Hiya Pug Slopers!

Sid here with you today to close out the week. Thank you so much for all the Birthday wishes! I hope every one of you was able to celebrate with me and have a baby carrot.

And SPEAKING OF BABY CARROTS, I’ve got a story for you.

So just the other day I got up to get a drink a water and when I came back to my bed, there was a package sitting there with my name on it!

It came all the way from the home of Donald and Daisy! I couldn’t contain my excitement so I started ripping open the package.

I could not believe what was inside. It sounded like this toy was designed specifically for me!

I asked my personal chef (a.k.a. Dad) to fill it up ASAP with some b.c.’s and seal it off with some peanut butter!

You can probably guess what happened next…

Thank you so much Donald and Daisy, and their parents, Tim and Christy! What a thoughtful Birthday present. I love it!

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!

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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)

It certainly has been hot here in Chicago and the other day our ceiling fans just weren’t cutting it, so Sid and I took a stroll over to the lake to cool off.

The water level in Lake Michigan is a very high this year and the Foster Dog Beach has been reduced to a little triangle of sand. But Sid hardly noticed as he was there for one reason only: SWIMMING!

I got in the water with him and, let me tell you, that chilly water felt amazing and cooled off both of us instantly.

At times, the waves got pretty choppy and Sid ended up a little deeper than he realized. He is really good in the water, though, and managed to keep his head above water the whole time.

While there, we met a new pug friend: Colby!

Sid and Colby splashed through the waves and kicked up sand while racing each other on the beach. Colby certainly has a cute little face, huh?

With more sweltering days on the way, we may start making every day beach day!

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!

I don’t know how anyone couldn’t love the pug profile. It truly is a magical thing.

I’m happy to report that Sid’s eye is all healed and he is now back to leading a cone-free existence. Thank you all for your positive thoughts and good pug juju that were sent our way the past few weeks.

Sid’s back to his usual routine which involves lots of naps throughout the day. I envy his lifestyle.