Oh, hi there, mates!  Just a quick note to say, ‘Cheerio!’  As you may notice, I’ve developed a slight British accent and a more refined manner of speech since hanging out with my half-British mate, Eddie.  Nice chap, he is.  When I started speaking in the cool way he speaks, he nicknamed me “Pugmalion.” Said the more literary-minded of you would find that right amusing, but I’ve yet to Google the reference.  I’m guessing it has to do with me being awesome.

ANYWAY.  I know it seems I may have forgotten about you this week, but please know that it’s the love and gratitude I feel for you all that has kept me away from Planet Cool Sid this week.  Yes, I’ve been holed away in my music studio, tickling the ivories, as they say, and composing my special ‘thank you’ song for all of the contributours to my treat fund.  What a rousing success that was!   I want to make sure my special ‘thank you’ video is as special as possible, and it’s really coming together quite nicely.  But, honestly, it’ll never be as NICE as the lot of you!

Toodle pip!

This past weekend, NYC’s heatwave broke and the temps finally sank below the pug-melting range. To celebrate, Sid, Jenn, and I headed to Prospect Park for the morning off-leash hours.

After a bit of strolling (Jenn and I) and sniffing (Sid), we ran into Sid’s buddy, Eddie (not to be confused with Sid’s OTHER pug pal named Eddie who lives in San Francisco).

“I’m Eddie. From Brooklyn. What’s a San Francisco?”

Once Sid and Eddie got together, it became “Dude Time”. There was no Lola, no Miss Timothy Buttons, no LADY-PUGS. PERIOD.

D O O O D Z Z Z ! ! !

Dude Time basically consists of sniffing various tall blades of grass and/or low branches and marking them. Based on what I’ve gleamed from Sid, Dude Time works even if you don’t have any pee left; the leg-lift motion alone is apparently enough.

The Dudes, locating the absolute BEST spot.

After Dude Time, Carrot Time logically followed (logically from a pug’s point of view). As soon as the plastic bag of carrots was revealed, Sid hit the deck into “Deep Jimmy” mode.

Eddie preferred a more dignified posture (he is half-British after all).

Sid gulped down carrots left and right but Eddie was a bit more apprehensive. Compared to a bully stick, a carrot seemed a bit “blah”.

 Sid had no trouble with this arrangement and quickly scooped up Eddie’s scraps.

“You’re definitely right, Eddie, Carrots (MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH) are gross, I don’t think you should eat any of them (CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH).”

And then, smack dab in the middle of Carrot Time, the most amazing creature The Dudes had ever seen approached. They were utterly perplexed as to what sort of animal was standing before them.

“Yo! I’m Faye. Yeah, I got a big bushy mustache. SO WHAT?! You pugs gonna do anything about it?”

“Um, no, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am. Have a good day!”

“The Boss” had to be carried home from the park that day…

In the comments section of Tuesday’s post, Suki wondered what Sid was dreaming about.

I mentioned Suki’s comment to Sid, and he suddenly got all weird and defensive and started guarding his bed while muttering something along the lines of, “I don’t know, Mom. I mean, come on. It’s not like I keep a dream journal or anything.”

Well, the pug doth protest too much, so I took a closer look at his bed and I found this:

Yes, that’s right.  Sid’s been keeping a dream journal.

I told Sid he’d get extra special treats today if he let me share a few of his dreams with you guys.  It was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

So, without further ado, here’s an actual page from Sid’s dream journal (click on image for larger size / better readability!):

On Sunday, Lola hosted a brunch for some of the neighborhood pugs. As an added bonus, the parents of said pugs were allowed to tag along.

There was an amazing spread of food for the humans. Much to Sid’s dismay, the bagels and lox were all kept well above pug-level, but there were plenty of dog toys to go around.

Lola was there, of course, along with Timothy Buttons (Sid’s girlfriend), Eddie, and Charlie. Lola got dressed up for the occasion in her bright yellow tee.

Eddie hopped up into his dad’s arms in order to work his way closer to the out-of-pug-reach quiche.

Sid latched on to Lola’s pink plush bee toy and basically spent 80% of the party with it in his mouth like a doofus. I guess it gave him an excuse to avoid any small-talk.

Lola and Timothy got the party started by breaking out the nyla-bone and battling each other for it.

…And all the while Sid kept relocating himself, with plush bee in tow, in order to avoid the action.

After a while, the pugs caught on that they were not going to be feasting on all the brunch goodies that the humans were eating so they started to raise a stink. However, a mutiny was avoided by Lola’s mom, who had the foresight to plan ahead with – get this – SMOOTHIES FOR DOGS!

Charlie: “Smoothies?! For Dogs?! Me want-ee!”

All the ears perked up when the box was brought out the freezer, even though none of the pugs had ever eaten one before. How is it that they know food from non-food (or maybe they just assume everything is food).

Sid sat like a good boy and waited as patiently as a pug can before he was given his Smoothie.

Time to Dig In!

Timothy had a better method for eating her Smoothie.

We can’t wait for the next pug brunch!!! Thank you to Lola and her parents for putting on such a great party for human and pug alike!

We realized recently that all of our posts about Prospect Park off-leash hours make Sid’s pug pack seem like a boy’s club.  Sure, Sid may be a bit of a man’s man, but the Prospect Park off-leash pug party is no Snausage-fest.

There’s a bunch of curly-tailed gals who have just as much snort-sneezin’ fun as Sid, Eddie, and Winston while running around the park like maniacs.

First, meet Timothy.  Yes, Timothy.

“What’s your problem? You’ve never met a lady named Timothy before?”

Timothy’s a tough-talkin’ no-nonsense sweetheart.  Her harness may be lined with titanium studs but her heart is lined with gold.

Then there’s Lily.  Fighting Irish fan and master of the toothy flap-flip.

Lily can run circles around the boys but that doesn’t stop her from showing off a fresh manicure…

or enjoying old-fashioned displays of chivalry while out on a walk. (Well done, Eddie!).

And finally, there’s little Lola.

This fun-loving girl-next-door is not only Eddie’s best friend…

she’s also apparently the pug equivalent of the Girl from Ipanema.

For real.  Winston, especially, can’t get enough of Lovely Lola.

And Sid can’t get enough of these Park Slope pugs!

Sid was worried he’d be the only neighborhood pug at Prospect Park on July 4th.

But, when we arrived at the Long Meadow for off-leash hours, there were already six – SIX! – pugs running around like maniacs in celebration of our nation’s independence.

Eddie was there, leading the pack…

And Winston made his official off-leash hours debut!

The lovely Lola couldn’t get enough of Winston’s puppy energy…

And Sid’s friend Bruno brought along a new buddy…meet Pugsley!

If patriotism were measured in licks, snorts, and circular high-speed chases, these pugs would be right up there with Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin.

Get this pug’s face on a dollar bill, stat!