Spanky's Wall of Shame

Dog shaming is all the rage now after a Tumblr page started where people could contribute a picture of their dog along with a sign that indicated his crime. I'd been thinking about doing this for Spanky, but honestly, he has so many shameful behaviors that I didn't know which one to pick. So I decided to do his own "Wall of Shame." Now, Spanky wasn't too eager to pose in front of it. I think quite honestly he'd prefer his picture if it were like this:

Too ashamed to show his face

Truly, my little doggy is no worse than any other dog, but some of his bad habits are soooo embarrassing. Like jumping on women and sticking his head right in their crotch. Really!!!  There are some others I didn't even include on here. But despite all his badness, he's a sweet little dog. Thank goodness he has a cute face.

Hang your head in shame, little man!

Pugs: a hairy situation

When I fell in love with the pug breed, I did a lot of research and found out right away that pugs are shedders. No big deal, I thought. I had dealt with cat hair for many years, so I was used to it. Well, to the uninitiated, let me tell you, living with a pug is a little bit like living with Pig-Pen from the Peanuts cartoon. When pugs shake, hair flies. Wherever they sit, a pile of hair is left behind. If you have a fawn pug like Spanky, forget the black clothes. Now, someone once told that black pugs weren't as bad as fawn pugs, but not having had a black pug, I can say whether or not it is true.

My one observation is that the shedding is worse at certain times of the years. This summer has been exceptionally hot here in Colorado. June was our hottest June on record, with five days of 100 plus temps (38 C.) My dark hardwood floors have been accumulating pug hair faster than I can clean it up. I've got a Roomba and that does help, but my experience is  that Roombas don't get everything. So having a Swiffer or other electrostatic type mop is a big help.

But it's not just the floors. Check out this picture of the bottom of my kitchen chairs:

So what's the best way of dealing with pug hair? Probably daily brushing. I'll admit I'm not too good at doing this since pugs are actually quite low maintenance compared to some of the shaggier haired breeds. But one little tool can make a huge difference. When Spanky was a puppy we got a Kong Zoom Groom Brush and it's wonderful for pugs. I  highly recommend it. It can be used on either wet or dry fur. We also give him a monthly shower. That's right. He gets in the shower with my husband and when he's done, we have several handfuls of dog hair on the shower floor. We've been doing this since he was a puppy so he's used to the procedure.

Spanky checks out a pile of hair

Good Bye, sweet Bella

I know Spanky and I have been MIA for much of the last two months but I'm trying to get back in the grove again. As my regular readers know, Spanky's feline brother Bubba passed away two months ago. Spanky and Bubba were good buddies and got along well, so I think Spanky feels a bit of loneliness since Bub's passing. But then more sadness came Spanky's way when our neighbor's pug Bella passed away on June 6 at the age of 13. She was the epitome of a good pug -- friendly, snorty, non-aggressive, and just a sweet gal all around. She was our inspiration in getting a pug, as we fell in love with her when we moved to our current home five years ago. I wish and dream of having a pug as good-natured as she was. Don't get me wrong. We love Spanky dearly but Bella's personality was second to none. Spanky's a little psycho at times and tends to be skittish around strangers, a total opposite of Bella who greeted everyone like they were lifelong friends. She will be missed!

Sniff, sniff, sniff went the pug

Today I just wanted to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of my favorite time of year here in Colorado -- late spring, early summer. I hesitate to call it a season because seasons here aren't really distinct, other than winter. Most people associate Colorado with snow due to the Rocky Mountains. But after living here five years, I can tell you than the actual number of days we have snow on the ground is very little, as we get abundant sunshine and the snow in the Front Range (east of the Rockies) melts very quickly. For me, winter here is more of a "dead season." Everything is brown and since we have relatively few evergreen trees, unlike my native Oregon, it's pretty dismal looking. My husband loves the sun, but I love the green. But I guess you can't have a lot of green without a lot of rain and otherwise gloomy days.

Despite the sun, it is pretty cold for most of the winter and I have few annual flowers that come back every year. As a result, every year in late May I spend a bundle of money on planting new flowers in my flower pots. I only have one tiny section in the yard to plant flowers, as our soil is basically clay and the previous owners mostly landscaped with rocks (which, not surprisingly, are very popular in Colorado.)  I wish I could start planting sooner, but the golden rule here is to not plant before Mother's Day. Although we dodged the bullet this year, it's not at all unusual to get snow in late April or early May. Bulb flowers such as daffodils hold up well in the snow, but others may not fare so well.

Is that a flower I smell??

But getting back on the topic of pugs -- Spanky does love to sniff flowers. In fact he'll sniff and smell just about anything. It's particularly funny to hear a pug sniff. Because of their short snout, you can really hear them sniffing, more so than most other dogs. It really sounds like they're enjoying it.  Today he was particularly enraptured with my flower pots. And as the first day of summer break for my kids was a cloudy one (once again, reminding me of Oregon, where summer vacation always seemed to start on a rainy day) it made for some great pictures. Enjoy!

