OH Frank! What's that you say? You are eager to celebrate Christmas with your new friends Ginger Man and Snow Man?

Actually, these are not new friends, they are, in fact, friends from last year that I thought to pack up; low and behold Frank thought that they were brand new this year. In celebration of Frank's Christmas friends I believe it is time to introduce you to his two very best year round friends. Below you will find a picture of Gentle Pig and a picture of Snack, a tiny fawn pugette, and the love of Frank's life:

Gentle Pig was Frank's first toy and every night before bed, or if he is feeling upset, he carries Gentle Pig around in his mouth. When he finally does lay down he gives Gentle Pig a tongue bath before drifting off to sleep. Frank's dad gets extremely upset when there is a wet dirty pig near us. I can't really blame him. Gentle Pig gets many baths in the washing machine, however because of this his internal oinker was destroyed. Now Frank has a mute gentle pig, which is actually quite nice for us humans in the household.

Snackler lives at the top of the hill on which we live at the bottom, however, as you can see above she is maybe the cutest thing ever and she and Frank really do deserve a separate post on their adventures - it is soon to come.

Oh, a wee bask in the sunshine...

And finally, a parting picture of Frank with some tense lips. I don't know why I find it so fascinating when he intensely watches my food and his lips get tense, but here you have it:

How Delightful

Oh yes, Frank does enjoy the Christmas season. There are usually a lot of people around, which Frank loves, and those same people are frequently eating rather large portions of food which they can't quite finish. Frank likes this even better. Below is the festive scene that greets the evening pedestrians as they stroll by our home:Oh Frank, you are such and intimidating figure all aglow.

One thing that Frank does not enjoy about the Holidays is the cold weather that frequently accompanies them. Occasionally the little guy feels a wee bit of trepidation about heading out for a walk. When this happens I simply say, "Shall we go to the coffee shop," at which point Frank runs and waits by the door, rain or shine. As you may have guessed, the coffee shop features a fine collection of friendly baristas who are very generous with their large tub of doggie biscuits. Mmm. Delicious. Here we see Frank eagerly waiting at what he thinks is the take out window -
it is actually a rather small gap between the counter and the muffins l into which he frequently thrusts his head, which in turn frequently gets stuck. This is where the treats come from, and the way that the pug runs down the hill to get one you would think that not only he was he not fed his breakfast less than an hour ago, but perhaps that he had been starving for the better part of a year.

Frank is very good at being focused when there is food involved.
Also featured in the above photo is another handy tool which has increased Frank's enjoyment of a chilly morning walk. It is his new waterproof down jacket! We love it! A Christmas gift from the beautiful Bianca Cree, who is the cat of Frank's dad's business partner and his lovely wife! But wait, there is more:

That's right! The jacket also features a waterproof hoodie! Now, you may think that a pug would not enjoy a hood, but it is actually quite the opposite in the case of Frank. Where as he would not previously set foot outside in the rain, with the hoodie keeping his head dry he seems doesn't even notice that it is wet out! Thank you Crees!

SNOWDAY!

Is there anything more exciting than a snow day?

Frank and I were enjoying some quality time together this weekend when all of a sudden I noticed that he was quite transfixed looking out the window.
OH my! What could that be?

Even though we live in a place where it rarely, if ever, snows, Frank has actually seen snow before. His grandparents live in Colorado and Frank spent his first Christmas there. It seems he has forgotten. Or maybe he actually never saw the snow since the blind bulgy eye and his cataract had not yet been removed...


The first thing to do, of course, was to examine the snow to see if it was at all tasty.


Hmm. Not so much.


It was then time to suit Frank up and head out to explore.






Why Frank! You are looking rather startled. Frank spent quite a moment being disconcerted
then, once he regained his pugly composure,
immediately headed for the one patch of dry ground in our yard:

Where's Frank?


Fortunately it was at this time that our neighbor came outside with Frank's friend Jake who was SO enthused about the snow that he flopped down and made doggie snow angels all over our yard.







Frank did not join in.













OH Frank, you are such a tough outdoorsy canine!














Hmm, or maybe not.

Sad Thanksgiving News...

Oh, hey. Hey,what's that you have there. Hmm, let me have a closer look...














Yes, let's see, maybe if I could just get my tongue in there I could have a little taste,














mmm... eggnog....

Well, I am sad to report that many of Frank's Thanksgiving pictures are not to be found. This may have to do with the fact that the camera, missing if you will recall for the last week, was in a place with quite a lot of children, so there were many pictures of little feet, but less of Frank. However, some have survived so allow me to present just a few highlights!

This is why Frank was especially pleased over the holiday:

his rule of thumb, the more the merrier. Frank's dad and I are currently in a smallish one bedroom, though it does have a yard that Frank rather enjoys, so the imminent arrival of his aunt required the purchasing of an aerobed. If only the picture of Frank standing on it while it was being inflated was not lost - please use your imagination here -. Frank was delighted to find that there was another bed to which he had access and as a token of his appreciation you can see that he left his new turkey toy (red and yellow tail sticking up) for our guests to enjoy. The turkey was quite slobbery and spent a lot of time gobbling as it seems to have short circuited a bit. Perhaps from the slobber.

Also pleasing to Frank was the addition of a new lap on which to lie down:

Here we see Frank enjoying the lap of Ben as Ben enjoys a glass of our favorite Mcrea wine, provided by Frank's grandfather to ensure that fun was had by all. Nothing pleases Frank more than when everyone is home enjoying some wine with him.

Well, we will make sure that there are more pictures for Christmas.
Oh Frank, you do enjoy a holiday.

OH sad news....

Well, it has been a very long time since the last Frank post. This is due in part to the fact that it was a very busy Thanksgiving weekend. Frank's favorite (and only) aunt decided at the last minute to come up from San Francisco with Frank's new favorite friend Ben. There were pictures taken, but sadly, bad mom that I am, I misplaced the camera and will not have it back until Friday.... in the meantime over the next couple of days, when blogger will again allow me to upload photos please check back as we will be highlighting some of Frank's very favorite things...

A Happy Saturday

This morning, though it was threatening to rain, I decided that since Frank's dad was out of town we would spend a fun filled day together. So, after the purchase of a delicious egg-nog latte (sounds terrible, but if you have them put in 1/3 of the usual nog and more milk it is actually quite tasty and delicious - Frank agrees as he always gets a little lick when it blurbs out of the top) off we went to our favorite dog park.

The beginning of the park trip was rather exciting as Frank found a little black french bulldog and a 4 month old terrier of some kind to romp around with - however it was raining and so I have no pictures. Quite sad.
Once the rain let up Frank decided it was time to tuck his tail and scoot. This means that Frank tucks into a little ball and runs around helter skelter.

Sadly, I am not much of a photographer, but if you look hard for the little black dot going straight for the large puddle, that would be Frank.

Here he comes!


And, there he goes....

You know, some nosy lady once told me that pugs don't like to run? Frank and I do not enjoy a busy body.

After the dog park it was off to PetCo to pick up some food. While we were there it was important investigate some options for the upcoming Holidays.

We started off with a few stripes, but Frank, as you can see by his expression, was not pleased. I believe he felt, as we all do, that horizontal stripes are never a good idea. Especially around the holidays.
How about a reindeer?OH Frank, look at how those horns bring out your eye! No? Ok well lets try one more...


OH my! I do believe we've found a winner!

Frank was not amused.
Since I don't actually like to torture Frank we left the elf hat in the store and proceeded home with a candy cane treat and a red collar (so that Frank will match the colors of his dad's new business!)

Mmm - delicious. (Actually it was quite gross and Frank gave up on it a few minutes later as the red part crumbled away. Ick.)

After such a strenuous day Frank retired to his car seat, which has somehow ended up in the house where he enjoys it far more than when it is in the car, for a bit of a snooze...

Oh my.

Welcome!

Welcome to the world baby Dylan!!!!

Some of Frank's VERY favorite friends in the world M and C - M was Frank's dresser at the wedding making sure that his bow tie was straight; C, on the other hand, was the official pug wrangler for the ceremony - have just delivered the cutest baby (um, human baby) EVER.

Frank wished to offer this advice to the wee one: If ever you want anything really really badly, you should scrunch up your face so that there are a lot of wrinkles, close one eye, and then stare at the person from who you want your desired treat very intensely with your open eye (open it as wide as you can, this helps) as if only the cruelest person in the WORLD would be so mean as to deny you all of your hearts desires.

It is quite effective.

Oh and he also wished to say that can't wait until you are old enough to pull on his tail, and that he is sorry for stepping on you so many times in your mom's belly....

