Hi everyone! Sid reporting. I’m so glad you’re here today. I want to tell you about the insanely fun time I had last weekend. Now that I’ve had a few days to recuperate, I’m ready to tell you all about it.

Well, I first knew something was up when my dad starting digging around in the closet and out flew my red travel bag. Last time that got pulled out we ended up going on an epic adventure in Lincoln Park. This time, however, we didn’t ride on the El train but instead got on a city bus. When we arrived at our destination in the west loop – Pet Care Plus – I was greeted by a handful of friendly pugs. Some of them were wearing flotation devices which I thought was odd, until I set eyes on… THE POOL!

I began by doing a few laps around the perimeter. To make sure the pool was, you know, up to all the proper regulations and such.

There were a few pugs swimming and some bobbing around in their floatation devices. I noticed a few other pugs just hanging out at one end of the pool, where the water was only dew-claw deep. Aha! That looked like a good place to start.

It was very hot and the sun was beating down, so getting my feet wet felt splendid and instantly cooled me off. Then all of a sudden I saw something familiar in the water. It was my glow-in-the-dark WIGZI ball!!! My dad had brought it with so we could play in the water.

It floats, and sometimes it would drift out of my reach into the deep end…

See how I put on the brakes?! Luckily my dad or some of the other awesome humans there would toss it back in my direction so I could try to bob for it in the shallow water again. Trying to catch it in the water was really challenging. I eventually found the best strategy was to quickly dunk my whole head under water to grab hold of the ball.

I decided to take a break from playing with the WIGZI ball so I waded back into the shallow end of the pool. Well, guess who I ran into?! None other than my friends that I met last month on the pug boat tour – Violet and Timmy!

That’s me and Violet – isn’t she cute?! She’s very petite. She just celebrated her 10th birthday and brought home-made mini cupcakes for all the pugs. They were delicious! Full disclosure: I actually ate two cupcakes. Thank you so much for the cupcakes, Violet!

I was feeling a bit mischievous and saw Violet trying to take some glamour shots, so I thought it’d be funny to photo-bomb them (with my blue potato, of course). Hee hee!

My dad and I played a bunch more with my blue potato, I met a bunch of other cool Chicago pugs, and I was the lucky recipient of some complementary butt scratches. Yes, that is the spot!

All in all, it was the perfect day for a pug.

And now you can hopefully understand why I was soooo pooped when I got home! I can’t wait to go to the next pug pool party!

—

Thank you so much to Violet’s mom, Christina, for taking the bulk of these photos. See, my doofus dad, in the heat of packing all the beach towels, toys, sunscreen, and other items, FORGOT to bring his good camera! So Violet’s mom was kind enough to take a bunch of shots of me! THANK YOU, CHRISTINA!

Also, THANK YOU to Chris and Dee Dee for organizing and hosting the event. If you live in Chicago and are interested coming to the pug meetups, the group’s website is: http://www.meetup.com/chicagopugs.

Sid reach a new level of exhaustion yesterday.

He was pretty much horizontal from 3pm until bedtime. I actually had to wake him up to give him his dinner, which, as you know with pugs, is unheard of.

Now you’re probably wondering: “what sort of crazy activity would cause a pug to get THAT TIRED?” Well, I’m going to let Sid tell you all about it later this week, but here’s a little picture preview. Let’s just say it involved a pool, a plush potato, and about thirty pugs…

(Above photo by Christina Gibson)

… the Pug Will Play!

Hi everyone! Sid here today reporting to you live from Pug Slope HQ.

Now I make look cute, sleepy, and innocent in the above photo, but let me tell you, while my Dad was away on vacation for a few days earlier this week I PARTIED LIKE A CHAMP!

My two awesome pug-sitters, Lauren and Pam, loaded me up with excellent treats and belly rubs the whole time. I even took advantage of the fact that my overnight pug-sitter wasn’t familiar my normal schedule so I woke her up EXTRA EARLY so I could get breakfast as soon as the sun came up! Hee hee! Score one for the Sidster.

“TIME TO GET UP! I really do eat breakfast at 5:30am every day. I swear.”

I got to go on really fun walks to new parts of the neighborhood that Dad never took me to before.

“I have NO IDEA where I am and I’M OK WITH IT!”

I even got to EAT PIZZA at a restaurant that had outdoor seating! And guess who got a bunch of blueberries for dessert?! It was heaven.

I had so much fun, guys!

I did miss my Dad a little but my pug sitters were so awesome that they made the time he was away fly by. Thank you, Pam and Lauren!!!

(Now I just need to find a way to secretly hide these extra pounds I gained so I don’t have to go on a DIET!)

As soon as Sid and I heard about the Anti-Cruelty Society‘s Canine Cruise, we signed up immediately. I’m a sucker for boats, especially those that are half-filled with creatures of the furry variety.

It had been a few years since Sid and I had been off dry land, but luckily all his sailing apparel still fit.

