I have a travelled many light years to reach your planet. I come in search of treats.

GIVE ME YOUR TREATS!

If you happened to stop by Pug Slope HQ on Monday, this is what you would have seen:

Now, it’s not usual for Sid to be chillin’ in his bed most of  the day. While I work from home, he usually is catching his much-needed Z’s (being cute and demanding treats is exhausting work, people!). But on Monday, he was sitting in this position, fully awake, the whole day.

Here’s the reason:

Meet “KC”. At the time this photo was taken, we didn’t know that was her name. Let me back up a bit.

The day started out pretty normal. While Sid and I were out for our morning walk, a frisky, friendly black pup ran up to greet Sid. The odd thing was that there was no human accompanying her and she had no collar, harness, or leash attached to her. The city streets are certainly not a safe place for a dog to roam around like that so I plucked Sid into my arms and wrapped Sid’s leash around her neck to prevent her from darting into the street.

As you can tell from the photo, KC ended up accompanying us back to Pug Slope HQ. Then began the hunt to find her family. Lucky for her, the local vet found she had a microchip and had been adopted from a local dog rescue called PAWS Chicago. Unfortunately, the phone number that came up on the microchip was out of date and was disconnected (*). I posted on craigslist and a Facebook group called Lost Dogs Illinois. I also ran into a local dog walker who pretty much knows every dog in the neighborhood by name – she said KC looked familiar but she wasn’t sure who her owner was. I also put up a few signs around the neighborhood on my way to pick up some carryout lunch (trying to multi-task!). While I tried to get some actual work done during the day, KC whined in the kitchen and Sid sulked in his bed and gave me the stink eye. I think he was afraid KC was going to be a permanent resident of Pug Slope HQ. After a few hours of constant whining and barking from KC and no response to my lost dog posts, I was starting to share Sid’s fears.

Near the end of the work day, I got an email reply from my craigslist posting. Was it really KC’s parents? I wanted to be sure she was being returned to her proper home and not some weirdo. The friendly folks at PAWS Chicago were actually able to verify that the people that had contacted me were in fact KC’s real parents. So KC ended up getting home just in time for her dinner! Turns out she only lives 3 blocks away and had escaped from her yard that morning.

Sid was relieved. So was I.

(*) If your pet has a microchip, please be sure to keep that information up to date!

Don’t you just love when the days start getting longer? Although it’s still pretty dang cold out here (no warm temps on the horizon either), it just seems much more bearable when the sun is still out during Sid’s post-dinner walk.

We hope you had a good Valentine’s Day weekend. As you can see above, Sid got spoiled on Valentine’s Day with an enormous new split antler.

Most of his other antlers have been chewed down to little stubs so I figured it was about time he got a new one. Luckily this one is like four times longer than the previous ones so I’m hoping it will last longer.

His favorite time to chew is right before bed. I guess it’s how he winds down before going to sleep since he can’t read a book or do yoga or something. Do any of your dogs also like antlers? When is their favorite time to chew?

If you’re ever in need of someone to lead an expedition to uncharted territories in search of exotic scents and treats, I’m your man.

I am Siddhartha Lamont, Polar Explorer. At your service.

I don’t come cheap. My reward is the awesome thrill that comes only from conquering harsh conditions and surviving adventures in exotic locales.* Don’t settle with sub-par explorers, hire the best: Siddartha Lamont, Polar Explorer Par Excellence!

(* I do also accept payment in the form of baby carrots.)

I know we’ve been talking a lot about pug maintenance lately. I guess it’s just a side effect of being stuck indoors – you start nit-picking. When I run out of things to clean or organize around the house, I start analyzing my pug (that’s normal, right?). The long walks, which had kept Sid’s nails at an adequate length all summer and fall, had been abandoned due to thigh-high snow drifts and arctic temperatures. Sid’s nails were rapidly becoming curled macaroni noodles.

My fear of using the nail-clippers incorrectly and potentially hurting the little dude meant I needed some help. Someone to “get the job done”, “take care of business”, and all that good stuff. My prayers were answered in the form of a slender, grey-clothed new man in town: Doctor Alberto Emel or “Dr. Emel” for short.

The Doctor actually arrived to Pug Slope HQ a couple weeks ago from the Amazon. Based on the Doc’s reputation in the Amazon, I kept the two lads apart at first as I didn’t want to force this new relationship. Some dogs don’t take kindly to new strangers, especially those of the buzzing and shaking variety, so I wanted to make sure both Sid and Dr. Emel felt totally comfortable around each other before anything physical took place. After some initial restraint, Sid soon welcomed the Doc just like he would a fellow pug (although without any humping).

Sid was intrigued by Dr. Emel’s rough 5-o’clock shadow. This was not your typical clean-cut doctor. This guy was more like Gregory House M.D.  I explained to Sid that although the Doc’s exterior might appear rough and tumble, he is actually a super nice guy and absolutely loves a good pat on the head – especially on his rough face. He absolutely would LOVE a good scratch with YOUR NAILS on his stubbly beard.

Sid obliged and was soon hanging out with Doc daily, patting him on the head, and scratching his beard. As a side effect to this new relationship, Sid’s nails have been reduced to a much more ideal length. To steal a line from Casablanca: 

“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”.