A Surprise Visitor!

Well, I am pleased to announce that we had a surprise visitor today, the sunshine!

I did not start off the day as a very gracious host to our guest, rather I began working at my desk. However, after getting up for a final cup of coffee, I returned to my seat to find this...

Oh Frank! Whoever knew that a pug could glare so ferociously with only one eye?

I took this as a not so subtle sign that it might be time for an outdoor adventure.

We decided to try a new dog park that we had been hearing about, but were quite sad to find on arrival that most of it was closed off for construction. (Note the fence below... sad.)

Frank frolicked about, however, as best he could, and seemed to enjoy his time regardless of the restrictions when SUDDELNLY! we came upon the highlight of the day! You may recall that Frank is RATHER fond of drinking out of human drinking fountains (or bubblers as his Grandma Railey calls them), which is fortuitous as he will not drink out of a shared dog water bowl..(you may recall this picture from the summer with cousin Gusaroo):

Well! We discovered at this doggie park a pug sized bubbler!

Oh Frank! What's happening? You seem a bit confounded!

(Frank was a wee bit confused as he is usually held when presented with a bubbler, and he did manage to get squirted in the nose a time or two while trying to negotiate the distance to the spouting water with his rather limited depth perception)


Of course being a very clever pug he eventually figured it out and was quite delighted with his new favorite method of hydration!

Oh Frank! How refreshing indeed!

Fall Arrives

Oh my. It seems that someone is rather less than enthusiastic about getting out of bed.

Frank has been rather dismayed the last several days due to the fact that fall, and with it the rain, has most decidedly arrived. Normally he is MOST eager to get out of bed for breakfast and a walk to the biscuit dispensing coffee shop. Not so on this morning!

However! Always one to look for a positive lining to a rainy cloud, Frank was RATHER pleased to discover that along with the fall and its gloomy weather came the delightful benefit of tasty Autumn Seasonal Brews!

Oh yes, Frank does enjoy a delicious lick of beer! Perhaps you would like to share with me the dulcet tone of Frank's tongue as it shlurps a drop or two from the bottom of the bottle...

(and yes, I do promise that it was only after it was quite empty - I do not advocate the giving of anymore that a tastearoo of beer to a pup...).

Some VERY handsome pictures of Frank!

Oh my! Well, I am pleased to announce that the delightful Jamie Pflughoeft of Cowbelly Pet Photography has posted some pictures from Frank's big day on her blog!

Oh Frank! Who ever knew that with a real, amazing photographer you would look even MORE handsome!

There are also some pictures of Frank on the bike, though I am sad to say that it was his first foray in the pack and so we did not put the helmet on (it is not good to introduce too many things at once!).

Walter, who I am sure you will agree is also QUITE handsome, and Diza, who it must be said gave Snackler quite a run for her money as Frank's favorite Pugette, are also featured in some most flattering shots of them in all of their pugliness!

Please enjoy a visit here to see Frank's pictures:

http://www.cowbellyblog.com

and check out Jamie's other delightful pet photos!


Oh, and just so no one is sad because there are no pictures included here today, you might want to know that Frank's father has been a little jealous of how handsome Frank looks in his new helmet, and so went out and got one of his own...

Frank, as you can see, is not SO very impressed.
OH Frank! It is important not to be too judgemental! Not everyone can be as handsome as you are!

Frank's Big Outing!

Oh Frank! Look at what has arrived in the mail! It is the backpack to accompany your delightful bike helmet! No longer will you have to be left behind when I pedal around town! And WHAT a handsome pug you are in blue!

Frank's first foray in his new backpack was down to a park where, much to Frank's delight, he was one of several pug subjects invited to model for a photography seminar.

As you can see, Frank was quite a willing and eager subject. He does enjoy a bit of attention

OH Frank! Look at what a HANDSOME model you are!

Here we see Frank and two of the other MOST enjoyable pug models, Max, and a very lovely silver puggette whose name, I am sorry to say, that I do not know how to spell, so we will have to call her D. Frank was rather smitten with D, but that did not keep him from being front and center when a treat was at hand. Oh Frank, is that anyway for a gentleman to behave?

After this very full day (and I am sorry to say that I do not have a photo of Frank on the bike, but fear not, it will come soon) we rode home where a very tired pug immediately had to catch up on his beauty sleep.

Oh Frank. Being handsome certainly is hard work.

Safety First!

With gas prices up the wazoo I am pleased to say that for my birthday this year I was the pleased recipient of a delightful commuter bike. I love it and would ride it everywhere save for one thing - there is no passenger seat for small pugs. Frank hates the bike. Knowing that he does not get to come along, whenever I get it out he hunkers down, straightens his tale, and does a very good job of looking quite neglected indeed.

