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.

So, in the midst of moving into our new headquarters, the Pug Slope team traveled upstate for a long weekend in the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River with Sid’s Grammy Grace, Great Grammy Nanny, Uncle Jay, and Aunt Chiho.

Did you know that they allow pugs to go on boat tours?  Neither did we!  But as soon as we found out, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring Sid on a tour of the mighty St. Lawrence.  Sid insisted on wearing his most nautical apparel, and as we were unpacking after the trip, I discovered that he had kept a “Captain’s Log” of this adventure…

June 23rd, 2012. 1400 hours.  Pops, my first mate, holds me aloft while we wait in line at the port.   From my elevated vantage point, I see that the St. Lawrence river is approx. 3.5 meters above its average level for this time of year. The sun is in my eyes.  Pops did not pack my sunglasses.  Once again consider replacing Pops with a better first mate, but then notice how well our shirts coordinate and remember that he fed me breakfast.

June 23rd, 2012. 1410. On the docks, approaching the gangplank which will lead me onto the vessel, I see that rain is beginning to fall onto the surface of the river.  Since I still don’t buy this whole “depth” thing, I try to walk onto the river.  Pops stops me.  Not sure how I feel about that.

June 23rd, 2012. 1420. After exploring the three decks of this vessel, I’ve determined that deck two – home of the Snack Galley – is the deck on which I’d like to travel.  Popcorn crumbs from earlier excursions line the carpet throughout this awesome deck.  Pops, however, insists on carrying me to the open-air third deck.  I wriggle violently in an attempt to escape back to the popcorn deck, but Pops’s arms are ropey and strong.  Definitely need a new first mate.  Preferably one who’s weak with scurvy.

June 23rd, 2012. 1445.  Escaped Pops’s grip, but was captured by Mom before making it to the popcorn deck.  Oh, yeah – Mom’s here. Mom proceeded to act all mommish.  Asked Mom to please stop embarrassing me while I’m captaining a ship.

June 23rd, 2012.  1532.  Successfully steered ship towards Boldt Castle, only to find out upon disembarking that dogs aren’t allowed on the island.  Attempted to explain to the natives that I’m not a dog, I’m a PUG, but they didn’t care. Tried to explain to the natives that I’m an Internet celebrity, but they didn’t care.  Explained to the natives that I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THIS HERE VESSEL and then ordered them to LET ME ONTO THE ISLAND OR ELSE THEY’D WALK THE PLANK, and they just laughed and scratched my ears.  Posed for a photo with Mom on the top deck instead.  (Still no popcorn)

June 23rd, 2012. 1540.  Back on the open waters.  Mom finally let me stand on the top deck as long as I promised not to jump ship.  Discovered that tongue can be used as a navigational tool.  The wind was traveling south-south-east at 15 knots per hour.  Asked Pops to re-calculate our route using this newly-gained information, but he drew something stupid in his sketchbook instead.  Decided to put ad for new first mate on Craigslist as soon as we were back on land.

June 23rd, 2012. 1630.  Heading back to shore.  Navigating through calm waters.  Still no popcorn.

June 23rd, 2012. 1645.  Mom tells Pops that she needs to use the loo.  Pops says he does too.  The loo is located on deck two…

June 23rd, 2012. 1650.  POPCORN CRUMBS CARPET MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!1!111!!!!

June 23rd, 2012.  1700.  Swabbed deck two with my tongue.  Delicious.