So, if you’ve been paying attention, then you know that Sid really, really, really loves his potato toys.  Yesterday we gave him a brand new yellow potato to bring on his evening walk in Prospect Park, and he held that little potato in his mouth throughout the entire 40-minute walk.  We brought along the camera so we got a lot of nice shots of Sid with his new best friend.  Here’s a few:

Cute photos, but nothing you haven’t seen before, right?  Well, I accidentally left my photo editing software open on my computer when Brian and I left for our trivia night.  When we came home, Sid was passed out at my keyboard, a notepad by his side.  The note read:

Start with photos of me walking down the street with Tater looking super cool and then zoom in to me still walking down the street with Tater in my mouth but try to crop out Mom because nobody needs to know that I need to wear a leash and I love Mom a lot but she’s not going to get between me and Tater and Mom just has to understand that I’m not a baby anymore, okay?  Then show me and Tater in the park near those wood chips that I like to rub my face into, and make sure to include that photo where Tater is hiding from me as I peek around the tree and find her, and you know what?  I’m gonna do it.  I’m gonna include the photo where I’m peeing on the tree with Tater in my mouth because THAT WAS SO AWESOME. Imagine me and you, I do, I think about you day and night, it’s only right, to think about the toy you love, and hold it tight, so happy together. I wish Mom and Dad would let me eat Honey Grahams.  But do they have that song?  Ugh, no.  I’m gonna have to buy it on iTunes.  What’s Mom’s password?  Oh, and then, after the photo of me peeing, cut to the photos where Tater and I are lying on the grass, and I get to hold Tater in my paws while I chomp chomp chomp, and then maybe some of the photos where I stand all studly with Tater in my mouth, and then the ones where Mom wants to take Tater from my mouth so she can throw it and I’m all like “nuh-uh, Mom,” and then…Hmmm, Ken Burns effect, or no Ken Burns effect?  Ken Burns effect.  Oh, man!  How do I upload to YouTube?

Well, Sid must’ve figured out how to upload, because when we went to our YouTube page, we found this:

PS:  We found this message scribbled on the other side of Sid’s notepad:

Remember to think good thoughts for Payton so that she can feel better and get excited about food and toys and other exciting things again without feeling sick because it stinks if you can’t be excited about all of the exciting things in life and Payton is cool and I miss her.  

Behold, a sunny afternoon stroll in Prospect Park during which Sid confronts the fact that mortifying public displays of affection are part and parcel of dating a sweet young chick-a-dee like Miss Timothy Buttons:

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!):

As an antidote to the gray drizzle of this January day, here’s a photo of Sid on a bright summer morning, frolicking in the Long Meadow with what appears to be an animate ball of fluff:

Have a good weekend, everybody!

Thank you all so much for your tidal wave of positive JuJu for our pug-neighbor Natasha (a.k.a. the Dowager Countess of Pugton Abbey). We’ll be sure to pass it on to her!

This weekend we finally got some snow here in New York. Last winter was Sid’s first experience with snow, and boy did he get an introduction. The day after Christmas last year we were hit with a blizzard that basically shut down our neighborhood for a few days. It was insane – city buses were left abandoned on the streets, people were cross-country skiing to get around, and the garbage bags were left for WEEKS on the sidewalks! This year, the snow came more with a whimper. I took Ol’ Flat-Face to Prospect Park so he could get a refresher course on the cold fluffy white stuff.

As soon as we entered the park, he started the investigation.

With the snow covering up most of the ground and the low plant-life and fallen leaves, Sid struggled for a while to find the ideal spot on which to “do his business”. He usually takes a pretty decent amount of time (even more whenever we’re running late for something), but the snow definitely had him perplexed. He eventually found a good spot, but then something caught his eye.

As you all probably know, once a pug sets his/her mind to something, there is no turning back. Resistance is futile. Sid is no exception to the rule, and before I knew it, I was being towed over to where the action was happening.

We ended up in the Long Meadow, where tons of kids were out sledding. There were lots of families and even few other dogs. Sid took an immediate interest in this sledding business and proceeded to ask me if he could participate.

“C’mon, dad, can’t I go sledding? PLEEEEEEASE?!”

When I told him we couldn’t because we didn’t have a sled, he got a little huffy, so I told him that we would go sledding – but just not today. We’d first need to go the store and get a pug-sized sled. He perked up a little.

Unfortunately for poor Sid, rains came today and reduced all the snow to slush – then just muddy grey water. I guess we have time now to go to the store and get our pug sled so we are prepared for the next snow storm!

Have any of you other pugs been sledding? A certain pug with a new sledding obsession wants to know.

After our photo shoot in the park this past weekend, Sid and I strolled over to the lake in order to find a good spot to sit down, relax, and enjoy the amazing fall weather.

We found a nice bench and watched some runners that were participating in the Brooklyn Marathon that happened to be taking place while we were there. But this didn’t last long. No, Sid did not start charging at the packs of runners, but instead made a bee-line for the lake.

If you thought he was just chasing after the ducks like a normal dog, you’d be wrong. Remember: Sid is not normal (to put it bluntly).

 If you thought he was trying to catch a fish, you’d also be wrong. There was not a fish to be seen.

For those of you that checked the box next to “Clearly he was just obsessively digging at the water like a doofus” consider yourself experts in the field of O.P.A. (Obsessive Pug Analysis).

“Um, what’s that you were you sayin’, Dad? Was it about me?”

For some video evidence of Sid’s obsession with pools of water, check out this post from July.

The leaves are changing color and the air is becoming brisk, which means it’s time to update our masthead!

This past weekend in NY really encapsulated all the amazingness of fall. The weather was ideal for a nice stroll through the park and we figured we might as well tie in a photo shoot with our favorite little flat-faced pal.

It went something like this:

“Okay, really, Sid? We don’t need all the ‘tude right out of the gate. As we detailed in your contract, like all your other shoots, this one will also end with treats – I promise. Lose the flap flip, man.”

“Yes! That’s more like it. We want to show everyone that pugs are majestic, thoughtful creatures that ponder the important questions of the universe: What is the meaning of life? What does it mean to be ‘pug’? Why must dinner be served at 5 pm and not 3 pm?”

“Hello?! Are you tuning out? You can’t tell me you’re getting bored already. Well, maybe a new location will inspire you more.”

“Yeah, this looks much better. These leaves are great. Um, hey, Sid…over here…No, that’s not Timothy Buttons, it’s a squirrel. Look at the camera, buddy.”

“Okay, that’s a little better. You’re just a tad too aloof, though. We needing something a little less brooding and more  front-page-of-cuteoverload.com, follow?”

“Now you’re on the trolley! The head tilt is definitely a keeper. Can you give me just a little more variety to work with…”

“BOOYAH! That’s the stuff. No one can resist a back-and-forth head tilt. If we turn those two photos into an animated gif, we might have the next internet meme on our hands. Let’s just try to ease it back a little bit, though, I mean, technically you’re like a 42-year old man and I don’t want your head popping off its axis.”

“PERFECT-O! Way to go, man. Here’s to another job well done. There is a fully-loaded kong treat bone waiting at home with your name on it.”

So how do you guys like the new fall masthead?