As soon as we got in line for boarding, we saw a group of some other pugs, and the pugnetic forces quickly pulled us all together.

Those are two of Sid’s new friends, Violet and Timmy. Attempts to get all three pugs in the same photo looking in the same direction were made but proved to be futile.

It turned out that Sid and Violet had met once before, at the pug pool party last summer. As soon as the cameras came out they both started turning on the charm and tried to top each other’s posing prowess (photo below from Violet’s instagram: @violet_pug).

The boat was filled with pups of all shapes and sizes, from tiny terriers to lumbering labradoodles. Sid and I sat with our new pug friends and their human companions. By the time we were ready to set sail, our pug trio grew to a quartet with the addition of another new pug friend, Chloe. She was looking stylish and staying dry in her little blue raincoat. And it even matched the chairs on the boat – way to coordinate!

The weather had turned pretty chilly and dreary as we lifted anchor, but it was certainly nice to be outside with all the pups, casually floating along the Chicago River.

Along our tour, both humans and dogs received snacks and beverages which made the ride much more enjoyable. According to Sid, anything can be improved with treats.

We had a really fun time and would like to thank the Anti-Cruelty Society and Mercury Cruises for putting together such a fun event. Sid can’t wait to set sail again!

Hi there, my dearest denizens of Pug Slope!

I hadn’t had a chance to catch my breath from my last few adventures when I was hit smack in the nose-flap with another round.

First off, I got to kick up my paws at Osterman Beach again.

This unusually-cool June weather has been PERFECT for pug adventures. The sun may have been shining brightly but the temps weren’t too high there was a nice breeze to keep me from overheating. I also brought along my trusty rusty water dish for mid-adventure refreshment. And then when I was done gulping down all the water flipped my dish over and used it to make sand castles. At least that’s what I attempted to do.

I had heard tales of tantalizing discarded hot-dog tid-bits and pizza crusts lurking in the tall grasses that border the sand but my search wasn’t very fruitful. Er, wasn’t very hot-dog-ful. Or crusty. Still, it was fun to smell all those great beach scents and to squish the sand between my toes.

So, not only did I get to go to the beach, BUT I ALSO GOT TO GO ON…

(make sure you are sitting down, folks)…

A BOAT!!!

And not just any boat, but A BOAT FILLED WITH DOGS!!!

I’m sorry to tease you with just one photo, which was taken by one of the other pug’s parent, but my human still hasn’t pulled our photos from the camera. I’ll tell you all about the boat ride in my next post.
Until then, eat treats and prosper.

To celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, Sid and I decided to venture into some uncharted territory. Well, uncharted for him anyway. We hoofed it over to the El station, he hopped into his tomato-red travel bag, and we zipped off on the El train down to Lincoln Park.

The sun was bright and the air was warm, so I came prepared with some ice cold water and a small dish so Sid could frequently rehydrate his pug mug throughout our excursion. We exited the train at Diversey and walked East towards the lakefront. By the time we got to the North Pond, Sid and I were both ready for an H2O break and a good ol’ fashioned sit.

We found a nice shady spot where Sid immediately became best friends with his little water dish. We relaxed by the North Pond and watched the birds and other wildlife go about their daily affairs.

After our batteries had recharged we completed the circle around the whole pond, through all the interesting native gardens near the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. In those wonderful gardens we saw lots of songbirds, butterflies, ducks and ducklings, and even a turtle!

The heat was getting to Sid by that point so we started heading back to the El station. Instead of taking the direct route down Diversey, we leisurely zig-zagged down the shady tree-lined side streets. All of a sudden we came upon this wonderfully ornate mansion on Wrightwood Avenue.

My photo doesn’t really capture it well as I couldn’t get the whole facade in the frame as the home is massive. It is known as the Francis J. Dewes House, was built in 1896 for its namesake, and is a registered Chicago landmark. The house next door, which is also from the 1890’s and is a registered Chicago Landmark, was built by Francis’s brother, August Dewes. It is also very ornate and the mansard roof was spectacular.

About a block away from the El station, we took a little break in a shady patch of grass. Sid gulped down the remaining drops of our cool water supply and then proceeded to flop onto his side for a belly rub! It was really funny. He got plenty of “awwws” from passersby.

We had a great day! Hope to have another adventure like this again soon.

How about those thunderstorms?!?!

If you live anywhere near the midwest you know what I’m talking about. We had some intense rainfall and thunderstorms the past few days. The plants around our neighborhood were certainly happy and it seems like anything green and leaved has doubled in size. The pug, however, wasn’t super thrilled about the rain and we had a couple walks where we both ended up drenched and miserable. Although once the rains stopped we were greeted with a gorgeous morning of fresh air, blue skies, and soft breezes.

There were also lots of sweet puddles throughout Winnemac Park which I think in Sid’s mind made up for all the trauma he experienced trying to poop while getting soaked the night before.

Did anyone else go play in some puddles today?