We took Sid for what we hoped would be a nice fall stroll in the park on Sunday. As last weekend’s stroll had to be cut short due to Sid’s pee malfunction (he’s doing fine now), we thought this would be the day to bask in the fall smells and colors. But as we were walking around, Sid noticed something unusual.

There were a lots of tree branches on the ground – some of them really large. Usually a stray branch on the ground is one of Sid’s favorite things because it means a new place to mark that NO ONE has touched yet. But seeing so many of them confused the little guy. Of course, he had no problem zooming in for a closer look / sniff. Not entirely sure what to make of it, he headed a little further and came upon something even more bizarre.

There was this really cold, white stuff all over the ground. Sid did not know what this stuff was. It didn’t really smell like anything, and it didn’t really taste like anything. What was heck was it?

“Oh….right. I remember this stuff from last winter. It’s snow, right?” Yep, dude. It sure is – and it’s only October. Sheesh.

P.S. Happy Halloween everyone!!! We’ll get a photo up of Sid in his costume tomorrow.

So, Sid now has to take this super-thick, molasses-y, brown, gooey gel twice a day to help him with his pee problem.  The vet warned us that most dogs have a hard time eating this, and we might want to mix the goo in with some food to make it more palatable.

You’d think the vet would know by now that Sid is not “most dogs”…

I know we’ve left you all with some open-ended stories over the past couple weeks, so I just wanted to give everyone some closure with today’s post.

1. The Curly Tail Pug Rescue 2012 Calendar Contest:
As you know, Sid became a finalist in the CTPR 2012 Calendar Contest, but, unfortunately, another pug’s photo beat out his at the last second. Thank you all for your votes and positive juju. While we are sad his photo didn’t win, we’re still really happy that he was able to raise a large amount of money for pugs in need. Congratulations to our friend Macho who won his month! Way to go, little buddy!

2. Sid’s Pee Problem:
This past weekend, Sid had a pee malfunction which resulted in two same-day vet visits, antibiotics, a cathater, and some bladder flushing. I think the whole thing may have been more traumatic to me than to Sid himself. Anyway, he’s been doing great now and his leg lifts are back to normal. The antibiotics will help with the UTI and since Dr. Quim did notice some crystals (struvites), we have this “gel” that we need to put on his food to prevent those crystals from forming.

3. The Final Chapter of the Story of How We Got Sid:
Okay, sorry this one’s a lie. I just needed a third item here – and the more I mention it, the more likely Jenn will finish the story (guilt is an effective motivator). She claims she’s still organizing all of it in her brain. We’ll have to leave you still hanging with this one. Sorry.

P.S. I know some of you might be wondering where Sid got such a cool looking bandana – well, it was a hand-made gift from his Aunt Erin who visited us last weekend. She also made him two others that are equally as stylish and have nice fall colors / a Halloween theme. We’ll be sure to post the other designs soon. They are actually pretty ingenius because they attach to the collar so there’s no need to do any fancy tying or wrapping or anything. I told her she should start a website and make them for pugs everywhere. If you think your pug would like one, let me know and maybe I can convince her to start selling them!

“Hey, sugar-tongue, wanna see somethin’ real neat?”

“Oh, here we go again with the ‘somethin’ neats.’  Sid, you spent all last night showin’ me somethin’ real neat, and, you know what? That raccoon toy you got was pretty neat and all, and, sure, you look real handsome when you was playin’ with it, but I spent ALL NIGHT watchin’ you play with that thing and now I want to go out DANCIN’ at the SAVOY like you PROMISED ME back when you first asked me out!”

“Aw, come on, trust me, baby.  I’m gonna show you something that’s gonna make TREATS fall from the SKY – metaphorically speakin’, of course.”

“Ooooh?  That does sound neat.  What’s the treats gonna metamorphse into?  Some dancin’ shoes?”

“Ain’t you lucky you’re nice to look at.”

“Awww, Sid, you’re the sweetest…LET’S GO DANCIN’!”

“Just- Would you just hold your horses?  We’re gonna go dancin’, alright?  But first you gotta see this.  You’re really gonna be really impressed.  Cross my heart, okay?”

“Whateva.”

“Okay, now, here’s how it works.  My folks are gonna come in here, and we’re gonna sit, you know, like good pugs sit.”

“Sure.”

