Summer Philanthropy

Helping those in need should be an important part of every pugs life. In the case of Frank and Bean, those in need refers to any canine or feline who is not currently in possession of a warm cover underneath which they may be spooned by their favorite human before waking up to be fed, walked, and presented with a choice of 30 or so toys from which to choose.
Keeping this in mind, a few rainy Saturdays ago we headed out for the furry 5K, a delightful race to benefit the Animal Shelter (and co-directed VERY admirably by Snackler's mother).

And don't these racers look handsome in their sporty kerchiefs?!

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, it must be said that Frank, Bean, and I did not actually run the race. Shortly after this picture was taken it began to POUR and, being that pugs are less than savvy water dogs, I am sad to say that we headed back to the car and home for a nap.

HOWEVER, the donation was made and I do hope that some pugly support was shown!

Summer Treats!

What would the summer be without the delicious flavor of corn on the cob?
Not wanting to rob the pugs of any of life's pleasant experiences, we felt that it only fair to give them a lick or so....

Oh boys, look at those 3 wide eyes!

Frank, of course, began with his token handsome and debonair lick.
Bean did not.

Bean! Must you jump right in and shove everyone else aside? Such manners!

Now, as anyone will recognize, along with the enjoyment of corn on the cob comes the not so delightful task of removing leftover corn bits from one's teeth. Oral hygiene is of course very important, and pugs are no exception!

Therefore, post corn, we proceeded to gather our dental pug care supplies.

1 small children's toothbrush,

and some Petorodex Enzymatic Toothpaste. (Poultry flavored! Yum, yum!)

First the boys have a little lick to see what sort of tasty treat is coming their way,

(Bean is especially enthusiastic about this part)

followed by a wee examination of the toothbrush by Frank,

and we are off!

Bean, who enjoys having pretty much everything in his mouth, seems convinced that toothbrush time is just another one of life's delights....

...or...maybe his is just very confused....


(Oh Bean. Sometimes your little brain works so hard to figure out what is going on.)

Frank, on the other hand, finds the whole process rather less than dignified and is NOT, it must be said, the ideal patient...

(and yes, that is the side with the eye squeezed SOOOOO tightly closed against the indignity and torture.)

Good oral hygiene! The key to a pug's happy and healthy dental summer!

The importance of stretching....

As we all know, along with the sunshine, the summer brings a wealth of athletic outdoor activities. As with any extended and expanded exercise regime, it is most important to keep the muscles limber and stretched out.

In anticipation of a day full of summer activities, Frank takes his muscular health very seriously and enjoys stretching many of his handsome muscle groups.

The morning often begins with a vigorous tongue stretch,

followed quickly by an extension of the left hamstring (done in the sunshine only)...

Next, in a remarkable feat of multitasking during nap time, a stretch of the abdominals...

t

the quads,

and of course, not to be forgotten...

...the ears.
Oh Frank! You are so physically aware!

Bean, in the mean time, spends copious amounts of time stretching what he believes to be his greatest asset...

Yes Bean, your eyeballs are indeed very big.

Hot Dog!

Summer has arrived in the Pacific Northwest! Finally... and with it, two very hot pugs AND the delightful announcement of "The Summer Activities of Frank (and Bean, the sidekick who is rapidly trying to take over the house and the blog, we will not allow this to happen of course.)"

How exciting! A new blog post every Monday AND Friday guaranteed all the way through, well I don't know for how long, but at least through the end of August!

Our first day of real warm weather began quite serenely...

Oh Frank! You look like a model from GQ!

And Bean! So well behaved you are, peacefully chewing on an appropriate toy!

Such relaxed and debonair fellows indeed!

I am sad to say that relaxed and debonair did not last. Below I shall feature some looks from 2 hours later, which readers will be seeing a lot of if our heat wave continues:

Oh Frank. He can't quite seem to get his tongue out all the way...

And, not to be forgotten or outdone:

Bean.
Oh Bean, I'm afraid this photo does not help to dispel the rumors that you are a bit of a nutter.

Welcome to summer!

Greybeard and Redbeard

As Frank approaches his fifth birthday, he has started to take on more than a grey hair or two...

Oh Frank! What a distinguished older gentleman you have become!
Though Frank does look quite debonair, I would be lying if I said that the appearance of anything aging my handsome pug does less than seize me with panic.