Oh Frank! Whatever is a pug to do?
Well! Allow me to present the first in a series of clues as to how Frank will be able to enjoy my new commuter bike with me...

That's right Frank! Safety first, no one wants a small furry pug to injure their handsome little noggin!

Frank's New New Friend

Oh Frank! Who is that handsome new friend you have there?

The other day when I was in the pet store purchasing some chewies for Frank, I was somehow convinced by the very nice staff that Frank needed a new friend. I had not yet gotten him a birthday present, so here we have Franks new interactive pig:

Interactive? What does that mean? Well, in this case it means that Frank joyfully gets to rip each and every Velcro attached limb from poor little Interactive Pig's body.

Now Frank, of course, wanted to forcefully shake the bujeezers out of Interactive Pig (as any respectable canine would) in order to speedily detach all of his limbs. This is not allowed. Heavy shaking could detach Frank's remaining retina causing him to go blind, and I think we can safely say that no one wants to see that occur.

The next acceptable method was to help Frank as he tugged away at each body part, however I am proud to say that Frank has since learned that if he stands on the head or leg and yanks the body, the limb quickly rips right off!

Oh Frank! What a clever pug.

Here we see Interactive Pig after an "interactive" play session.

Quite savage indeed.

Sailing the High Seas!

OH Frank! Where ever have you been? Sailing the high seas you say?

You are looking rather dubious there sitting on the pier with your life jacket on.

Perhaps that is because this is supposed to be a sunny summer day, and instead it rather looks like rain as it has, it must be pointed out, for the last 3 weeks. Frank does NOT enjoy when there is no summer AT ALL!

However, never one to let a cloud get him down, Frank dutifully strapped on his life vest and eagerly jumped in the car to see what adventures might come.

Oh Frank. That is not at all the stance of a hearty water dog....

I would like to point out that having a pug in your lap does NOT make for easy paddling. Therefore, Frank's Godmother and I took turns pulling the load. I would also like to point out that Frank's Godmother and I are about as hearty in the outdoors as Frank. Needless to say we did not make it too far out of the marina...

However! Frank did get a little more bold and at least ventured off of my lap.

(Here we see him hoping that an oyster cracker might float by.)

Then it was his turn to go and sit with his Godmother while I did some paddling for the team.

This is how he sat the entire time he was in the front seat.

Oh Frank, no one enjoys a Mama's boy.

Summer Treats

Now who, I would like to ask, doesn't enjoy winding down the summer with one of the season's most delicious treats? Frank certainly does! Of course Frank finds most treats from most seasons delicious, so he might not be considered to have the most discriminating of palates...

This particular treat took a bit of maneuvering...



As you may be able to surmise from that final shot, just after the camera was turned off the wee pug grabbed the whole end of the cob and a rather dramatic tug of war ensued...

Oh Frank! I do not think your veterinarian would approve at all of your having corn stuck between your teeth! Best do a thorough brushing tonight! (Note: Frank does NOT enjoy having his teeth brushed, which we do every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday per the doctor's orders - NO ONE likes going under anesthesia for a teeth cleaning!)

The Dog Days of Summer

Well, we have been having some rather hot weather here these last few days. Frank does not enjoy extremely hot weather. He is a pug, and he is black, which means that he absorbs all of the heat but then does not have much of a snout to help cool him off.

This is how our fine evolutionary creature spends his warm summer days:

Oh Frank! What long grasshoppery legs you have! Note the limp tail. Very sad.

Perhaps, you might be thinking, we should take Frank for a swim to cool him off! Well what an excellent suggestion! Frank does enjoy wading, and on the few occasions that we have taken him out above his little pug head, he is in fact quite a good swimmer and even seems to enjoy paddling along.

Recently we have been invited out on the boat of our Friend and Frank's favorite dog sitter - Osa's Mom (Osa being a very pretty and rambunctious puppy friend of Frank's). Though Frank has done quite well on his short aquatic spurts, Michael Phelps he is not, and so we feel a little concerned about what would happen to the small furry pug were he to misstep (a big concern when you have only one eye and therefore limited depth perception) and fall off the boat.

FEAR NOT!
Thanks to a very generous gift from Osa's mom there is no need to fret about Frank's safety!

OH Frank! What a handsome and safety conscious pug you are!

But wait! There's more! In the event that Frank falls overboard there is a handy dandy handle with which to fish him out!


Oh. Frank. You do not look very pleased at all. But look at how nicely you point your furry little toes - perhaps you have been inspired by the Chinese Synchronized diving team!


You may also want to note that Frank makes quite the dashing figure as today's finest fashion accessory...

Um...

I woke up this morning to find Frank at his window, watching the world go by in a rather less than distinguished stance:

Oh Frank.