Ah, what a perfect day to rest the ol’ chin.

Over the years, through much dedication and practice, Sid has refined this skill and taken it to new levels. If there are any young puglets out there that yearn to learn this ancient pug art, please observe a master at work:

Those of you that have been following Pug Slope for a while know that Sid has a thing for bolsters. He’ll use just about anything for a bolster, whether it’s a plush toy, someone’s leg, or even the edge of a laundry basket. It doesn’t matter if the object is hard or soft, small or large. If a pug’s head can be rested on it, Sid will plop his little cranium down on said object.

I was wondering why Sid was taking so long to warm up to the new fancy bed he got for his 10th Birthday this past October, but today I think he finally figured out what makes this bed so amazing and now he can’t get enough of it.

Holy big billowing bolsters, Batman! And he doesn’t even need to lay down to use them!

When the weather gets brutally cold and I find myself cooped up at home, I finally find that I have time to do those little projects that I had put on the back burner during the more pleasant summer months when all I wanted to spend every minute outside.

Today’s project involved one of Sid’s many beds. He was given this bed as a gift for his 7th birthday back when he called NY home. While the sturdy material the bed is fashioned from had stood up well after repeated washings and feverish digging/nesting sessions courtesy of Sid, over time the stuffing had compressed and the bed just looked flat and sad.

During the summer, when I got the idea for this project, I had picked up a bag of fiber fill from Joann Fabrics for this very purpose. I wasn’t sure how much to get so I got a rather large bag (thinking I might eventually re-stuff one of his other beds, too!).

Plumping up the bed was much easier than I had anticipated. First, I took the bed to the laundromat and put it through the hot wash cycle to get it squeaky clean. I hope Sid doesn’t mind that the patches of peanut butter that were mashed into the fiber are now long gone!

I then cut a hole big enough for my hand to fit into on the underside of the bed and finally got to the fun part: I just began stuffing fistfuls of the fiber fill into the bed (making sure to pack it in tightly) and distributing it evenly throughout all the nooks and crannies. As you can see from the photo above, I ended up using up over half the bag! My Sid will not stand for a saggy bolster.

Then a quick row of stitches to seal up the hole and PRESTO! Good as new! In fact, BETTER THAN NEW!

I think he likes it, wouldn’t you agree?

And so Sid’s Birthday month continues on…

Since he was turning the big 1-0 this year, I thought it’d be okay go a little overboard with regard to Sid’s Birthday present. At Pug Slope, we don’t mess around. When we decide to go big, we GO BIG. Literally.

Somehow as soon as the monolith entered our apartment, Sid knew it was for him. Maybe the cute graphic of the dog wearing a bowtie on the side of the box was a give-away. Or perhaps it is the fact that the majority of the letters and packages that arrive at Pug Slope HQ are inevitably for Sid.

Not caring who it came from, what it was doing here, or who it was actually for, Sid was determined to get that giant box open.

Once he got the enormous box open he pulled out the BIG gift…

He immediately hopped into the new bed, started spinning around and circles while digging at the pillow and bolsters to break it in. He’s very particular when it comes to his bed. Like most pugs, he’s crazy about bolsters, too, and this bed has the plushest bolsters I’ve ever seen!

So Sid, do you approve of this ridiculously luxurious new bed?

WOO HOO!

I’ll take that as a yes.

Wait, hang on a minute. What is going on here? Do you mean to tell me I could have saved myself some money and replaced your bed with a box from the recycle bin?! Oh brother.

Sid’s all about body pillows. And I don’t mean those oversized pillows you can buy at Target. I mean USING bodies AS pillows. Specifically OUR bodies.

Sid plays no favorites. He uses his mom’s body as often as he does my own.

In this photo, our pug-genius demonstrates his solution to the age-old problem of side-sleepers: how to prevent that bottom arm from going numb. Way to go, Sid!

Have a great weekend everyone!

—

Pug Portraits update: Thank you to those of you that ordered pug portraits. I just want to let you know I have a few of them done and will be shipping them out this weekend. I’m sorry for the delay – I was waiting on the mats to arrive and also had to make an impromptu trip back to Chicago for a week due to some family stuff. The mats just came in this week and they look really nice! If you did place an order, I will email you when your order ships. I’d like to post the portraits on the blog so if you’ve ordered a portrait already and would be ok with me posting it on the blog, please let me know (you can just send an email to pugportraits (at) pugslope.com). I will hold off posting any photos of your portrait until I hear from you. –Brian

Okay, Sid, we get it.*  You LOVE potatoes, you LOVE your new gigantic duck, you LOVE using unconventional items as bolsters, and you LOVED hanging out with Payton.  Now stop being so absurdly cute so your dad and I can get some work done!

*I swear on the integrity of this blog that we humans played no part in arranging the toys in this photo.  This was all Sid’s doing.  

Thank you all so much for all of the amazingly helpful tips on flying with pugs!  We’ve got some smart readers, huh?  I think Brian and I are both starting to feel a little less anxious about this endeavor, thanks to you guys.

As a token of our appreciation, we present to you this newly discovered photograph of a rare and mysterious pug phenomenon – the Bolster Sandwich: