vito "meeting" Hamilton (Hamilton in front)

He is a TEENY boy! We aren't sure of his age but I am guessing less than a year, and his ribs are visible. I think he weighs about 10-12 pounds. I can easily pick him up with one hand - not possible with Mr. Vito! He's not neutered so he's having a great time marking all over the house, which, if you know anything about Vito, is not good for me! They've been having marking wars all day.

Vito was very excited to meet him. He pushed him around a little at first because of the size difference, but Hamilton quickly started holding his own and now they are really playing instead of Vito just throwing around his weight!

Vito: "Who are you and what are you doing here??"

Hamilton is SUCH a cuddlebug. Very lovey and LOTS of kisses, which I'm not used to. Vito isn't much for kissing!

Hamilton meets Silent George.

My first thought when I met him was how much he looked like a piranha! An adorable piranha, I mean.

He might need some braces when he is a teenager.

His nose is VERY flat, with a big underbite. Makes him a loud breather, even at rest!

I hope to return to regularly scheduled posts by Vito as soon as we all get settled in!

MINE!!!

2011-03-11T20:25:00.003-06:00

I don't want you all to think that stuffed toys are my only guilty pleasure. Because lately I've found something else that is equally as delicious!

Let go, Mom! This is mine! I know it is your snuggly extra-large Cardinals blanket (Go Cards!) that Aunt Stacy gave you for your birthday, but that was then, and this is now. Now it is my chew toy!

Ignore that stupid Nylabone in the background, who wants a Nylabone when you have a delicious BLANKET instead??

Too bad, lady!

Later, friends!

Mardi Gras!

2011-03-10T18:17:00.004-06:00

Mardi Gras is kind of a big deal in St. Louis. Mom usually goes to a neighborhood called Soulard and celebrates there. But this year she decided she is old and would much rather celebrate in a nice warm bar and then have a party at our new house! I was totally on board with her decision.

Her friends Veronica from Kansas City and Summer from Mom's hometown came to stay with us for the weekend. I got all kinds of attention from those two! Veronica even brought me a long skinny stuffed bear, you know, because my second name is Baby Bear.

Oh Mr. Long Skinny Bear, you are delicious!!

Well you know my history with stuffed toys. This guy lasted a lot longer than most though - almost the whole night passed before I had him ripped open!

Full disclosure: the only reason Mr. Long Skinny Bear lasted as long as he did was because I was busy most of the night, doing this:

Veronica and Summer were helping Mom make pinwheels and jambalaya Friday night before the party on Saturday.

I was simply hoping for something to drop.

Just keeping Summer and her sandwich company.

Well I bet you know what happened after that. I made myself comfortable and gave my best Sad Pug Face.

Summer was not as familiar with the Sad Pug Face as Mom is, and she certainly wasn't prepared for the Sad Pug Face Resting Chin On Your Foot, so guess what? I WON! Another victory for Vito. That's right, Mom! Summer gave me some sandwich!!!

Later friends!