“Then, see, my folks are gonna do this dumb thing where they ask us the same question over and over again.”

“Sounds like a blast.”

“Would you let me finish? See, each time they ask a question, alls you gotta do is tilt your head!  Left, right, left, right.  They’re easily amused, you see, so they think it’s HYSTERICAL and then they give you tons of treats!”

“How long do we sit there tiltin’ our heads before we get to go out dancin’?”

“AS LONG AS IT TAKES!  Shhhh!  Here they come!”

“Sigh.  I bet Eddie woulda taken me dancin’ at the Savoy, no problem.”

“Alright, baby, START TILTIN’!”

Things have been really busy here at the Pug Slope Headquarters – so busy, in fact, that we accidentally let almost an entire week go by without updating the blog!

I wish I could say that we’ve been too busy for blogging because we’ve been traveling the globe, or solving world hunger, or finally catching up on the entire series of The Wire, but, alas, our lives are not that exciting.  Instead Brian and I have both been swamped with work (not exactly a bad thing) and Sid has been busy finding new excuses to visit the vet.

For example, two weekends ago, while Brian’s sister and her husband were in town from Chicago, Sid ate something unmentionable and definitely not edible that required a very embarrassing midnight trip to the emergency vet, where the previously-mentioned unmentionable was vomited up and then PRESENTED TO US IN A PLASTIC BAG.  Oh, and how did we even know that he ate this unmentionable item?  Could it be because the chewed up wrapper of said unmentionable was displayed proudly in his bed when Brian, his sister, her husband, and I returned home from dinner?  That could be it! 

Then, yesterday, while we were walking Sid in the park, we noticed that he was having trouble peeing.  Like, he’d lift his leg for 45 seconds, looking at us with a confused and slightly strained expression while nothing came out, and then uncomfortably hobble along to the next tree, where he’d repeat this charade.  Twenty minutes later, we’re at the vet’s and an ultrasound is happening and then a catheter is being inserted and…well, let’s just say that some sort of blockage has been extracted and is currently being tested in some lab somewhere.  We were sent home with antibiotics, and then, when he couldn’t pee again later in the afternoon, we had to go back to the vet’s for an x-ray and a bladder flush.  The pipes seem to be flowing a bit better this morning, so fingers crossed that this is nothing too serious.

In light of all the fun Sid has been having lately, we made sure to wake up early this morning for an extra-long walk and some off-leash time at the park:

One year ago today, we took Sid with us on a trip to Cohasset, MA to visit my cousin, her family, and my parents who were also visiting. While we were there, we stopped into a pet boutique and Sid’s grandma bought Sid got a toy that is hand’s down his FAVORITE. It’s his plush mini frog that we refer to as “Froggie”.

Despite the tiny-ness and delicate-ness of Froggie, Sid has managed to make this prized possession last. Even though he chews on it for hours a day, he has not broken the squeaker or de-fluffed it. It is also his toy of choice for playing catch. After seeing how much he loved the toy, we ordered some more from Amazon just in case the first one ever became destroyed or lost. Even though the second frog looks exactly the same, he still gravitates to the original one.

What is your  favorite toy? (or your pet’s for those humans that read our blog)

—

P.S. The voting is closed for the Curly Tail Pug Rescue Calendar contest. For some reason the “Chip In” links still show that it is open until October 21st, but that isn’t the case according to their website. Thank you all for your votes – it looks like Sid’s photo may have gotten beat at the last second, but we’ll wait for the official results from Curly Tail.

Hey Everybody!!

The final round of voting for the Curly Tail Pug Rescue’s 2012 Calendar Contest ends tomorrow, Saturday 10/15, at midnight Eastern / 9pm Pacific, and right now Sid’s in the lead for the month of October with 144 votes!

144 votes!!

Add in the votes from when he was still in the running for August, and that means you’ve helped Sid raise over $144 for his needy pug friends!  Regardless of the outcome of the contest, your generosity will truly make a difference in those pugs’ lives. So, bravo!!!  Hooray!!!

That being said, Sid likes to WIN.  And more votes for Sid = even more money for needy pugs!  So, if you want to throw a few more votes his way before voting closes tomorrow night, you can do so here.

And don’t forget about our buddies Macho and Marshmellow.  You can find their voting pages by clicking on the February and May links on the Curly Tail main page here.

Sid hearts you all.  He really does.