In order to get fully prepared for the holidays, Sid has been extending his afternoon naps by 45 mins for the past two weeks.

This extra rest will help fuel the madness that occurs when he is in the presence of wrapped Christmas presents and holiday snacks (especially those that have dropped to the floor). I think he’s on to something here!

Sid and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. As expected, Sid was spoiled with all kinds of tasty scraps and got lots of extra belly rubs from his grand-pug-rents.

This was an exciting Thanksgiving for us because it was the first time that Sid and I got to ride together on the Metra train to visit my family out in the suburbs.

You may remember, shortly after moving to Chicago, I discovered that pets in carriers were allowed on all Chicagoland public transit systems except the Metra trains that link the city with the suburbs. I met another person who had just started a petition as she wanted to bring her small dog with her to events in the city. So for the past couple years we worked together to get more and more signatures on the petition. We were able to get articles written about the issue in local news sources, we attended meetings of the Metra board and spoke during the public comments section, and this summer they finally implemented a pilot program to allow pets in carriers on one of the lines during the weekends. It was a success so they expanded the program to all lines during the weekends and holidays. I’m hopeful that by the end of the year the permanent policy will allow pets in carriers on all lines at any time, just like all the other public transit systems.

Sid is a traveling champ and once he gets in his red travel bag, he has no trouble kicking back and relaxing. I always provide him with an ample dose of treats while he’s in his bag, so of course he often doesn’t want to get out of the bag when we arrive at our destination. Most other travelers don’t even notice that I have a dog with me, and those that do ask me all about him and “ooo” and “awww” the whole time (most pugs are used to, and expect, this kind of adoration).

So this Thanksgiving we were especially thankful for all the Pets on Metra supporters, including all you lovely Pug Slopers that signed the petition, and the wonderful folks at Metra that made our dream a reality!

Sid and I hope everyone had a great holiday. We’ve been laying low the past few days, watching some movies at home, and trying our best to stay warm. Ever since the Christmas festivities wound down, Sid has been predominantly in a horizontal position, purring like a 4-stroke engine.

The reason why Sid is so tuckered out is because he went on a twinkling-light-filled bender last week. Here’s a collage of his descent into holiday madness (double-click to enlarge the image…that is, if you can handle the insanity).

One incident of which no photographic material exists, but I’m sure Sid will never forget, involved a certain pug hurling himself into the air, batting an entire shrimp cocktail platter onto the ground, and chowing down on said shrimp cocktail platter while all humans present looked on in horror. Based upon the speed at which Sid normally inhales his dinner and how many seconds had elapsed before I was able to intervene (approx. five), I suspect he slurped down about 4 or 5 shrimp. Probably the tails, too. And some of the sauce.

Sid’s rampage continued into the living room where he tore open numerous presents, many of which weren’t even his. He thought the new puffy coat for my brother-in-law was his new bed and started digging/nesting in it. He rummaged through the bag of discarded wrapping paper, certain that a package of venison treats must have slipped through the cracks. On numerous occasions he tried to recreate his earlier moment of triumph by awkwardly batting at any and all items that were within 6 inches from the edge of a tabletop. He does have amazing reaching skills but I’m happy to report his further attempts proved unsuccessful…well, to him anyway.

It’s no wonder the dude needs to recuperate.

Well, I hope everyone was as fortunate as Sid this year because he got all that his heart/stomach desired and more this Christmas.

First up was a hand-made fleece blanket from his grandmother (he’s sitting on it in the photo above). It’s extra thick so it doubles as a play mat where he can round up his toys and partake in a good chew session. The bright colors help balance out the ho-hum grey weather we’ve had all December in Chicago.

Also in the photo above you might be able to catch a glimpse of Sid’s new collar (look closely under the neck fat).

It was made by Kelly from Collars By Design. She has fantastic patterns and it was hard for me to pick out just one. The collar is really soft, sturdy, and the colors are really vibrant! I would definitely recommend her shop if you are looking for a new collar with some style.

Lastly, Sid got a Wigzi  Stuff n’ Throw ball and grain-free crunchy peanut butter treats (“Tasties“) to stuff inside the ball’s pockets. He absolutely LOVES this thing! It’s perfect for keeping him busy while I shovel down my own food.

Oh yeah, and last, but not least: Squeakers.

And by Squeakers, I mean a GIGANTIC BAG FULL OF SQUEAKERS!

Whoops – I said that too loud and now Sid is staring at me expectantly.

For those of you that might not be hip to the cutting edge of pug culture, according to Sid – “Raw squeakers are the new coolest thing among pugs“. You can read more on his obsession with “raw squeakers” here.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and all got some fun and tasty stuff!

I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas!

I actually got to open all my presents on Christmas Eve (in trade I had to wear that dorky sweater all night but it was totally worth it). Doodz, I got some SWEET stuff. I can’t wait to tell you all about it. But that will have to come later as I’ve got a bunch of Christmas parties today and I’ve been busy formulating a plan to obtain maximum treats from all my human relatives!

Sid has donned his full Leap Day garb today in hopes that Leap Day William‘s bucket of sweets also contains TREATS!!! Happy Leap Day, everyone!

We want to start out with a little apology.

We normally like to get at least three to four posts up on the blog every week, but December has been a crazy month.  On top of the aggressive travel-bag training Sid has undertaken in preparation for his big trip on the airplane, I’ve been taking the Greyhound bus back and forth every week to my hometown upstate for a root canal – it was much less expensive than what I would have paid in Brooklyn but required THREE separate appointments with the endodontist.  Brian and Sid have been holding down the fort here at the Pug Slope Headquarters, but the general craziness of the past few weeks means the blog has suffered.

Anyway, my final trip upstate was on Tuesday, and Sid’s Grammy Grace sent me back to Brooklyn with a suitcase full of Christmas presents for her favorite grandpug. One of those presents was a cozy new bed, and we decided Sid could get that present early since we didn’t really have a place to hide it in our super tiny apartment.

Well, as you can see in the video below, Sid was a bit confused over this present.  Overjoyed, elated, and enthusiastically thankful, sure, but still…confused:

Eventually Sid either realized that the bed was indeed A BED and NOT a gigantic fluffy sheet of awesomeness meant to be hiked between his legs, or he thought that he finally hit the jackpot when it comes to sleeping on top of his favorite toys.

Thank you Grammy Grace for this fabulous gift!!