Pug-A-Day

Giggs is the September 27th pug on Roy and Gwen’s Pug-A-Day website!

Click HERE to go vote for Giggs!

My New Winter Coat (The Second)

The second? you ask. Well let me tell you why…

I was eyeing this winter coat in a shop window beside our second favorite coffee shop for a while, so we bought it. I always wait way too late each year to get a coat and then I can never find anything I really truly like because everything good is gone! I brought it home, and since it not near cold enough to wear, I laid it on the window bench in our bedroom. Keep in mind, it had never been worn and the tags were still attached.

On Sunday, Tony’s out-of-town cousins came to stay for the night, so we BBQ-ed and drank LOTS of wine. (No, I didn’t spill wine on it.) They brought their very large dog, Charlie, who is a sweetie and got along fairly well with Giggs. Trouble is, a townhouse is way too small for a pug and a 100lb dog to play chase in. (No, the dogs didn’t knock wine onto it.)

In order to prevent the destruction of our home, the dogs had to do a separation tag-team visiting program, where one dog would be downstairs for a bit, and the other dog would be upstairs in a bedroom for a bit, then we’d switch. Charlie was marvelous, no problems there. Giggs, on the other hand does not like to be isolated and only gets shut up when he’s in time out, and it’s usually in our smallest bathroom where the least damage can occur. I thought that since he was being put away for more than five minutes at a time, the bathroom would be cruel. So we put Giggs upstairs in our bedroom where he has his bed, a water dish, and several toys. I also threw in a bullystick for good measure. There, back to merry-making!

I’m not sure when the incident occurred since he was in the bedroom for about three ’shifts’, but at the end of the night, just before bed, I noticed something horribly wrong. (Giggs was fine although he had a close brush with death…) Giggs had pulled everything off the window bench and PEED ON MY NEW COAT!!!!!! (Cue freak-out and death threats on Giggs’ life.)

I’m pretty choked, I’ve had lots to drink, so I decide to fix the problem. I’m going to wash it right away! I check the wash instructions, spray it, and throw it in the washer on delicate (as per the instructions on the tag) and I set the water temperature to cold. Then I went to bed.

Next morning, I haul the coat out of the washer and hang it to dry when I notice…

IT SHRUNK!!!

It is now a child-sized coat and I never even had the chance to wear it! The lining is all bunchy because the outer part shrunk so much! I was mad at Giggs and mad at myself for even attempting to wash it rather than take it to the cleaners the next day and let them deal with it. The tag should have said ‘dry clean only’ as far as I’m concerned, so I’m taking it up with the company. (I’ll leave the wine part out -wine and laundry don’t mix -and the fact that Giggs peed on it.)

In the meantime, Tony took me to get another one to cheer me up, and before they all sell out. That’s why it’s ‘the second’. I hope I can get reimbursed, or at least a credit, for the first one.

By the way, Giggs wasn’t in the doghouse for very long. How can I stay mad at this face?

Tony’s Birthday! (Belated)

…and other random stuff I haven’t posted about yet.

Last Friday (Sept. 14) was Tony’s birthday! We went out for dinner with a group of friends and family, then headed back to our place for drinks and birthday cake. I don’t have any pictures to share (I will tell you the reason for that in a bit) but I managed to get a couple off Tony’s brother Steve.

Tony’s brother Jim, Tony, Me
We got the back room at the restaurant
since we had almost 20 people.

The birthday boy with his cupcake cake!
It’s shaped and decorated like a soccer ball out of 24 cupcakes.
You can try and find out how old he is by counting the candles lol!

This is the gift I got for Tony.
It’s a silver money clip I ordered from Tiffany’s.
It came gift-wrapped in the little blue box with white bow, so pretty!

The party lasted at our place until almost 3am! Tony had a really good time and it was a special treat that his brother Jim was here because he lives about 12 hours drive north of us.

I, however, did NOT have a good time! I had to leave the restaurant early and spent the rest of the night upstairs on the couch watching my Sex and the City DVDs. Why would I miss the party? It turns out, I’ve been having problems with my gall bladder and I was having a gall stone attack or whatever they call it. That means SEVERE abdominal cramping from about 7pm to after 3am! It sucked! It happened a few times the weekend prior to this (really bad on the Sunday) so I saw the doctor on the Monday who told me it was probably a virus and prescribed me some pain meds which, I didn’t bother to get since it went away.

When I got the same thing again a few days later, I was thinking bullshit this is a virus! It came on an hour after eating a fatty burger and fries. I should have gone in to the emergency room, but it was Tony’s birthday and I didn’t want to ruin his fun time, so I sucked it up.

I saw a holistic practitioner yesterday and she confirmed it is my gall bladder (the duct is completely blocked!) and she’s got me on a program to clean it up. I’ll let you know how I am at the end of a month’s time. Meanwhile, I’ve been avoiding fatty foods like the plague, but that’s probably a blessing. I’ve been ok since Friday, but my abdomen is still very sensitive to the touch although the cramping hasn’t come back.

This also explains why I’ve been feeling so lethargic lately. I’ve had very little energy and I’m tired a lot, most likely because my digestive system is totally whack right now!

Don’t worry, I didn’t spend the party by myself. My good friends Sharley and Lindsay kept me company on the couch (and Giggs too!) and Tony checked in all the time to see how I was doing.

A Little Tip For Ya…

When being crafty, a little research goes a long way to save time, money and frustration. Be sure to research BEFORE you start NOT in the middle of the project, after you’ve bought all the wrong stuff and are wondering why nothing is working as planned.

‘Pay it Forward’ gifts are coming… eventually…

Pug Zits & Other Concerns

Giggs has been getting puggy pimples quite often recently but not in the usual places. He’s had the odd one on his lip/snout area before and I’m told that can happen, but lately he’s been getting them around his eyes. He had one on his right eye that went away pretty quickly, then he got two on his left eye, one on the upper lid and one on the lower. They’re now almost gone too and none of them seemed to bother him.

The thing is, I also just noticed a couple under his chin that are quite large. I can’t tell if they’re pug zits or reddish moles since he’s not that cooperative at getting checked out.

We haven’t changed his hygiene routine, he’s still getting bathed every couple weeks and still has his regular ear and wrinkle cleaning. He also eats out of stainless steel dishes. When I bath him, I don’t really shampoo his face, maybe that’s why?

Since this is a paranoid about Giggs’ health post, I’ll add another recent concern. I noticed his left pupil is smaller and a different shape than his right one (I can tell when it’s sunny out). Both pupils are reactive to light and when they’re wide open they’re the same size and shape. The difference only appears when they’re constricted. Should I be concerned? I’m emailing my breeder to see if she’s ever seen this before. Let me know your thoughts about the eye pupil and the pug zits.