Life after Bubba . . . the new and improved Larry

Whenever any of my pets have died, I feel like I have been kicked in the stomach. It doesn’t get any easier, and whether they die at home or are euthanized, the feeling of not having done enough for them is still there. Last time we had a cat die (euthanized) I went out and adopted 2 cats within a week of his passing. My boys were about 10 and 7 at the time and were heartbroken, and the house felt so empty without a cat. One of those cats was Bubba, who just passed away 3 weeks ago, and the other was Larry.

Now after Bubba’s death we have our pug Spanky and Larry to keep us company. That’s not to say we don’t miss Bub. We do. Terribly. We  still share stories about his unique behavior (He didn’t make a sound when we first got him and we thought he might be deaf. Later on he turned out to be quite the “talker!”)  and how he loved to have massages where we stretched him out on his back. We could feel him vibrate and stretch while we did this.

Needless to say, we wondered how Bubba’s absence would affect Spanky and Larry. When my cat Pilar died, her companion cat Fay Fay (a Chinese name that roughly translates into Fat Cat) seemed depressed and out of it. Our kids were very young and most of our attention was focused on them. Fay Fay never seemed to be quite as happy after her death and become more of a loner. Would the same happen to Larry? He was very attached to Bubba and had little use for the rest of us, especially Spanky.

The first few days after Bubba’s death I hardly saw Larry. But he gradually started to come out. Although he had sat on the couch with Bubba and Spanky, he had been a bit nervous about doing so with  just Spanky. Part of that has to do with Spanky. He clearly was the king of the couch. But after a few attempts (careful not to sit too close to Spanky) Larry found his “spot” on the couch. Spanky seemed fine with it.

A brave Larry climbed onto my lap

 But then something very strange happened. Larry tried to sit on my lap. In the 6 years we had had Larry, he had NEVER approached me to do this. Never. But without his Bubba, Larry was clearly reaching out to us. The first time he tried this, Spanky chased him off. But he tried another time, this time when Spanky was sleepy and too tired to deal with him.

Now every few days he ventures onto my lap. This is not to say Larry has had a complete personality change. He still is much more tense and skittish than Bubba (no full body massages for him.) But he is starting to seek limited human companionship. And with no Bubba to chase and play with at night, he actually is sleeping on our bed again.

It’s a pleasant change and we’re enjoying it. Will we get him a companion kitty? The jury is still out on that. The new Larry is much more pleasant and we sort of like it like that.

Good bye, Bubba

Today Bubba passed away at approximately 3:20 pm Mountain Daylight Time. I was by his side, as was my oldest son who had just got home from school. While it was difficult to witness, I'm glad he did not pass away all alone by himself as my first cat Pilar did.

It has been a difficult week and everyday I woke up shocked to see Bubba still alive.  Two days ago, after a day of barely walking a few steps, he shocked me by walking up a long flight of stairs to our bedroom. It was his last burst of energy before sliding into respiratory failure.


Here are some of my favorite pics of him from the 6.5 years he was with us (he was an adopted cat so we don't know his exact age.)

Bubba Big Eyes

Sitting on top of my car

 

Larry, left, and Bubba on the right

Professor Bub

Hanging out with Spanky when he was a puppy

Bub in a basket

Getting ready to say good-bye

When I started my blog back in January, it was my intention to post at least once a week. Unfortunately sometimes life throws you a curve ball and the best laid plans often go astray. Such was this case for me during April. After a lovely relaxing cruise to the Caribbean, things started to fall apart. We knew our sweet cat Bubba had glaucoma and blood tests also pointed to cancer or possibly kidney disease, but he seemed to be okay, as he continued to eat well, use the litter box, and maintained his weight.  However, within two weeks of returning from vacation, his health took a drastic downward turn.

Sunning himself a few weeks ago

Bubba enjoying the sun in early April

Since the weather has been so nice here, we’d let him get some outdoor time. He liked to venture out to the other side of the yard and sun himself on a rock. Because his vision was so poor, we didn’t really worry about him jumping the fence (he did try, but he realized that he couldn’t do it). But last week we saw that he was having difficulty walking and spending most of his time in our basement. We encouraged him to go outside, but he didn’t really want to.

Sadly, our pug Spanky and the other cat Larry seem to sense that Bubba’s health is failing. I’ve already talked to my kids, and even though they’re teenagers, I know they will be heartbroken. Bubba has a kind gentle soul and was the perfect match for Spanky, as he tolerated his exuberant puppy behavior quite well.

Larry with Bubba late last week

Last week Spanky wanted to play with Bubba

I’ve lost two other cats. One died at home  on April 20, 1999, and the other we euthanized. Neither was an easy experience. I’m hoping Bubba can die peacefully at home, but it’s hard to watch his health deteriorate on a daily basis. He barely eats now and doesn’t even love his canned food. He used to run the moment he heard me crack open the can. But now the food sits uneaten in his food bowl.

We all know his days are numbered. He continues to surprise us, though, with his tenacity. I feel a bit selfish since I know he must not feel well, but I hope he can hang in there a bit longer. My oldest son takes his first ACT test tomorrow, and although he can certainly take it again, I know it will be hard to focus if Bubba passes on before the test.

But if he does, we know he’ll be in a better place. It’s never fun to watch your precious fur baby suffer.

 By the back porch the other day. No more venturing to the other side of the yard