7!

Today, my darling Tallulah and Petunia turn 7. I can't believe it has been 7 years already. It seems like just last week that they came to live with me as squeeful bundles of joy, despite looking grumpy. 

Tallulah and Petunia

Petunia and Tallulah

Through trips to the emergency vet (usually eye problems), thousands of miles on road trips, dozens of outfits and dog beds; through pounds of homemade dog food, hundreds of pills, thousands of dollars in vet bills; through job (and lack of job) stress, personal losses and victories and hours and hours of school work, they have been my joy. They were the reason I got up in the morning when I was unemployed, then when I was incredibly depressed. They are why I rescue and volunteer.

To the dogs who made me fall in love with pugs, you are my heart. 

Tallulah and Petunia

I love you more than words can express. 

May you live many more healthy and happy years with me.

Love, mom

She pugs hard for the money

Today was National Take Your Dog to Work Day. 

Mom decided to take me because 1- I'm a lot calmer than Tallulah and Petunia are and 

2- I'd sleep most of the time. 

No one else brought a dog which was fine by me. 

She put me to work right away! 

Had to take a selfie to put on Twitter.  

Grandma texted and said, "Isabelle looks cute! What happened to you?" Apparently grandma didn't think mom was wearing enough make up. It's casual Friday, for pug's sake!

Mostly, I kept doing laps around mom's desk. 

Got to go outside for a few breaks. There's a park right outside mom's office building with lots of trees and shade.

Mom brought the baby gate and a bed for me. I stayed by the gate because everyone who walked by gave me ear scritches and animal crackers! I really wanted to wander the halls in search of more cookies.

Working is hard! I'm not usually a lap sitter, but this pillow was pretty comfy.

I was pretty wiped out by being so cute at mom's work. 

I came home, ate dinner, then conked out. 

I was a hit! Didn't bark once or potty on the floor. I was a good ambassador for dogs at work. Which is good because if a storm ever knocks out power while mom's at work, we are all going in. That will be a circus!

Mom is super lucky to have a great boss who said it was ok to bring me. Her building is pretty isolated in our neighborhood, and no one had allergies or objected. It worked out great!

Can't wait for next year!

Friday...

Guess who gets to participate in Take Your Dog to Work day? 

Friday, Isabelle gets to go to work with mom. At least the afternoon, as long as she behaves. 

Since we live so close to mom's work, Isabelle will go right home if she needs to. 

Likely, she'll sniff around for a while, enjoy all the attention, then fall asleep. 

Hope to have some pictures Friday!

Sad day for the city of Norfolk

Serious post today. 

Last night, a young man and two Norfolk police officers were shot. The young man and one officer died. There's not much information, except that the shooter apparently was randomly shooting from his car. 

The police officer was the community resource officer for our neighborhood. He came to our monthly meetings, told us what was happening crime-wise in the neighborhood. More than that, he made personal visits to houses to check on security. He would walk around the houses, telling the owners what they could do to improve security like trimming shrubs and shutting curtains to keep thieves from looking in. 

Not everyone in our neighborhood trust the police for all kinds of reasons. For some folks, he was breaking through those walls. He was the kind of man who radiated integrity and genuine concern for people. 

Officer Brian Jones leaves behind a wife and three children. 

He will be mourned in our community. 

The city is a better place because of him and a sadder place without him. 

The lesson I am trying to take from this is that life is unpredictable. Officer Jones was doing his job. The young man was driving home from a graduation party. 

We are not guaranteed anything. 

We aren't entitled to anything. 

All we can do is live a good life.

Be kind to everyone. 

Tell people and pugs you love them. 

Use the good china and guest towels. 

Be the person your dog thinks you are.

Leave a legacy of compassion. 

A day to remember

For Americans, today is the day to remember and reflect on the ultimate sacrifice made by some of our servicemen and women. 

Some of our older readers (mom included) may remember that this day used to be called Decoration Day. The history of Decoration Day versus Memorial Day is tangled together. Decoration Day was for all those who passed, not just veterans. It was the day to visit the cemetery and decorate the graves of the fallen. 

Way back when in the Civil War ear, nearly every family had someone passed from the war. The same was true for World War II. In many, many cases, the bodies of the dead could not be returned to their families for burial. 

It wasn't until the 1950s that it became the norm to return war casualties to their families. Living veterans are honored on Veterans Day in November. 

Photo borrowed from Google

So without politics, let us remember those people who gave their lives in support of our nation. 

We honor their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families. 

Our family is extremely fortunate to have had all our service members come home. 

For those families who were not as fortunate, we salute you and support you.

Your sacrifice should never be forgotten or used only as an excuse for a sale.

We may not spend the day at the cemetery any longer, but we will not forget.

That's one big duck

We finally got to see the giant duck!

You can read more about it here. The short story is that it's a 40' tall rubber duck floating in the Hague, which is an inlet of the Elizabeth River. That building in the background is the Chrysler Museum of Art. Whether you think it's art or not, it's a GIANT DUCK! How awesome is that?

He's huge!

 Isabelle was not impressed. 

Unless he was edible, which he wasn't, so whatever.

 It took several attempts to get this picture. 

The woman who took it drove all the way from Raleigh, North Carolina, to see the duck. 

That's some deduckation. Ha! 

 Mandatory duck selfie. 

We were far more interested in the real duck droppings. 

Mom had to keep us from jumping in the water, too.

We were so well behaved, mom rewarded us with our own burgers!

Mom's ripping the vinyl floor up, please excuse the mess. 

Hope your weekend is going great!

Awesome thing #21. A giant rubber duck.

K-9 Karnival

Today, we volunteered with mom at the PUGS booth at Virginia Beach's K-9 Karnival. 

The weather was perfect.

 Isabelle chilled in her Dogger.

We begged. The Kettle Korn tent was soooo close. 

We only stayed a few hours. Raised some money, got some love from the fans. 

Tallulah somehow managed to wiggle 

OUT OF HER HARNESS AND MAKE A RUN FOR THE KETTLE KORN!

Mom is not a curser. She doesn't use HBO words, hasn't for years. 

This time, she said one. Not too loud. There were kids everywhere. But the other volunteers heard her and actually gasped. Seriously, mom doesn't use those words. Ever.

Except apparently when one of us gets out of our harness.

Fortunately for all of us, Tallulah came running back when she was called. 

Now, this doesn't happen at home. She flunked recall in training class. 

But thank pug, she came back almost immediately. 

After all that fun, we headed home.

Tired pug.

Very tired pug.

Most tired pug. 

Mom did get us a bag of pop corn on the way out. 

Action shot of Isabelle!

Tallulah and Petunia don't even lift their heads from the bowls.

Tomorrow, we are going to see the giant Rubber Duck!

Hope your weekend is going great!