And on the other end of the age spectrum... Bean ate something bad. Bad and plastic. The result being that we climbed into the bathtub and I shot a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide down his throat in an attempt to bring said plastic thing back up. Or so I thought. Turns out, most of it went under his neck causing a rather trashy red dye job...

Bean. Little Bean. Please stop with the indiscriminate ingestion....

But What Do You MEAN???

I'm not invited?

Oh, such forlornness...

Frank was rather displeased when he saw the suitcase come out without the accompaniment of this travel house. Bean is of course too young to know what this means. Frank's dad and I are off for a week in lake country in Minnesota! To be quite fair, the pugs were in fact invited by the grandparents Herriott, but the resort was not as inviting. Very sad. Who doesn't feel that their vacation would be enhanced by the appearance of one very handsome and one very mischievous pug? Surely I cannot imagine anyone feeling otherwise!

So, this was the scene for about an hour:

Stoic ignoring, with a guilty look thrown in every 5 minutes or so.
Fear not Frank, you and Bean will be well cared for in our absence by the delightful pug sitter, and we will be home before you know it!

Road Trip

Having decided that if we waited to go on an adventure until the sun came out we would never go, the pugs and I loaded up the car in order to go and investigate a new park that we had heard about.

Here we see the pugs happily settled, or so I had hoped, in their rather new, rather expensive car seat (to which their harnesses attach so as to hold them in should an accident occur). Apologies for the glare...

It turns out that they were not settled at all. Here are my views from the drive:

View #1

Bean trying to get out of the car seat into my lap.

View #2

Frank trying to get out of the car seat and into my lap.

Now, if you rotate View #1 and View #2 about 13 times, plus add in some growling, nipping, and whining, you will be able to mentally experience the 30 minute ride to the trail head...

We walked about 5 minutes in, Frank avoiding the puddles, Bean going right through them, until 2 things happened. First, we ran into a notice that an "unidentified male" had been exposing himself along the trail. Second, and sadly, my camera died so that I could not take a picture of the notice. Needless to say, fearsome as my companions were, we turned about.

I would venture to say that Frank was rather disappointed by the whole excursion and spent the rest of the afternoon here...

alternately glaring at me and ignoring me, I believe as a result of forcing upon him the indignity of having to share a car seat for 30 minutes for a paltry 5 minute walk.

Bean was displeased for other reasons...

Oh Bean! Frank will tell you that this is what happens when you don't avoid the puddles! And yes, he did stand like that for the whole bath - perhaps he should audition for Cirque du Soliel! Very fancy indeed! Oh Frank, what a talented and traumatized brother you have!

Things that make Frank SAD:

The fact that it is still raining out:

(Oh, but look at how safe and reflective! Very important indeed for a black pug!)

Things that I make Frank happy:

not having to wear his old puppy raincoat which, obviously, does not quite fit The Bean anymore either:

Oh but never the less, what a safe and dry pair you will be!

Cookie Sharks

It must be said that as of late I have been a rather absent pug mother, at least more absent than I would prefer to be, therefore it was with great delight a couple of days ago when the pugs realized that I had the day off. It was with even MORE delight that they discovered that amongst the roster of activities for the day was cookie baking.
Oh Frank! Who doesn't enjoy a ginger snap?

Seeing as how my baking skills are minimal at best, I tend to be a less than savvy kitchen user. This frequently results in quite a of lot dropped dough resulting from poorly managed counter space.

Here we see the scene from human level...

and, prowling about below....

Yup. A scene that would strike fear in the heart of even the bravest bit of snapper dough.



Oh Frank! Look at all of that hope shining in your eye! (Bean could not be convinced to glance upwards for even a second. It is my belief, as he is not the sharpest tool in the shed, that he believes that the treats actually spring UP from the floor.)

Very diligent indeed. And, of course, in the end it is quite important to thank your cleaning crew with a just reward...

Spring Has Sprung!

Guess what that means!
It is time for Frank to rise and shine! And doesn't he look eager!

Oh Frank! What do you mean that you would rather stay in bed? It is time to come out of hibernation and to share your springtime adventures!

Hmm... as you can see, we have a little work to in order to convince Frank that the sun MAY actually stay out for longer than 5 minutes.

Fear not however! Hibernation has ended!

Welcome back Frank!!!