Fall Fashion

This morning, as we were getting ready to go for our walk, Frank subtly let me know that he was displeased with the temperature outside. This is what we call the "hunker down and glare":

The HDG (for short) shows up frequently when it is raining and we want to go for a walk, when it is windy and we want to go for a walk, when it is cold and we want to go for a walk, and when it looks as though Frank's dad and I might be heading off somewhere without him (for even if it is cold/rainy/windy and Frank doesn't want to go out - clearly we should be staying home with him).

I have learned that if I get Frank out the door and down half the block he is usually rather glad to be out and about. However, since he is a pug and therefore has some body temperature regulation issues (they can't warm up or cool down very well due to their short noses - I know, another terrific question on the long list of How Did This Dog Overcome Natural Selection?) it was necessary, I felt, to purchase Frank a doggie coat. He was not so fond of it our first year here because it was a little big and it covered his tail which is how we learned that Frank will absolutely not move if his tail is at all inhibited. Here Frank models this years first appearance of his favorite Canine outerwear:


Oh Frank, how toasty and warm you look!

And, just in case you are still pondering Natural Selection question above, allow me to help.... now who, I ask, could turn this away?


Yep. Being cute certainly has paid off for the pug....

A Face Only a Mother (and Father!) could love...

The puppy pictures have been found!
I do realize that this picture of Frank is a bit blurry, but look at how little he is! How could anyone resist taking home such a cute little pup ?


Pictured here, of course, is Frank with his first Halloween treat - it is in fact a dog cookie, however all he could do was lick the frosting because he was so little. Probably best.

Oh my! You may be asking why anyone would consider such a charming, handsome little dude a bit of a rescue at all!

Allow me to illustrate:

Oh my....

No, pictured above is not a cartoon character from the latest animated alien series, though it would be a charming one... Oh Frank, how could anyone be so mean and not take care of you? How in the world could a person let a puppy get to this state? Though I have to admit, I am a sucker for the underdog....

Allow me to share with you the list from Franks first vet visit:

Obviously - loss of vision and who knows what else in right eye from improper care and infection of a puncture - please see specialist - 2 eyedrops 3x a day in the meantime

Suspicion of a cataract (later confirmed) in left eye - please see specialist

Ear infection both ears - cleaner and ointment every day

Infection on bottom of right foot - clean and ointment 2x a day

Medication for parasite coxcidia (SP) - 2x a day

Medicated shampoo for dandruff/bacteria - bath every 3 days.

Oh Frank. The vets didn't think you were going to make it...

It seems to me that you have pulled through like a champ and now have a very rough life indeed.

A Public Service Announcement

Frank! What have we told you about cigars?
They are bed for you and will cause premature wrinkling! Do you want to look all wrinkled up when you go in the sunshine?

Hmm. Well maybe wrinkles do look better on some.....

What's That You Say?

What's that you say? We're going to the dog park?
Where I can stroll about in the grass,

swallow a bug then wish I hadn't,

hunt for blackberries,

and generally appear inquisitive.....?

Let's go!!!!!!

Frank's Special Day

This past June was a very important month for Frank. Several weeks of it were spent at his "vacation home" in Colorado. Frank thinks that his vacation home, actually the charming Victorian abode of his grandparents, is a mansion due to the fact that he lives in a one bedroom duplex here with us. The reason for this visit was in fact our wedding. Very exciting for a pug; a lot of food and a lot of people. Here is a picture diary of Frank's day at the wedding (which was held at his vacation home).

Frank was rather please to find that a lot of cooking goes on around a wedding. In fact, he rarely left the kitchen, especially if the oven was on. Here he is pictured warming up as he valiantly guards some baking beans.

Next it was time to get dressed. Here, with the help of Gentle Pig and his own personal dresser Madeleine (whose purple dress is barely visible - she is in fact a professional dresser at the Opera and was quite fortunately on hand, as Frank and I both required someone to constantly straighten our bows and to generally keep us in line - Thanks Madeleine!) Frank adorns his white bow tie collar...

OH Frank! You are so handsome in your nice straight bow tie! And how thoughtful of you to greet the guests and make sure that no appetizers fall and dirty up the floor!

Naturally Frank had to join us for our first picture as a married couple....

Then Frank helped make sure that nothing spilled behind the bar,



or under any tables,





or off of any plates

Finally, Frank helped us take our first bite of cake...

Oh Frank, you look so peaceful and serene in your aunt's arms.

But wait! Suddenly a piece of cake is dropped - please note the look of sheer and utter terror that crosses Frank's face as he realizes that he might miss it...

Oh Frank, what a big day!